Fungal bloom taking over my aquarium?? What is this?!?!

[Abbitha]

My OCD counting is only with my neons though but the other bigger fish are easily seen as I just have one

 

[Abbitha]

I'm 5 years into the hobby. The tank has been set up for a few years. So I didn't add any chemicals... The only thing I add regularly is prime during water changes

 

[Abbitha]

Sorry keep forgetting to answer questions. The lights, it did engulf my tank the 8 hours my lights were shut OFF. Turned the light off with clean water and turned it back on to that stuff everywhere.

 

[aqua_chem]

Can we get a full tank shot? Do you still have that large ornament in the tank? What all do you have in the tank decoration wise?


The thing about fungi is that unlike algae (and many bacteria), it's an obligate heterotroph, which means that it has to eat something and can't make energy/molecules out of inorganic molecules (like ammonia as is the case with beneficial bacteria) or light (as with algae or cyanobacteria). In this case, it's feeding on a LOT of something. At this point, it's possible that that ornament is leaching some kind of organic molecule that the fungus (assuming that's what it is).


Can you elaborate on your ich? How long were you treating it, and with what? Do you still have it and are you still treating? At what point in the course did the white crud start appearing?

 

[Abbitha]

Ok if that's the case then it must be my ferts got spoiled somehow and I introduced it into my tank? I'll take a full tank shot in the morning but I have awesome news! The white crud still hasn't made a comeback! I mean that's the only thing I can think of. Maybe I left it out too long one day and it became spoiled. It's struggling coming back. I can tell you that! Which I'm quite relieved got extremely nervous when I saw it again in my filter.

The ich I noticed it one day, went and got meds the same day. Treated that evening after a 50% water change. Shut the light off and turned it on to white gunk. I have yet treated with ich since and the fish seem kt not have it anymore (we assume it's cuz I did so many water changes while they were in the temp tote)

What's in the tank now is one ornament (soaked in bleach solution) Eco complete( brand new bags) two plants (soaked in h2o2 solution) .and that's it for now.

You guys I'm so relieved to see it hasn't made a comeback after wiping down the walls a axons time with a damp paper towel with h2o2 even the tiny bit has since disappeared.

 

[aqua_chem]

Introducing something via ferts is possible, but fungus like this is usually in a tank anyways in a low level performing natural breakdown. As I said, the 'causative' factor probably wasn't introduction so much as it was something else feeding an already present organism. Hopefully, whatever was feeding it is exhausted (or at least slowing down) so it won't be able to mount such an intense comeback.


What chemical did you use to treat the ick? I ask because many of the agents currently popular are also potent anti-fungals. How long did you use it?

 

[Abbitha]

I only dosed one time with maracide. Quit after that.