White Film, Cloudy water dead fish - help!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

althazud

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Messages
12
I'm looking for help here. I've never seen this problem and can't find any similar cases online:
I have a moderately planted 55gal tank that's been running for 3 years.
I was out of town for three weeks and had a bit of GSA and some brown algae outbreak. I started doing the recommended dosing of Excel. I was having good success and the existing plants even started to sprout some extra new growth. I felt confident this last weekend to start adding some new plants and look for a couple new fish. I've 2 hillstream loach for over a year and bought another one (they are great as keeping the leaves clear of algae) I use an oversized filter to keep up the current and oxygen content. I also bought a Crinum and added to my existing Chilensis forest. I soaked the new plants in siphoned out tank water for 3 days using my tank only bucket and rinsed prior to planting. I did not add any of the water from the new loach's travel bag to the tank.
I did a 40% water change, dosed excel, planted the new plants with an API root tabs at each. I also used the opportunity to wipe down the glass with a tank only cloth. I also cleaned out the filter intake and housing. The filter has two filter bags, I replaced one of the bags but filled it with 1/2 old media (from the removed bag) and 1/2 new media (activated carbon). After these maintenance activities, the water was a bit cloudy which is typical after a filter bag change and water change. I expected it to clear up.
The next day (15 hours later) I came home and the tank was cloudy white with a white film on the glass, substrate and driftwood, with a small amount on some of the plants. The two old loaches were dead and the rest of the fish were lethargic and congregating at the surface away from the filter occasionally gulping air from the surface.
I removed the fish to my hospital tank - within 25 minutes they were behaving normally and even took sinking pellets. This morning, their coloration is normal and behavior is typical.

My only guesses are
1. CO2 poisoning somehow? (I don't dose extra CO2 other than the excel (for the past 4 weeks) Although the fish had been unaffected until now
2. Bad filter media?
3. Accidental chemical contamination? - although I'm very careful about that
4. Algae bloom? the water parameters don't support that though
5. it almost appears like excess calcium I have no clue where it would have come from.

Last night I removed the new filter bag and replaced it with the old (still moist) did a 50% water change and wiped the film from the glass with paper towel.

Any help would be great. I don't want to lose anymore fish and God forbid, plants.

Stocking:
6 Cherry Barbs
3 Hillstream Loach (1 brand new)

Plants:
Chilensis (1/2 is brand new)
Mini Java Fern
Crypts
Bronze Wendth
Crinum (bran new)

Readings:
0.0 Ammonia
0.0 Nitrite
10 Nitrate
7.8 PH - normal for my tank
 
Update: the white film did not come back today but there is a strange odor of the tank water. I did another 50% water change and removed the driftwood to rinse is off and wipe it down. I'm afraid to reintroduce fish and have no clue when it would be safe to do so. My hospital tank is only a 5g and I'm nervous about an ammonia spike by adding 7 fish so quickly
 
I wasn't using one. The hillstream loaches need oxygen and adding CO2 could gas them out
 
Do you have a sand bed? When planting new plants if the sandbed has anaerobic areas it can release some bad stuff into the water.
 
I've heard of that happening. But my planting medium is flourite so I don't think that trapped gas bubbles were my issue in this case
 
Had it compacted? I think it can happen with any substrate.

A bad smell to the water is one of the biggest indicators.
 
That's interesting. I suppose it's a possibility. The spots where i planted already had plants in them though. The plant roots supposedly dissipate gas pockets. I also vacuum the substrate occasionally which would keep them from forming in theory. What would be the cause of the white film. I would also think that the ph would be out of wack if a gas pocket were released
 
I wasn't using one. The hillstream loaches need oxygen and adding CO2 could gas them out
I misread the part about CO2 poisoning.

I had a similar experience with cloudy water and film (fortunately didn't kill anything) when some glycerin from my bubble counter got into the tank.

I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you're able to sort it out.
 
I am out of info at this point. I had done some reading when I saw some black in my white sand last summer. The was when I saw stories about other substrates could see the same happen.
 
Would a bacterial bloom fit? Food source would be the dead algae.

I've had the API root tabs give a short spike in ammonia. In a 5gal test bucket, 1 tablet gave 0.25% ammonia.
 
Would a bacterial bloom fit? Food source would be the dead algae.

I've had the API root tabs give a short spike in ammonia. In a 5gal test bucket, 1 tablet gave 0.25% ammonia.



You might be right...

A bacteria bloom caused by:

1. the dead algae in the filter and on the substrate plus any fish waste or uneaten sinking tablets acting as food

2. The fertilizer added the nutrients

3. Planting stirred up the substrate releasing the anaerobic heterotrophic bacteria causing it to switch to aerobic and feast on the organic matter.

4. Replacing a filter pad lowered the ammonia and nitrite reduction rate and opened a gap for the heterotrophs to bloom

This would explain the white cloud and film. The bacteria is oxygen depleting which might suffocate the susceptible hillstream loaches and the hardy barbs endured by gulping air at the surface.

By syphoning the substrate and cleaning the filter, I removed he nutrients and organic matter which halted the bloom. The dying bacteria was probably sucked into the filter and began to decay which caused the stench.

This is all hypothetical of course but it does tie up some loose ends.

My only remaining question is: when should I return the surviving fish in the main aquarium?
 
Your readings look fine so I would say if you can do another water change and tank looks fine / smells fine / water tests ok - you should be OK to go.

I found with mine that bacterial blooms also indicated the nitrifying bacteria population was unstable but it all tended to sort itself out after a few weeks. Mine were more minor it sounds but fish were ok if water was just a bit cloudy white (I run several filters though).

Just thinking as well that the carbon will start to grow bacterial populations after several weeks as well.
 
Back
Top Bottom