Oil Slick Aquarium

[daveysfish]

Hi all you fellow fish addicts, im quite new to the forum so still finding my feet. Just wondering really has anyone else had a problem with an oily film on the waters surface. In my 37.5 ltrs Fluval uno, it builds up a horrible film. Theres 1 Zebra Danio, 4 corys, 1 Ancistrus, 1 unknown tetra and 1 unknown veggie eating fish (i will post pics some time to see if anyone can I.D them). its filtered with 2 Fluval +1 filters. I have a big clump of java moss in the tank and i wonder if theres a connection to that.
Would be very greatful if anyone has any ideas or has had the same thing occur in there aquariums.

 

[SamUK]

try moving your filters up so they break the surface of the water.


you could do with ID'ing the algae eater cos some can grow to 2 foot and produce alot of waste which wont help with keeping the surface clean.

 

[daveysfish]

try moving your filters up so they break the surface of the water.


you could do with ID'ing the algae eater cos some can grow to 2 foot and produce alot of waste which wont help with keeping the surface clean.

well me mystery veggie eater its not a sucker mouth cat or chinese loach. Its about 1 inch long, bronzey colour (similar to a juvenille goldfish) with a wide terminal mouth and all that it eats is the Java Moss and the stringy algae which grows in that. It will not touch flake, brineshrimp, bloodworm or any sort of normal trops food. Has a look about it that reminds me of some sort of Barb. I got it from my LFS where it was mixed in with about 60-80 Neons and they sold it to me for 75 pence i think. When i get my pics to photobucket or image shack I will put a pic on and see if any members might know what it is.
Will probley move me filters up towards the surface, should put my spare airpump on with a stone which would break the water surface aswell. Thanks for the help and keep an eye out for when i post my pics see if you can help I>D

 

[GoldfishAttentionSpan]

For your fish, maybe a bronze cory?

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...845&hl=cory

 

[Murpheus]

To remove the 'oily film' use a jam jar or glass to suck the scum from the surface by submerging it to the rim and letting it fill slowly from the surface.

This is a tip I picked up by searching these forums & it works a treat.

Good luck.

 

[crazie.eddie]

The oily like film is not dangerous, just unsightly. You can use a papertowel and drape it over the surface to absorb it. Otherwise, you can increase surface agitation. Like as suggested above, move the filter, or just add an air stone connected to an airpump. The java moss floating is just causing a dead spot for surface agitation.

 

[daveysfish]

Thank you everybody for the advice and ideas, i have moved one of my filters uptowards the surface and its seeming to clear, I had a little go at skimming it off, and that worked well until i ran out of time and had to go to work.
If Anyone was intrested in my mystery fish, i am going to post a pic on a diffrent thread and see if anyone can I.d or have seen something similar