HELP

[haen]

I thought I knew it all. I am 85 and not exactly a "newbie"
I have had aquariums for over 60 years, from steel-frame with concrete type back-walls with niches for plants, to present acrylic/glass, each time about 30 or 20 gallon. At one time in Holland even a 150 liter.
I have made just about all the mistakes that could be made, from cooking my fish with overhead heating lamps, to "cleaning" the water with hydrogen peroxide, as well as overcrowding.
Just cleaned my tank and got some new fish after moving it from one place in the house to another. Put in a new filter/pump, as refills for two old ones no longer seem to be sold. and made sure my under-gravel filter also works well
Now i am STUMPED".
Half of my new fish died upon arrival (and YES I did acclimatize them) , Platys would not eat and died a few days later. Neons swam up to the filter intake, got stuck against it and died a little later after having been rescued by pulling the intake tube out of the pump.

But here here it comes: I am now growing some kind of fussy white mold on top of the gravel; it looks like parts of white cotton balls suspended in water, and when fished out, is a yellowish snotty glob.
I siphoned the whole bottom, thought I got it all, but now (three days later) I can see globs forming in between plants again.
So, any experts out there who can tell me what the heck I am doing wrong this time ???
Thanks in advance.
HN

 

[librarygirl]

I thought I knew it all. I am 85 and not exactly a "newbie"
I have had aquariums for over 60 years, from steel-frame with concrete type back-walls with niches for plants, to present acrylic/glass, each time about 30 or 20 gallon. At one time in Holland even a 150 liter.
I have made just about all the mistakes that could be made, from cooking my fish with overhead heating lamps, to "cleaning" the water with hydrogen peroxide, as well as overcrowding.
Just cleaned my tank and got some new fish after moving it from one place in the house to another. Put in a new filter/pump, as refills for two old ones no longer seem to be sold. and made sure my under-gravel filter also works well
Now i am STUMPED".
Half of my new fish died upon arrival (and YES I did acclimatize them) , Platys would not eat and died a few days later. Neons swam up to the filter intake, got stuck against it and died a little later after having been rescued by pulling the intake tube out of the pump.

But here here it comes: I am now growing some kind of fussy white mold on top of the gravel; it looks like parts of white cotton balls suspended in water, and when fished out, is a yellowish snotty glob.
I siphoned the whole bottom, thought I got it all, but now (three days later) I can see globs forming in between plants again.
So, any experts out there who can tell me what the heck I am doing wrong this time ???
Thanks in advance.
HN

Hi Haen,

Welcome to AA. Sorry about your fish. Your fish dying is likely due to high toxin (ammonia and/or nitrite) levels in a new uncycled tank. Here's a link that will guide you through: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! Basically you just need to test your water daily and do frequent water changes to keep toxins down until the tank cycles on its own (e.g. enough of the correct bacteria has grown in the filters to consume the toxins your fish put out).

How long has this particular tank been running with fish and have you had the same filters on the tank the whole time?

Also the ones that died soon after you got them: how did you acclimate them? If you just floated the bag and then put them in the tank that generally isn't the best method, particularly if the tank has toxins in the water. If you have a test kit (the API Master liquid kit is best) you should test the water and see what's going on. At the very least I'd do a 50% water change right away with dechlorinated water until you can do a test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate.

The fuzzy while mold could be from uneaten food; what are you feeding, how often, and how much?

 

[haen]

Help

My thanks got cut off, when touching the enter button.
I added, that I siphoned off (with the mold) about half of the water, left the plants in place, scrubbed the two imitation rocks with hot water (no soap), and left several old fish in the aquarium. the underwater filter stayed the same, the new filter was Eheim with all the inserts in place.
I am very careful with feeding, and try to only give them enough that they will eat in about half an hour. Usually the catfish will eat the rest, but one of them died. I think almost two years was a very good life span for her.
I am truly at a loss, and consider transferring all fish to an old standby 10 gallon tank, wash all the plants, with very light hydrogen peroxide, scrub the gravel with hot water (no soap) and/or Hydro.Per. and may even take the underwater filter system out. But rather would leave well enough alone.
Thanks again for your response.
HN

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

For feeding fish the general rule is to not feed more than they will eat in a few minutes.. if you feed to much you can have a host of problems from phospahtes, decay, nitrate buildup etc.

