Suffering from Fungus...HELP!

[huffdaddy]

Hi all,

I have been fighting what I think is a fungus problem for several months. I have a 10 gal tank, 3 guppies, water parameters (pH, chlorine, nitrates, nitrites) are always in good shape. I'm getting something brown, which I suspect from reading other posts is brown algae which is growing on the substrate, tank decorations, and sides of the tank. I'm also getting something white and fluffy which grows on the substrate in some areas as well as up in the filter. I'm vacuuming and doing PWC about every two weeks, and about a month ago I broke the tank down and cleaned the whole she-bang top to bottom while the fish were taking a vacation in a temp tank for a few hours.

I tried a fungus removal treatment a few months ago, but it seemed to have a bad effect on the fish I had at the time (3 neons and 2 guppies) and all of the fish except one guppy died. I did dose it properly, so I don't think it was because of too much med.

I'm at my wits end to figure out how to control this. I know that perhaps a little fungus might be expected, but this plus the white fluffy stuff is getting a bit out of control no matter how much I vacuum and clean the tank ornaments and sides. Would really appreciate any advice you guys have on how to get this under control.

Thanks,

Alan

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

You are probably over-feeding. The teardown may have done more harm than good as it probably got rid of all the bacteria that break stuff down. Vac twice a week and cut back the food a little. Will you post your water parameters?

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree. It sounds like you are overfeeding and the food is molding.

 

[huffdaddy]

Thanks for your replies, guys. I think I agree that we must be over feeding. We normally feed a small pinch once in the morning and once in the evening. Inspecting the white stuff more closely I see that there are pieces of food in a lot of them...I thought that pieces of food must be getting caught in them. Here are the water parameters:

pH = 7
Chlorine and Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 5ppm

This is all I have a test kit for. I don't think that the tank breakdown and clean had any ill effect as I checked these levels to make sure there were no spikes after the clean. I didn't actually clean the substrate, just rinsed it when I drained out the water from the tank and then wiped everything down.

If this explains the white stuff, then what to do about the brown algae? I'm hesitant to use a treatment given my past experience (I have the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Algae Destroyer). Do you have any advice on how to handle that?

Thanks,

Alan

 

[severum mama]

The brown stuff sounds like diatoms. It is common in newer tanks, and should go away on its own. IMO you should not add the Algae Destroyer. I haven't used it but am always wary of putting chemicals into my tanks. I know the diatoms are ugly to look at, but just give it some time. If it doesn't go away, you could add 2 or 3 otocinculus- they love the stuff! With only 3 guppies in your tank, you would be fine to add the oto's if you want. They can be difficult to keep, but they're really cute and a lot of people like them.

Also, I think you should cut back on your feeding to once a day. Watch your fish when you feed to see how much they can consume before it falls uneaten to the gravel. With only 3 guppies you really won't need to feed very much. Bump up your water change/gravel vac schedule to once a week, 25%. Your perams look good so this should keep your tank nice and clean.

 

[huffdaddy]

The only thing about the brown stuff (diatoms, algae, or whatever) is that this tank is not that new (had it since Jan) and this problem has been ongoing for about 4-5 months and still hasn't gone away. If it clears up by itself, how long does it normally take and is there anything to do that will help the process along?

Thanks,

Alan