I'M NEW TO THIS.

[jhonbee]

thanks for that Colin. No shortage of warm water or aeration but will have to pass on the liquid bacteria as the fish shops i have found around here stock only the basics. just need to wait a while i suppose.
thanks again.
jb

 

[jhonbee]

Had my tank functioning for approx 8 weeks now, the filters appear to be working ok and the water is clear however i now have a thin coating of brown slime/algae ?? on the walls and floor. One dead fish this a.m. .... coincidence or what ? Suggestions anybody ?

 

[Lynnzer]

I'd say the slime is probably biofilm. It's indicative of water with a high nutrient level but generally not a problem to fish. In fact it's a food source to some fish and shrimp.
It can look messy and disgusting though so prevention is by doing daily water changes of perhaps 40% until it settles down. It can be scraped off smooth surfaces with a credit card. You know....the one that has already expired.
The death? Could be one of many things. Even a huge algael growth is unlikely to affect the fish, except for toxic blue/green algae, cyaonbacteria which is a huge problem. It doesn't manifest itself as a brown sludge though.
My own tank (livestream link from my signature below) suffered similar slime problems for three or four weeks after the initial setup. Following that it then went on to develop hair algae which I'm still working on and getting sorted slowly.
I put a good number of shrimp in the tank and 4 otos to help and things are improving, along with occasionally attacking it with aqua-scissors.

 

[Colin_T]

Pictures of the brown slime?
It is probably just brown algae and nothing to worry about.

What sort of fish died?
Do you have pictures of the fish?
Have you tested the tank water to make sure it is free of ammonia, nitrite & nitrate?

Did you do anything to the tank in the last 2 days?
Was the fish eating ok yesterday?

 

[jhonbee]

Pictures of the brown slime?
It is probably just brown algae and nothing to worry about.

What sort of fish died?
Do you have pictures of the fish?
Have you tested the tank water to make sure it is free of ammonia, nitrite & nitrate?

Did you do anything to the tank in the last 2 days?
Was the fish eating ok yesterday?

Hi Colin, thanks for your note. a) pictures of brown slime ...... still thinking about that one. b) it was a goldfish that snuffed it. We have been lucky so far, bought 25 assorted 6 weeks ago and this goldfish was only the 2nd to pack it in. c) I believe the levels are Ok but i am not confident since the readings do not appear to fluctuate so i've some new litmus papers in the post. d) conditions haven't change much in the tank except some heavy rainfall has put another 1000 litres on top. e) appetites appear unchanged.
regards, J

 

[Fishfinder1973]

This is probably brown algae and is a good sign when cycling.
The dead fish,could just be weak fish.I would expect more dead if it was a contaminant problem.
Brown algae is unsightly,but most new set ups will have brown alage.
It's up to you how you remove it,but it's not dodgy for fish,and like I say it's a good sign.