 

[haen]

help

For feeding fish the general rule is to not feed more than they will eat in a few minutes.. if you feed to much you can have a host of problems from phosphates, decay, nitrate buildup etc.

Thank you. The problem is that some, mainly Zebra Danios will eat the new stuff the Wet-spot where they came from, sold me 'Omega" red flakes, but others will ignore that, and than it either disappears into the filter, or sinks to the bottom ( where the catfish, and some Platy graze. The Neons and red glow Danios won't even look at either, and I have to get them some plain old tetra-min (very sparingly), because by that time the others won't look at that anymore.
I think i will go back to the tetramin for all, after a day getting hungry the others will eat it also.
Thanks again HN

 

[haen]

Just a little update:
I spent about an hour "vacuuming' the aquarium yesterday.
It looks like that "mold"? penetrated the gravel, and more or less binds it.
Roughing up the gravel, the mold comes loose, either in globs, or flaky floating stuff .
Each time I thought I was done, i found another spot, and when working on that, more came visible.
Come to think of it, I think ( first time for everything) it started after i bought some new plants, the roots of which were packed in a plastic container with jelly type beads.
Perhaps it is time to regroup, shorten the front-lines, move out the troops (fish), and clean the whole thing, and get new gravel.
Any other ideas before I do this ???
Thanks again in advance.
HN

 

[librarygirl]

Just a little update:
I spent about an hour "vacuuming' the aquarium yesterday.
It looks like that "mold"? penetrated the gravel, and more or less binds it.
Roughing up the gravel, the mold comes loose, either in globs, or flaky floating stuff .
Each time I thought I was done, i found another spot, and when working on that, more came visible.
Come to think of it, I think ( first time for everything) it started after i bought some new plants, the roots of which were packed in a plastic container with jelly type beads.
Perhaps it is time to regroup, shorten the front-lines, move out the troops (fish), and clean the whole thing, and get new gravel.
Any other ideas before I do this ???
Thanks again in advance.
HN

Might be a good idea. Did you not wash off the jelly beads from the plants first? If not that could be the issue as well, although I still suspect extra food and waste as well. Do you vacuum the gravel regularly?

If it's that bad though then yes it might be best to change the gravel out completely. I'd also test the water with a test kit before and after just to see where your levels are; sometimes messing with the gravel can kick up a lot of detritus which can spike toxin levels temporarily so keep an eye out for that by testing the water and adding clean water as needed (dechlorinated of course).

What fish do you have in the tank now and how many?

 

[haen]

Cleaning gravel

I plan to move the fish out temporarily, with their current water into an old 10 gallon tank. Next take out all the plants, and wash them thoroughly.
Lastly the gravel; just scoop it out into a bucket and dispose of it.
Take out the underwater filter system , and decide what i want to do. Keep it (and clean it) or get rid of it, just relying on the outboard filter.
Next clean the empty tank in and out. Spray the heck out of it with Hydrogen Peroxide, killing left over germs if any.
Get new washed gravel, and wash it again.
Was told by an "expert" to put a sheet of compressed peat under the gravel filter. Don't know yet if that's a good idea.
Fill the tank 1/3 with fresh water, using 'instant' safe water additive.
Put plants back in after plucking off yellowing or decaying leaves and/or roots, check pH levels, and if correct put fish , with their old environment water back into tank.
Wash out outboard filter ( Eheim) and reinstall it. Put auto heater back in, fill up tank with tap water, and hold my breath.
Next, relax and sit down to enjoy, or . . . . .call the Goodwill and see if they are interested in a discarded aquarium with accessories
Still hoping for an easier solution though.
Haen.

