White Algae / Fungus!?! Help!

[sumocopter]

**Also posted in Algae Forum**

Please see below which I posted in the algae forum. I am now becoming seriously concerned that whatever this is is really affecting my fish. They are all now spending some time at the surface gasping, and the firemouth's areas of fungus(?) are growing to cover alot of his gills.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hi folks,

I have a problem with some nasty white stuff which is spreading across the substrate in my tank, it seems to be happy at home on bogwood and some stones too!

I was unable to tend my tank for a couple of weeks and when I got back it was just beginning, it got alot worse quite quickly over a period of a week or so. I did a 50% water change and gravel vacced all of the white stuff that i could see without deconstructing the aquascape 9 days ago. Now almost the whole substrate is covered again.

In this whole process I have lost 2 firemouths, the rest of the fish seem short of oxygen. Just today I have noticed one of my remaining two firemouths seems to have fungus around his gills.

The tank is well mature and has been very stable with no water stats problems for months and months.

Tank info today:
Size: 450l
pH 7.6
Ammonia 0.5ppm (normally zero)
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Temp 28oC

Inhabitants:
1 Green Severum
1 Opaline Gourami
2 Firemouth Cichlids
2 Angelfish
2 Black Phantom Tetras
8 Pentazona Barbs
1 Female Betta
1 SAE
3 Corydoras
2 Plecostomus

Does anyone know what this is and how to shift it?

Cheers

 

[alihar]

It looks like slime mould, it feeds on decaying organic matter.
It colonises in patches and can cover substrate, decor and glass.
Gravel vacs, clean glass, water changes and cut back on feeding should take care of it.
Slime mould shouldn't really cause any issues for the fish its just unsightly.
I suspect the ammonia reading will be the cause of inhabitants seeming short of oxygen and fungus around gills.
Alison

 

[sumocopter]

Great, thank you! It seems to be receeding slowly now, I'll do regular gravel vacs and water changes this week.

Is there any reason that it might push the ammonia up? Like I say everything has been great for months, it seems that the rise in ammonia has come with the mould?

Cheers

It looks like slime mould, it feeds on decaying organic matter.
It colonises in patches and can cover substrate, decor and glass.
Gravel vacs, clean glass, water changes and cut back on feeding should take care of it.
Slime mould shouldn't really cause any issues for the fish its just unsightly.
I suspect the ammonia reading will be the cause of inhabitants seeming short of oxygen and fungus around gills.
Alison

 

[alihar]

The colonies will die off after a few days naturally and then re colonise in a different part of the tank.
I only had a very mild case of it for a few weeks on the glass but didn't have any ammonia issues.
I couldn't say for sure that it would be the mould that has caused an ammonia rise, decaying organic matter it feeds off is most likely the cause.
The mould usually appears with excess waste or over feeding.
Is it possible the fact you were unable to tend to your tank
for a couple of weeks has caused ammonia to rise?
Did you leave anyone in charge of feeding and they have
possibly been over feeding?

 

[sumocopter]

Is there anyway of preventing the recolonisation?

I left a friend in charge who is a fish lover themselves, he knows what he is doing. There are some areas of the tank which are almost impossible to vac so rubbish does build up, maybe it has started there and spread?

Cheers

 

[alihar]

Twice weekly water changes, gravel vacs and cut right back on feeding to every other day for a few weeks or at least until you see an improvement.
That should stop it.
Mine took around a month to stop re colonising and go completely.
I was guilty of over feeding!
Alison

 

[sumocopter]

I'll give it a go!! Thank you!