Yuck! There's water mold in my gravel- how do I remove it for good?

[SuomiBetta]

Aside from the obvious, I've been gravel-vacuuming repeatedly and I'm losing this battle. I have two types: some looks like unfertilized fish/snail eggs (white dots with slick clear gel) and some that looks like standard fuzzy water mold in my 5 gallon betta tank. Outside of Ragnar the mighty the tank is empty. Short of replacing the substrate, how can I eradicate this mold problem for good? (Though if I must, I can willing switch to sand, but I'd rather save that as my last resort!)

 

[Gillie]

Sounds like you aren't removing uneaten food from the tank and it is growing fungus.

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[SuomiBetta]

Sounds like you aren't removing uneaten food from the tank and it is growing fungus.

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There's still some stubborn algae flake left. After I get that up, how can I remove any left over spores?

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[Gillie]

If you offer less at feeding or immediately remove uneaten food it shouldn't be an issue.

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[trennamw]

Yep. Vac now, change water, and feed less to keep it from recurring. It will go away if it doesn't have anything to eat.


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[SuomiBetta]

Thank you, both of you. Good thing I have a spare 1 gallon to keep my betta while I vacuum the gravel thoroughly. This might end up being a 90% water change but at least it'll clear out any nitrate and fungi!

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