 

[haen]

hép

Follow up.
Spent another hour and a half vacuuming the tank; this time not with a siphon hose, but with a battery operated unit.
I thought i got it all, and I could not find anymore globs or flakes.
Pet store told me "probably a kind of algae" ; just put some anti algae drops in and it will go away. I did. Just checked, ( a day later) and . . . I'll be darned. several small globs are growing again.
I surrender. My poor widowed albino catfish, comes, looks at it, and scurries away. Two left over platies check the bottom also, but shy away from the white stuff.
I now have THREE filters running; one under gravel, one Eheim 150, and one old that I still had in the attic, with a pretty clean dried out filterpad still in it. I'll wait a couple of days, but if not solved by next week, I just got to go to work and clean out the darn thing completely.
Oh well.
HN

 

[haen]

tank ! Rocks in back are picture

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

Just a little update:
I spent about an hour "vacuuming' the aquarium yesterday.
It looks like that "mold"? penetrated the gravel, and more or less binds it.
Roughing up the gravel, the mold comes loose, either in globs, or flaky floating stuff .
Each time I thought I was done, i found another spot, and when working on that, more came visible.
Come to think of it, I think ( first time for everything) it started after i bought some new plants, the roots of which were packed in a plastic container with jelly type beads.
Perhaps it is time to regroup, shorten the front-lines, move out the troops (fish), and clean the whole thing, and get new gravel.
Any other ideas before I do this ???
Thanks again in advance.
HN

The mold you might be speaking of is actually phosphates.

"Where Do Phosphates Come From?
Phosphates naturally occur as wastes are broken down within the aquarium. In addition to being internally produced, phosphates can enter the aquarium from external sources. Everything from food, to the chemicals used to buffer the water, to the water itself can contain significant amounts of phosphate. Phosphate sources include:

- uneaten food
- plant decay
- dying algae
- fish feces
- dead fish
- carbon filter media
- aquarium salts
- pH buffers
- kH buffers
- water itself " - about.com Phosphates in the Aquarium

 

[librarygirl]

So I guess we've ruled out the plant jelly since you cleaned it out. I'm still thinking it's leftover food/waste from the fish so there's a good chance you're overfeeding. Have you tested the water with a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I'd start there and do a 50% water change 1-2x per week (assuming there isn't ammonia or nitrite in the water; if there are then more frequent water changes are needed) and vacuum the gravel each time (suck it up into the siphon, don't just hover it over the top, there's a video below) and cut back on feeding and see if that helps.

 

[haen]

old help/dirty tank, water/slime balls/disappearing fish..

Hi, It's me, you Excedrin headache # 32 again.
I disconnected the under-gravel filter, fed the bubble stones into the holes where the tubes had been, under the plastic bottom filter piece. put hollow rocks over it, and the water cleared up within 3 hours. But. . . . . . . . Just about all my plants are showing almost transparent leaves, and seem to be dying.
Fish are merrily swimming around ( what's left over that is).
Are they eating the chlorophyll out of the leaves ? Fish store says i don't feed enough. If this is so, why is there left over food/flakes on the gravel ?
They go into a feeding frenzy when I open the lid to put the flakes in. But they leave half of it alone and swim away from it.
I have no idea what my pH level etc is, since my testing kit has grown legs and walked away
Any more ideas before i empty the whole thing, move the fish to an old 10 gallon for the time, Clean the tank, get new gravel, get new plants, and move fish in together with the old water from the 10 gallon tank; slowly filling up with "conditioned water." We are lucky here, we have VERY soft water.
Please HELLUP !!!
HN

p.s. what about kosher or sea salt addition; ??? Fish store want to sell it (of course) but several on this forum say: NoNo !

 

[haen]

help again

Hi, It's me, you Excedrin headache # 32 again.
I disconnected the under-gravel filter, fed the bubble stones into the holes where the tubes had been, under the plastic bottom filter piece. put hollow rocks over it, and the water cleared up within 3 hours. But. . . . . . . . Just about all my plants are showing almost transparent leaves, and seem to be dying.
Fish are merrily swimming around ( what's left over that is).
Are they eating the chlorophyll out of the leaves ? Fish store says i don't feed enough. If this is so, why is there left over food/flakes on the gravel ?
They go into a feeding frenzy when I open the lid to put the flakes in. But they leave half of it alone and swim away from it.
I have no idea what my pH level etc is, since my testing kit has grown legs and walked away
Any more ideas before i empty the whole thing, move the fish to an old 10 gallon for the time, Clean the tank, get new gravel, get new plants, and move fish in together with the old water from the 10 gallon tank; slowly filling up with "conditioned water." We are lucky here, we have VERY soft water.
Please HELLUP !!!
HN

p.s. what about kosher or sea salt addition; ??? Fish store want to sell it (of course) but several on this forum say: NoNo !

