Biofilm on water lettuce roots

[Divinityinlove]

I have these water lettuce and duckweed in all my 4 tanks. Only this betta tank has developed this sort of brownish gooey looking film. Last Sunday when water changing I removed it all and put more ij from my main tank which are all healthy and free of any gunk or any issues.

You can see the couple of roots in the front are totally free of any debris. Only one in the back has it. Ofcourse is spreads but it spreads more through the water as it grows rather than latching onto plants.

Today I can see it has developed again. What is it and how can I rid the tank of it totally? I have not tested water to see if it causes ammonia spikes yet since if it is easeaslily recognisable as something similar to the film on driftwood, it is all OK. Otherwise I will pull out the API master kit.

PS; the water wisteria which looks all brown IS indeed browning and I am unsure why but is not AS BROWN as it looks. Just the tips o the leaves.

 

[Aqua67]

An easy way would be to add a Siamese algae eater and a nerite snail, and change the water more often, twice this first week of battling the brown algae would be great. Try feeding every other day in small amounts. The food might be contributing to higher nitrates and phosphates which encourage the brown algae.

If your tank is not suitable for an SAE, then you may need to try to physically remove it. Remove all leaves/plants with brown algae. Clean hard scape in a bleach water solution (understand what this means and what you are doing before you start).

I have wisteria and it does great in my basement tank and not so much in the library tank. Perhaps its likes the lower light?

I had the same issue with brown algae in my library tank. I borrowed one of the SAEs from the downstairs tank and put it in the library tank, along with a nerite snail. I changed the water more often and I decreased their food. The tank is spotless now.

Good luck restoring the tank.

 

[Byron]

First, I do not advise ever getting a fish to deal with algae or any issue, unless you can provide the needs of that species. SAE are shoaling, need a group of 5-6, and at their max size a very large tank. They can get territorial. Aside from this, they will not usually eat what I see in the tank anyway.

To the "stuff," the brownish gunk on the floating plant roots are organics. More water changes, cleaning into the substrate, keeping the filter clean, feeding less, stocking less (not suggesting this is an issue here, only mentioning it as one factor generally)--this helps. I had this in my 90g tank several years ago, and it lasted for nearly 3 years, and I could only keep it minimal. No other tanks in my fishroom developed this.

 

[Divinityinlove]

First, I do not advise ever getting a fish to deal with algae or any issue, unless you can provide the needs of that species. SAE are shoaling, need a group of 5-6, and at their max size a very large tank. They can get territorial. Aside from this, they will not usually eat what I see in the tank anyway.

To the "stuff," the brownish gunk on the floating plant roots are organics. More water changes, cleaning into the substrate, keeping the filter clean, feeding less, stocking less (not suggesting this is an issue here, only mentioning it as one factor generally)--this helps. I had this in my 90g tank several years ago, and it lasted for nearly 3 years, and I could only keep it minimal. No other tanks in my fishroom developed this.

Fair points. I am moving this female betta to the 60 litre tank once the goldfish are moved to a pond this year, then I will put a dwarf pea puff fish in here... I reckon that's a tiny enough fish to enjoy this 25 litre tank. I guess once the betta is moved, I can take plants out, empty water, and refill the entire tank with a 3% hydrogen peroxide at 1:3 ratio to water solution for a few minutes, dip all the plants in for 30 seconds before doing a 100% water change multiple times and allowing the whole tank to re-cycle again for a couple of weeks before introducing the pea puffer. This should be quicker than 3 years, since I have a gap with an empty tank, might as well. I hate removing fish to deep clean a tank otherwise.

 

[Byron]

Fair points. I am moving this female betta to the 60 litre tank once the goldfish are moved to a pond this year, then I will put a dwarf pea puff fish in here... I reckon that's a tiny enough fish to enjoy this 25 litre tank. I guess once the betta is moved, I can take plants out, empty water, and refill the entire tank with a 3% hydrogen peroxide at 1:3 ratio to water solution for a few minutes, dip all the plants in for 30 seconds before doing a 100% water change multiple times and allowing the whole tank to re-cycle again for a couple of weeks before introducing the pea puffer. This should be quicker than 3 years, since I have a gap with an empty tank, might as well. I hate removing fish to deep clean a tank otherwise.

