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Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria?
By felix from the Felix department, Section Ask Guppylog Posted on Sun May 07, 2006 at 03:30:09 PM PST

I currently am experiencing an outbreak of a mysterious white substance, growing all over my aquarium. Read this story to find out more....

It's been going on for about a week now. A mysterious white substance is 'growing' in my aquarium. The aquarium filter is getting the most of the stuff on it. It is on the Bio-Wheeel, Carbon Filter, and even down in the little compartment part, too. It is also on the rocks on the bottom of the aquarium. I am not sure what it is, but it appears that it is a fungus, or bacteria or something. The water doesn't smell too good either.

Here are my aquarium specs.

It is a 5-gallon aquarium with a waterfall type filter with a carbon purifier, Bio-Wheeel, and it has 2 artificial plants, many rocks (medium sized) and has 3 adult guppies (2 females, 1 male) and a baby guppy in a mesh net breeder thing. Water temperature is about 76 degrees, and it is clear.

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Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

(Comment Deleted) (none / 0) (#10)
by spamming_asshat on Sat Jul 29, 2006 at 07:57:14 PM PST

This comment has been deleted by unclescott

Re: Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria? (none / 0) (#8)
by guppity on Thu May 11, 2006 at 12:01:37 PM PST

I would ammediatly move the fish into a new acrylic or glass tank and give them new gravel,new water and everything else bathe in white vinegar mand scrub with newspaper.

Here to help,

guppity

Re: Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria? (none / 0) (#9)
by angelhologram on Fri May 12, 2006 at 11:19:51 PM PST

I've been away from the computer for a few days and am just now catching up. While I'm glad that you are trying to help others out you should really read the IMMEDIATE HELP section before replying. The past few comments I have read from you were advice to do things which would harm a cycle. You will notice it is VERY RARE for us to ever tell anyone to scrub down a tank and start over.
*BEFORE you buy fish make sure you understand what "Cycling" a tank means <- quoted from miskaral* ~Trying to make a difference one fish at a time~
[ Parent ]

Re: Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria? (none / 0) (#4)
by angelhologram on Sun May 07, 2006 at 05:09:27 PM PST

Have you tested your water lately? If you don't have a test kit could you bring a sample of your water to your local petshop and ask them to do one for you tomorrow? I don't suppose by any chance you have a dissecting microscope stuck in a closet somewhere, or a friend with one, so you could you to take a look at it? (I don't)
One possibility is that your biofilter isn't working properly and needs to be cleaned, but I wouldn't do that until trying some other possibilities first as it will cause a problem with your cycle.
How often do you feed your fish? Is it possible that it is an accumulation of uneaten food?
*BEFORE you buy fish make sure you understand what "Cycling" a tank means <- quoted from miskaral* ~Trying to make a difference one fish at a time~

Re: Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria? (none / 0) (#1)
by fishchick on Sun May 07, 2006 at 02:00:18 PM PST

Well, clean the tank and treat with a widespread antibiotic. It could be VERY harmful to the fish. Take the carbon out of the filter and leave it in for a while.
Pesci Looni

Whoa! What "disease" are you (none / 0) (#2)
by unclescott on Sun May 07, 2006 at 03:18:21 PM PST

treating?

Hate to sound so contrary, but if there is no evidence of a disease. Treating for the wrong thing, if a fish is hurting, can make it worse. And when we indiscriminately pour antibiotics into the water (or ourselves), probably all we are doing is breeding bacteria and potential disease organisms that are immune to antibiotics. Medical people lament that they can't keep coming up with new antibiotics as fast as resistant bacteria and other wee beasties are mutating.

For the most part, that is not because of aquarists playing doctor. But we do need to be careful.

There are a couple other possibilities. I've got to run to a meeting now, but will suggest (perhaps incorrectly) some other explanations later.

Felix, this is one of those times when taking out what ornaments as you can and rinsing them off is good. If the wheel in the filter is covered, rinse it lightly under luke-warm water.

As always, a partial water change, with seasoned water, is good. And it is not likely to be harmful. If you have a gravel vacuum which can lightly go over that white stuff on the gravel, please do that.

If you are feeling analytical, can you look at some of that stuff through a hand lens? Maybe someone here (probably not me, to be honest) would recognize what you are describing.

One more quick question, are you using any kind of pH up or pH down? Sometimes those will cause material to precipitate material out of the water.

Thought it was Christmas in one of my aquariums, one time;)

All the best!
unc

[ Parent ]

Another reason not to just put an (none / 0) (#6)
by unclescott on Mon May 08, 2006 at 06:22:31 AM PST

antobiotic in a tank. It can crash a nitrogen cycle. There's another month and a half down the drain! ;)

All the best again!
u.s.

[ Parent ]

Re: Whoa! What "disease" are you (none / 0) (#3)
by felix on Sun May 07, 2006 at 03:50:29 PM PST

I'm not using any chemicals but ACE. (Ammonia Chloramine Eliminator)

The 'stuff' is not on net breeder or the sides of the aquarium.

It wipes right off too.

[ Parent ]

Re: Whoa! What "disease" are you (none / 0) (#5)
by miskairal on Mon May 08, 2006 at 01:14:01 AM PST

How often are you doing water changes and how are you doing them? If the water smells funny then you really need to do some water changes to protect your fish. You mention rocks on the bottom, would that be gravel? How deep is the gravel and do you gravel vac?

Sorry for all the questions but as you said, this IS mysterious and we need some pointers in the right direction.

Is the white stuff like any other substance, such as like talc, like chalk, like sponge, like slime?
--
Repeat after me,
I will read the Immediate Help
[ Parent ]

Does the "stuff" look more like a powder (none / 0) (#7)
by unclescott on Mon May 08, 2006 at 06:23:07 AM PST

or a fungus?

Saprolegnia on the fish is "nature's way" of cleaning up dead tissue. Often if the fish is given a salt bath the fungus and dead tissue will float off. That does give the living tissue underneath a better chance to heal.

It is very possible that Angelhologram has hit upon the issue in raising the question of uneaten food. Without a squad of pond snails in the tank, that does happen.

Around the aquarium, unfed fish food will often fungus. In fact, you can spot a pet shop which is in trouble (and they are not taking care of their charges) if they have a lot of fungusing food in several tanks. It can happen to everyone once in a great while though.

In fact, dead fish will also fungus - one of the ways of recycling the nutrients in nature.

Look at the Dec 15 entry on this site
http://www.hojleddet.dk/nyt.html

Here some angelfish eggs have been laid. A lot are good, about 50 were infertile and fungused.

I took some images of some killie eggs I had picked two days ago. There were good eggs and two (of three dozen) looked on the way out this morning. One showed a good example of an early case of fungus. The shots were taken, the suspect egg drawn out of the container and squirted into the out bucket.

It would be nice if I could get the card reader to read them! I'd find a way to show them!

At any rate, gravel vacuum around places on the gravel which are especially "blessed" with this stuff. A lot of us have been surprised by a detritus deposit. :)

It is still possible that something else is going on, but the food issue is one of the first to look at.

All the best!
unc

[ Parent ]

Mysterious White Fungus or Bacteria? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

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