Can someone tell me what this is?

[NOTDaleJR88]

I have some odd... I guess I'd call it crystal looking 'growth' on my heater.


I've attached some pics... has anyone seen this before / know what this is? When I did my 10% water change last week I sort of knocked this stuff off the heater with my brush... but it's back. I did a water change again yesterday but left it alone this time.

Any ideas?






from the side






from the front

 

[Rivercats]

Do you have snails? The look like a group of round eggs.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

+1

I thought eggs too.

What's your stock?

 

[NOTDaleJR88]

Do you have snails? The look like a group of round eggs.

hmm... interesting.

I have one Midnight Black Snail.

I also have 6 Tetra Glofish & 5 Danio Glofish.


So... what kind of eggs? I actually know NOTHING about snail reproduction... they don't lay eggs do they?

This is on the surface of the heater which is mounted in the tank in a vertical orientation. How could fish have laid eggs on it?

 

[AngelFishGirl]

EDIT: sorry I thought you said it was outside of the water.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

However, fish do and WILL lay eggs on the heater if there is no bleeding slate or leaf or filter they take a liking to.
It's possibly they may be your danios. (As long as the global fluid they inject doesn't make them sterile)

I would very much bet so it's the danios. They are egg layers and they spawn when the sun comes up. (Reference: someone on this website)

I would bet those.

Of course, that is if the snail is one that breeds outside if water. I have no experience in that kind of snail. Only mystery snails, which I know breed outside of the water.

 

[Rivercats]

Danio's are egg scatterers and don't lay them on things like angelfish would. Also I have no clue what your calling a Midnight black snail unless it's a black mystery snail. In that case they lay eggs out of water.

So you can either remove them or leave them alone and see if they hatch (and what they hatch).

 

[Mcor]

Is it limescale? Only, I live in a hard water area and my heater looks like that, only worse. Same stuff you get on the heating element of your kettle for example. If it is, then it's nothing bad, just knock it off when you can as too much might begin impacting on your heater's performance.

 

[Rivercats]

I've had tank that I ran a higher Gh and Kh and got limescale deposits but they were never little circles. It's the shape that is throwing me off, making them look more like eggs than a deposit.

OP I'd try to scrape them off BUT catch at least 1 or 2 and examine them.

 

[NOTDaleJR88]

Danio's are egg scatterers and don't lay them on things like angelfish would. Also I have no clue what your calling a Midnight black snail unless it's a black mystery snail. In that case they lay eggs out of water.

So you can either remove them or leave them alone and see if they hatch (and what they hatch).

Yep! You know what's WONDERFUL after a long day at work... a glass of Honey Jack on ice! Know what's even better? TWO of them!

So yeah... what I MEANT to type was Black Mystery Snail. It just didn't come out that way!