What Is This White Slime

[jewels68]

Hello,

I have a 180 gallon, a 130 gallon, a 50, and 2 30 gallon tanks. I have had these tanks running now for four years now. They are filled with a variety of cichlids. We are on a well, and the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in the tanks are normal. Then one by one they started getting cloudy, then this white slime just took over the tanks. It covers everything. I took out and cleaned the plants, filters, and skimmed the water with a net to catch what I could floating in the water. There isn't really a smell to it, and it hasn't killed any fish yet. After all that work it seemed to clear up nicely, till a few days later when it came back again! The fish do get stressed, I think it's not only clogging up the filters and bubblers, but their gills because they end up at the surface gasping. I did move a few fish around right before this happened so that may have spread it before I knew there was a problem. I have seen and heard of a lot of strange things but this is like nothing I've ever seen. I welcome any ideas on what this is and what I can do about it.

Thanks,
Jewels

 

[WILDER]

You might be better of posting this thread in tropical discussion.
Have you checked your water supply, ay new works be done of the pipes lately.
You need to name everything you have in the all tanks, from subtrate, ornaments, plants.
What products like declorinator you use.

 

[jewels68]

I have plastic plants, rocks for caves, stones, I have been using Chemi Pure in my filters since last October (which by the way I find amazing). I also use aquarium salt, and since we are on a well I don't use declor. There has not been any work done on my pipes and like I said there has been nothing different added or done to the tanks since last October when I started the Chemi Pure. Now I did have cause to use melifix on my 50 gallon tank for about a week, and that tank seemed to stay pretty slime free until a few days after I stopped treatment. This gives me the idea that it could be biological. I do consider this a bit of an emergency because the fish do look stressed when it gets bad, and I don't know if it is harming them when it's not so bad.

Thanks

 

[jewels68]

I guess no one has a clue either...

thanks anyway

 

[jonp]

I guess no one has a clue either...

thanks anyway

Stabbing in the dark here is there any local agricultural work that could have affected your water table? Are there any similar syptoms in any local lakes/ponds etc.

Im thinking fertilisers or something leaching into the water supply here?