What is this?

[shovelheadkevin]

Hi folks.
I'm Kevin........a and proud Albino ACF {Ms. Zippy}owner.
I'm relatively new to aquarium life but have already found that aquariums are addicting and --like Lays chips-- "Bet ya can't have just one..."
I am planning on developing a 50-65G FW tank in the not so distant future, but I come to you today with a question about my 20G.
What is this white fuzz that's developed in Zippy's tank? It forms/settles primarily on ornaments and plants {wisteria}.
I don't have a test kit yet {on list of "to buy" for this week} so I can't provide any readings, but I'm posting pics.
Thanks ahead of time for any & all input. After surfing the forums here I know I've joined the right place.
There are no apparent ill effects on Zippy nor the couple of ghost shrimp that she hasn't found...........yet. lol
I'm inclined to think that it's algae from uneaten food. BTW....I'm not scheduled to vacuum gravel til mid week and want to keep that schedule.

 

[Crepe]

It could be:
Dirty Algae, dirty fungus, uneaten food build up that's become fungused, just plain dirt or something else dirty... lol

 

[shovelheadkevin]

That's why I posted the pics.
I'm smart enough to know that it could be any of several things.......but ignorant enough to not know what.

 

[Crepe]

Well the thing is they all look about the same lol. Just brush it off with your hand. out of sight out of mind.

 

[shovelheadkevin]

Well the thing is they all look about the same lol. Just brush it off with your hand. out of sight out of mind.

.......and 2-3 weeks later Zippy's maybe dead?
No thanks.
I've read some very knowledgeable posts on this site so I figure eventually {hopefully} someone will ID it for me.......but thanks for posting Crepe.

 

[Homedog98]

Hmm... Daily partial water changes might help. Maybe 25% once a day, or 50% once a week for a while, or until you can see if it gets better or what. Not sure what it is though. Maybe zippy has some bad dandruff! lol.

 

[fort384]

My guess is being such a small tank with a good sized frog in it might be the issue. Water parameters would help determine whether or not this is true... but I would agree with the above... clean water would certainly not hurt the situation. Do some more frequent water changes for awhile and see if that doesn't help.

I have seen stuff like this before in newer tanks, but usually on driftwood. I cleaned it off the driftwood using a toothbrush, and after a few weeks (and a few PWCs) the problem went away.

 

[shovelheadkevin]

Thanks folks.
I do a PWC weekly {about 20% worth} while I vacuum.
Other considerations:
I also added the wisteria and had to hang a new filter {pump died} about 3 days before the fuzz started showing. I'm sure that that is prolly part of the reason too. I had to go with a different filter and couldn't introduce the old filter {& bacteria} from prior.
I'll try a 25% PWC tomorrow and maybe a lessor one Tues and see it it helps.

Failing that, I'll take Zippy to a dermatologist to see about that dandruff. ;-D

 

[fort384]

ok... based on the info above... if you just replaced the filter, my guess is the water is extremely dirty due to losing all of your biological filtration. You may want to do 50% a day for awhile. You really need to get a test kit. That would help considerably in determining where your issue might lie.

 

[shovelheadkevin]

Thanks fort.
As I said in orig post, I'll be getting a test kit this week, prolly on Tues.
What about putting the filter media from the orig filter in the reservoir of the new. The old filter is still moist. Just a thought. {Now I have a headache.... }
I'll do a 50% tomorrow and Tues and then test Tues night after all has settled from the change.

 

[fort384]

yeah... that would help... although it might be too late. The bacteria won't last long if not submerged.

But... def. give that a try. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

 

[shovelheadkevin]

I'll give it a try tonight......wth, worth a shot!
I'll update here later in the week.

 

[dkpate]

When you vacuum, try vacuuming the leaves. I have that stuff sometimes on my plants, don't know what it is, since the bettas are not overfed, but it comes off pretty easily, kind of like wet dust.
Swirl the vacuum around the tops of the plants and see if you can get most of it.

 

[shovelheadkevin]

Update..........

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Update.
After 3 50% PWCs {one a day for last 3 days} test readings are:
pH-6.0
alk-40
H-130
NO2-0
NO3-20

**No Ammonia test....my "oops" for the week. Another trip to the LFS..... :-/**

note: I was actually able to use the old "broke" filter. I got a wild hair when I took it out to retrieve the old media and I plugged it in.........and gave the motor a sharp rap wit a hairbrush {hey........I was in the bathroom........lol}. Lo & behold, the thing started working. I hung that one on the tank along w/new one and I now have 2 filters for the system.

The "fuzz" seems to be abating.
I picked up 4 comets for feeders on Monday. While they lasted, they seemed to be ok w/only relocation {aka:WTHAI???}stress . The sole survivor is still swimming fine and seems to be breathing/gilling with ease.....though maybe a tad lonely. I'm using that {til Zippy finds it too} as an indicator of general H2O condition.

I'm considering buying a Japanese Trapdoor snail or 2 for cleaners since loaches, etc are just frog food. Since JTs are live bearers I --hopefully-- won't get overrun w/snails and I'm thinking that their natural defenses {trapdoor, hard shell} will help survive w/Zippy.