Strange Film On Plants

[RobberyinCSharp]

Hello everyone

I just (re)-started my fishtank after hurricane Irene. I lost all but 2 of my fish. When we finally got power back again, I emptied my old tank, cleaned it, planted it, put substrate down, and let it cycle with a bacterial supplement and water conditioner for 48 hours. I then added 2 Platy fish, since they're hardy, to begin the cycling process, as well as a few ghost shrimp for cleanliness. I have a ribbon plant in my tank that I've just noticed today has a strange film near the bottom of the stem. It looks much like one of those thick spider webs. It's a translucent, white-ish film hanging from the plant. Is this bacterial growth? A fungus? Could this hurt my fish? All help would be appreciated!

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid ribbon plants (Dracaena spp) are not aquatic and will soon rot underwater; I expect what you're seeing is the first signs of that. Take it out and put it in a pot; they make lovely houseplants.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Will the film hurt my fish? They were advertised as an aquatic plant They were only added to the tank today, I'm afraid changing their living conditions so soon will stress them and cause them harm! What is the best thing I can do?

Will the film hurt my fish? They were advertised as an aquatic plant They were only added to the tank today, I'm afraid changing their living conditions so soon will stress them and cause them harm! What is the best thing I can do?

They are still very skiddish to me opening and closing their lid and such. I want to be very cautious, as it seems to be stressing out one of my platies in specific.

 

[fluttermoth]

As I often say, there's nothing like a bit of Pavlovian conditioning! Just give them a pinch of food after you've had your hands in; they'll soon learn not to mind.

However, the Dracaena doesn't have to come out right now; it won't start to raise your ammonia for a few days yet, so just take it out when you feel it's best

I don't know why they're are still sold as aquatic plants

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yeah, I fell for the dracaena trick myself. Mine's now planted and sitting on my windowsill.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Yeah, that's really frustrating! Grr! And they were like, $5 a plant, too! I hope I saved my receipts - I will ask for a refund but I doubt I will get it. Perhaps I'll replace the plants after the tank seems cycled.

I know this is a totally new question, but while I'm here I might as well ask - I have another tank with balloon mollies in it. They're in a 10-gallon tank with my two platies I saved from the hurricane. The two balloon mollies are new, but came from the same LFS tank. I acclimated them to the water and put them in the tank, which was prepared. They all got along splendidly! I was so happy to see them all playing together. As I was watching them, out of NOWHERE, my black balloon molly just went BALLISTIC. She was spurting and swimming as fast as she could as though someone was trying to take her life, even though all my other fish were near her, but not even interacting with her. Ever since then, she's been slightly violent to my fish. No extreme aggression seems to be apparent, but she'll follow the fish around the tank, and "nip" on their sides. She's really turning into a bully! I don't want my other fish to die from her attitude! And I don't want my brand-new fish to turn into a monster! Please help

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid we all get the occasional fish that turns aggressive for no reason we can fathom; there's not a lot you can do really, except separate or return her to the shop.

 

[Aquamaniac]

I'm afraid we all get the occasional fish that turns aggressive for no reason we can fathom; there's not a lot you can do really, except separate or return her to the shop.

Try and separate her.
Maybe she will calm down.
Had the same problem with one angelfish towards all my other angelfishes.
A couple of weeks in a separate tank and i put him back together they were fine.
If not return it to the shop.It happens even in nature there's nothing you can do about and there's no point in stressing all your other fishes.

Just one question was the fish we're talking about also afected by the problem with hurricane IRENE?
If it was.There's your source of stress that could have changed that fish's behaviour.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yeah, that's really frustrating! Grr! And they were like, $5 a plant, too! I hope I saved my receipts - I will ask for a refund but I doubt I will get it. Perhaps I'll replace the plants after the tank seems cycled.

Those plants are NOT aquatic. It doesn't matter whether your tank is cycled or not. Don't put them back or they'll rot.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Not to worry, they have been removed! The Molly seems to have calmed down a bit, though she's still a tad stressed. Would it be worth my while to add stress coat?

Just one question was the fish we're talking about also afected by the problem with hurricane IRENE?
If it was.There's your source of stress that could have changed that fish's behaviour.

I'm afraid not! These are brand new mollies, each Molly living in the same tank together in the store and were bagged together.

 

[StandbySetting]

Yeah, that's really frustrating! Grr! And they were like, $5 a plant, too! I hope I saved my receipts - I will ask for a refund but I doubt I will get it. Perhaps I'll replace the plants after the tank seems cycled.

Those plants are NOT aquatic. It doesn't matter whether your tank is cycled or not. Don't put them back or they'll rot.

I think the OP means replace with aquatic plants.