There is no need for hydrogen peroxide treatments. The organic matter is due to organics in the water, and these come from the tap water itself--you would be surprised at how much dissolved organics can be in tap water--and obviously feeding the fish.

 

[Divinityinlove]

There is no need for hydrogen peroxide treatments. The organic matter is due to organics in the water, and these come from the tap water itself--you would be surprised at how much dissolved organics can be in tap water--and obviously feeding the fish.

But i have never had this in my main tank and don't have it in my other 2 new tanks. No idea where it could have come from.

Do shrimps or snails eat this? It grows super fast.

 

[Byron]

But i have never had this in my main tank and don't have it in my other 2 new tanks. No idea where it could have come from.

Do shrimps or snails eat this? It grows super fast.

I already answered the first question above, my 90g tank. My snails certainly did not eat this, no idea about shrimp.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Shrimp will not eat it

 

[Divinityinlove]

There is no need for hydrogen peroxide treatments. The organic matter is due to organics in the water, and these come from the tap water itself--you would be surprised at how much dissolved organics can be in tap water--and obviously feeding the fish.

Do shrimps or snails eat this? It grows super fast.

I already answered the first question above, my 90g tank. My snails certainly did not eat this, no idea about shrimp.

Oh I read that but they're all fed the same food and I use the same equipment for water changes, the same tap water. There's nothing unique about the tank.

 

[Byron]

Do shrimps or snails eat this? It grows super fast.

Oh I read that but they're all fed the same food and I use the same equipment for water changes, the same tap water. There's nothing unique about the tank.

Each aquarium is unique in its biological system. My fish room had eight tanks running for several years, and in spite of similar fish loads, identical filtration, same plant species, same lighting, and same major water changes every week, one species of algae might appear and be a nuisance in one or two tanks but no others. And this organic issue here was confined to my 90g tank for almost three years.

 

[Divinityinlove]

Just to add to this, I'm a bit confused as to why there is brown stuff in both Betta and Goldfish tank which are next to one another and I may have transferred water lettuce from one to the other. Most likely from goldfish tank to betta and this may have been how it was introduced. I could be wrong because of what I'm about to share...

Why in the beta tank does it mostly stay in the water lettuce roots like slimey sludge, and barely touched the hygrophila or other plants? There's a bit of brown fluff on the rocks but that might be just decomposed almond leaf.

In the goldfish tank it has ZERO affect on the water lettuce and instead it is growing mainly on the hygrophila...... Before, there was brown coating on the rocks and ceramic ornament... I added tqo nerites and the rocks and ornament were polished clean within a day... But perhaps they can't really get on the hygrophila leaves.

Main question: is this the same stuff or different in both tanks considering one is all over the stem plants and the other is attached only to the floater roots?

I've removed lost of the floaters from betta tank now as new ones would be added every weekly water change and by the following week totally covered in slime so I figured let's remove the main source of its growth.. Some duckweek remains as it is hard to totally remove, attached to all the sides etc but you can see here, it is there a little... However the stem plants below are almost totally clean.

Where as the goldfish tank, the opposite, floaters totally healthy! Stems totally covered (I will be cleaning them off today)

 

[Byron]

This observation is solely from the photos. The "stuff" on the roots of the floating plants is organic matter. The brown on the Hygrophila leaves is different, it seems to be algae.

 

[Divinityinlove]

This observation is solely from the photos. The "stuff" on the roots of the floating plants is organic matter. The brown on the Hygrophila leaves is different, it seems to be algae.

And the organic matter is to be treated as you advised before? Just cleaning right?

 

[Byron]

And the organic matter is to be treated as you advised before? Just cleaning right?

Yes. Keep the filter very clean, all that brown gunk is organics. Regular and substantial water changes--the dissolved organics in the tank water is what you're after here. Don't over feed or overstock.

There are some things over which you have no control, such as high dissolved organic matter in the tap water. But the above means you are diluting as much occurring organics as you can.