Sticky white things in aquarium?

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faysalals1

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 10, 2023
Messages
66
I get these white sticky glue looking things in my aquarium, and they are all over my plants, wood, filter, and glass. When I clean my glass it scatters all over the water for a while and makes my water look bad. I get alot of it even after a 50% water change, and doing the vacuum, and weekly water change.

What is it? and is it good or bad? how do I reduce it?
 
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It looks like mould or biofilm.

How often are you feeding? Is there any food left 3 minutes after the fish are fed?

Can you go back to all your previous threads and update please.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/neon-tetra-died-381601.html

Did you return all the neon tetras? They are unsuitable for your aquarium size and will be overstocking the tank. Overstocking causes nutrient imbalances which causes bacterial growths and problems such as you seeing.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...o-do-about-my-ammonia-and-nitrite-381654.html

Do you understand the cycling process?

Please post your water parameters as requested. pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. An overstocked, uncycled tank will again cause nutrient imbalances and issues such as what you seeing.

I see a very poor substrate with a voids between individual stones. That is going to trap a lot of detritus like uneaten food, which will go mouldy and get stirred up whenever you disturb it. A sand substrate or a finer grade gravel would be easier to keep clean, you can see any uneaten food etc.

If you havent addressed the issues raised in previous posts it is a clear cause of what you are seeing now. Make sure your aquarium is stocked with suitable fish, cycle your tank, dont overfeed. Consider replacing the substrate with something more suitable for an aquarium, what you have looks a nightmare to maintain.
 
It looks like mould or biofilm.

How often are you feeding? Is there any food left 3 minutes after the fish are fed?

Can you go back to all your previous threads and update please.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/neon-tetra-died-381601.html

Did you return all the neon tetras? They are unsuitable for your aquarium size and will be overstocking the tank. Overstocking causes nutrient imbalances which causes bacterial growths and problems such as you seeing.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...o-do-about-my-ammonia-and-nitrite-381654.html

Do you understand the cycling process?

Please post your water parameters as requested. pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. An overstocked, uncycled tank will again cause nutrient imbalances and issues such as what you seeing.

I see a very poor substrate with a voids between individual stones. That is going to trap a lot of detritus like uneaten food, which will go mouldy and get stirred up whenever you disturb it. A sand substrate or a finer grade gravel would be easier to keep clean, you can see any uneaten food etc.

If you havent addressed the issues raised in previous posts it is a clear cause of what you are seeing now. Make sure your aquarium is stocked with suitable fish, cycle your tank, dont overfeed. Consider replacing the substrate with something more suitable for an aquarium, what you have looks a nightmare to maintain.

No this is a different aquarium from the neon tetra one. And yes I did return them and I dont have issues anymore.

My new 10 gallon tank has 1 betta, 5 shrimp, and two snails, and everything seems fine other than this issue.

I dont overfeed, I only give my betta 4 pallets and make sure they eat them. Shrimp and snail will eat whatever falls incase that happens. And I do vacuume cleaning weekly.

It is possible that I had dying banana plants, when I removed them and cleaned everything, it got better, but I still have this issue..
 
Try a water clarifier like seachem clarity or API accu-clear. It should clump the stuff together so the filter can pick it up and take it out of the water. It might cloud your water for a few hours before it clears l.

How long has the tank been set up? It might just be dust off the filter media if you didnt rinse it properly.
 
Try a water clarifier like seachem clarity or API accu-clear. It should clump the stuff together so the filter can pick it up and take it out of the water. It might cloud your water for a few hours before it clears l.

How long has the tank been set up? It might just be dust off the filter media if you didnt rinse it properly.

The tank has been set up for 2 weeks now..

I am using Seachem Pristine, isnt it the same as Clarity!? and I did wash everything inside the aquarium including the filter.

Its much better now since I did that, ill see how it goes and let you know.

Thank you :)
 
I am using Seachem Pristine, isnt it the same as Clarity!?

No. Pristine is a bacterial supplement that consumes organic detritus like fish poop or mulm. Clarity clumps together stuff floating about in the water so that the sponges in your filter can more easily remove it from the water. A clarifier might solve a problem short term, but you still need to identify and remove the cause.

Pristine is one of those products that i dont see having any useful purpose. If you have a functional filter, do your water and filter maintenance as you should, and dont overstock aquariums there shouldn't be excess detritus. Using chemicals in lieu of good practice and routine maintenance isn't a good idea IMO.
 
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