I am baaaack.
I disconnected the under gravel filter, took the bubbles out, replaced the neon tetras and got four baby albino catfish.
Water is crystal clear, slime balls still forming, on top of gravel, and daily vacuumed up; and plants . . . . .withering away to nothing, transparent leaves and small leave plants, the leaves falling off.
Pet store advises against plantfood. Although I HATE plastic imitations I have planted some to make it look a little better.
Fish eat tetra flakes and twice or thrice a week a cube of tubifex.
What the heck am i still doing wrong. My plants used to be so abundant that i traded them with the pet store for fish in the past.
PLEASE somebody come up with an answer.
Thanks in advance !!!!!!
HN

 

[librarygirl]

Hm. Is there any way you can get some pics of the slime so we can see it?

Are you only using the UG filter now or do you have other filters too? The UG filter may be the issue and they aren't generally recommended due to the issues they can cause.

Do they eat the whole cube of tubifex? I'm wondering if that's an issue too. Is it freeze-dried or frozen? Freeze-dried foods should be a treat only as they generally aren't good for fish's digestion and a whole cube is way too much. FLakes can be messy too, I feed New Life Spectrum pellets most of the time with once a week flakes and some frozen as a treat every couple of weeks. I also feed them peas once per week to help aid digestion and fight contipation and I fast them once per week too.

Maybe get rid of the UGF all together and just use an internal or HOB filter and cut back on feeding the cubes? Without a pic that's all I can recommend.

As for plants: what lighting are you using?

 

[haen]

Hi "Lassie"
Thank you for the response.
The underground filter has been completely disconnected.
The peagravel has been in there for several years, and is vacuumed at least twice a week. and stirrup vacuumed about once every two months.
The TWO filters I am using is a Petco 30 gallon PLUS an Eheim 150 (gal?)
I did change about half the water not too long ago, and regularly replace the evaporated water with "britta" filtered faucet water.
At the moment there are about a dozen and a half SMALL fish in there, part to, my daughter "surprising me" and putting some glowfish, one orange and one blue (yuk) (and actually WHAT are they ?) in there .
There are four baby albino catfish, 6 small neon tetra, 2 small glow tetra , 2 small tiger barbs ?(look like little flat fish with horizontal stripes), and four small horizontal striped black barbs with huge underfins.
Oh yea, not to forget one zebra danio about three years old, but very alive.
i don't have any idea of the name of the plants, but they wither away, become transparent, and I think ( first time for everything) that that may be the cause of the white slimy blobs, The catfish DO nibble at the stuff.
The trouble with the Tetra flakes seems to be that the fish only will eat selected parts of it, and the rest falls to the bottom. I have a battery operated vacuum, which i use regularly, to keep the gravel looking clean.
The freeze dried tubifex little cubes, are gone in no time, and all seem to like the stuff.
I also tried the granules, but they fall to the bottom, and only the catfish and tetras will even look at them. While they are going down, the rest will go after them, but spit them out, because they are too hard ? yet.
So . . . I am at wits end; at 85 1/2 aquariums are supposed to be a relaxing hobby, not an aggravation.
Oh well. Tell me what you think please. Also, any others who have some good ideas ???
P.s. as I stated in the beginning of this thread, the stuff looks like irregular white cotton balls or cloud forms, when in the water, when fished out it looks like light brown slimy blob. I can stir the water up into a circular motion to get it floating around, and get a lot caught in a net, but it drives my fish nuts.
The fish store has (of course) tons of chemicals to add to the water, but i don't think my fishes will like that.
Thanks again for the response !!!!
HN