White growth on the glass.

[Henry Weldon]

We have had a stubborn white growth on the glass. You have to look at it really close to see that it is like a hairy, wavy growth. We scrub it off and it comes back faster and faster. The water parameters were fine. 50% water change weekly and not heavily stocked. I notice the fish seemed to be breathing heavier than normal, and in the last few days they were all at the top gasping. It seems to correlate with whatever that white growth is. I have to move the fish as they started to die. Whatever that white stuff is seems to hold the key, but I am at a loss. Clearly just scrubbing it off is not going to work. I have 3 other tanks that I manage the same way and they are all fine.

 

[jaylach]

Would need a photo to even guess...

 

[MattW]

Grab a magnifying glass if possible and take a photo using that.

 

[Henry Weldon]

Here it is. It only appears to be on the glass, but then the water got cloudy too. One is the tank that I had to remove the remaining live fish. The other one you can see it starting in another tank.

 

[CassCats]

Look like they're some dense colonies of vorticella. Harmless microfauna, except sometimes can be a nuisance to shrimp in severe cases.

If the tank is relatively new, this type of "bloom" is common as they'll feed off the bacterial growth that's common in new tanks. They tend to level out as the tank matures into a smaller population.

 

[Henry Weldon]

Look like they're some dense colonies of vorticella. Harmless microfauna, except sometimes can be a nuisance to shrimp in severe cases.

If the tank is relatively new, this type of "bloom" is common as they'll feed off the bacterial growth that's common in new tanks. They tend to level out as the tank matures into a smaller population.

That is the odd thing. It started in a tank that has been cycled and perfectly fine for 2+ years. It is a pain, and that is fine, but something caused the water to get cloudy and the O2 to get sucked out of the water.