Thick white substance all over tank glass

Hi, I have recently added a betta and some neon tetras to my 2 foot tank. The fish have been in there for a week but I have been cycling the tank for a few weeks. A few days ago in the morning I found all glass surfaces in the tank covered with a thick white substance. There was no white stuff on any of the fish, substrate or plants and the water was clear, no cloudiness. Running my finger over the glass the white stuff was slightly slimy but came off easily. It almost looks like chalk in water. I ended up wiping down the sides of the tank and cleaning the tank as much as possible however quite a bit of the particles ended up on the plants and substrate. I cleaned those best I can as well. Another fish enthusiast told me it was a harmless fungus and it would not hurt the fish. I thought I wouldnt have any more problems however now I notice that some of my fish have white spots (I am not sure if its because the white stuff was floating around in the water and became attached to the fish?). and there are a lot of this white substance on most of my tank surfaces.

Should I be going out and getting a remedy for Ich or is this something else? Pics are where I have started to wipe off the white stuff 3 days ago and the fish/plant how they are now.

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Anyone's advice would be very much appreciated!

Rayn3zero said:

Running my finger over the glass the white stuff was slightly slimy but came off easily.

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Biofilm. Microscopic organisms like bacteria, yeast and fungus build up on the glass over time and create a biofilm. Just wipe it off each week with a clean sponge.

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White spot can be treated with heat. Do a 80-90% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Then raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks or at least 1 week after all the white dots have gone.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen in the water.

Colin_T said:

Biofilm. Microscopic organisms like bacteria, yeast and fungus build up on the glass over time and create a biofilm. Just wipe it off each week with a clean sponge.

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White spot can be treated with heat. Do a 80-90% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Then raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks or at least 1 week after all the white dots have gone.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen in the water.

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Thanks for your reply Colin_T. Is it possible for the biofilm to be thick like that overnight? Also, can the betta and neon tetras handle 30C for that long a period? I've never had these fish before so I'm not sure of their tolerance.

All freshwater tropical fish can tolerate 30C for 2 weeks.

Biofilm can get thick overnight. it builds up slowly and you don't notice it for a while, then it suddenly gets thick enough to notice and you see a white film over the glass. It happens in all tanks but is very common in new tanks.

Colin_T said:

All freshwater tropical fish can tolerate 30C for 2 weeks.

Biofilm can get thick overnight. it builds up slowly and you don't notice it for a while, then it suddenly gets thick enough to notice and you see a white film over the glass. It happens in all tanks but is very common in new tanks.

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Thank you so much for your help!