Gold Glass And "seaweed" Help Please

[veryhappymummy]

Hi there,

We set up our first tropical fish tank about three months ago. We were unlucky and got our first batch off fish with a disease which slowly kiled them all off but one. We were given a treatment from the pet shop which seemed to clear things up we then waited and added little tetras and guppies (I think that's right).
On a weekly basis we add the solutions to the water which is meant to keep everything in balance and the water is gradually changed.
However two weeks ago the tank started getting green seeweed type things growing from the ornaments and I realized the remaining fish from the original batch (the one with the illness) had died. I removed the plants with the "seeweed" growing from them , have not replaced as I wanted to wait until my husband returned (hes away for 6 weeks on business) to fix things. The fish still have ornaments and one big plant remaining. Now however some little gold markings are discolouring the glass and seem to be taking over quite quickly. Initially I thought they were finger prints on the outside from my Daughter but it seems they are definately on the inside of the glass and are now going around the whole tank including growing on the filter. It just looks dirty rather than a plant or anything.

Also upon closer inspection I have found that there are now little bits of "seeweed" starting to form on the other ornaments and they have become discoloured also in this brown/gold dirt and also there is a guppy on the gravel laying on its side flapping only a little.
As you can tell I am pretty clueless, I really want my fish to be happy and my tank to look nice so can you please tell me what to do ??? I am full of cold at the moment so can't get to the pet shop.
Also on a random note can you tell me if me touching the water could be harmful to me as I am heavily pregnant and concerned about cleaning the tank too much in case I manage to catch something... probably sounds silly but Id just like to put my mind to rest

Many thanks

-Lucy

 

[Wills]

Hi it sounds like it is just algae, so no danger to you at all. The only fish health problem that can affect humans is fish TB which is very rare so dont hesitate to get in the tank and give it all a good clean out I use pot scourers to clean my tank glass and decor if it needs it but be careful to make sure they dont have soap or detergent in them as that can cause problems with the fish.

If you have a lot of algae growing it is most likley because of a high concentration of a nutrient like ammonia, nitrite or nitrate there are others but these three are the easiest to deal with and the only ones that are likley to cause any health issues to your fish.

When you next can I would reccomend you buy an API master test kit - you can even get these off ebay. This is a series of water testing kits that will tell you what all your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are and then when we know these results we can give you the best advice based on the results.

Few more questions but its just for us to know what your situation is.

How big is the tank? How many fish are in there of each species? What was the medicine you had to use on the fish? And when did you last do a water change?

A common reason for fish getting disease and dieing is because fish shops always tell people to add fish too soon and never back it up with the advice that is needed in the mean time. Im going to guess that you got your fish from pets at home as the "bad batch" thing is a common excuse from them for bad advice and the resulting situation for you. Realistically there is no such thing as a bad batch of fish it just means that at somewhere along the supply chain they have been badly treat and as a result end up diseased and die quickly but if they end up in a decent store these fish would be nursed back to health before they are passed onto customers.

Sounds like you have had a bit of a bumpy ride into the hobby but dont worry its quite fixable the situation your in right now

Wills