Question: Hairy white stuff on the wall of my tank, should I be worried?

GazerOfStars

GazerOfStars

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This is my 2nd week owning the tank, and my 3rd day of having my Axolotls in it(Before that I had some Rosy Minnows for tester fish.)

I replaced the filter pad last night and today I just noticed that there was a white hairy substance lining the wall that the filtered water is pushed up against.

Is this an Algae bloom, is it fungus? What should I do? :(
 
If I understand you correctly, the tank has been set up for 14 days? If so have you been testing the water to follow the water quality? Have you done any water changes to remove uneaten food or other waste materials?
How much light does the tank get?

Have you read Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling ?

Ed
 
Absolutely. I test my water nearly every other day. I've done a few 30 percent water changes, usually twice a week.

The room they're kept in is generally pretty dark most of the time. The temp ranges from 68-72 degrees F, but most of the time it's a solid 70. Yep, I've been using a Turkey baster to remove uneaten blood worms and their waste, although I will admit there was a time or two where I missed a few stray worms, not an excessive amount though.

It's a little odd, the line of "White hairy stuff" near the top of the tank ends where I originally had the water level at when I introduced my Axolotls 3 days ago. I raised the water later that day(the level it was usually at with the minnows) to muffle the large splash the filter was making(Didn't want to stress my little guys out.)

Think that some of the water from the bags they came in carried some bacteria?
 
I tried to take a picture of it. Look at the white streaks along the glass. Imagine that it moves with the current of the filter. If it would help a diagnosis I could try to take a video
 

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As I'm growing increasingly worried and I haven't found any leads, here is a video of my tank.

It might be hard to see but I've just noticed some tiny tiny bulbs among these white strands. Rosy Minnow eggs? Spores? I haven't a clue :S

P.s. I have a moss ball and an Anubis plant in my tank.
Axolotl Tank. Weird white hair-like substance on walls? - YouTube

Sorry about the way it's cropped. I forgot to film it horizontally. Stupid Iphone.

A reply asap is appreciated!
 
this could be TOTALLY wrong, but it looks similar to hair moss, or streaky algae, but it is white? Have you tried removing it whith anything? What does it feel like? if it is slimy and breakable its probably not moss or algae, and more likley a bacterial bloom or fungus.

I have had a bacterial bloom in a tak before, and it was white and whispy looking in strands like that, but the whole water was cloudy white too, and it was not just on the glass. If it were a bloom it would most likley be through the whole tank.

you could always just try washing it all off and hopefully it doesn't come back?
 
I took my finger to it earlier today and it was slimy and very easy to remove. It seems like it's slowly spreading to the other walls of my tank - but only the walls so far. The Ornaments and plants are normal.

I wanted to wait for an answer from here before attempting to remove it. This is my first tank of any kind and I wasn't sure If this was beneficial..harmful..etc. On one hand I would be happy if my tank was legitly cycled and was supporting algae or whatnot, but on the other hand I really don't want anything to harm my axies.

And yep it is definitely white (so far.) I just don't know what measure to take. If it's something super harmful I would like to know if I should be taking any drastic measure with my axies, or If wiping it clean will do the trick. I'm sort of just in the wait-and-see party until I can get some solid advice.
 
if it was harmfull i'm sure you would have had an issue with your axolotls by now. Bacteria would have made them sick and fungus would have probably given them fungus considering how much there is. Because you do not know what it is i would remove it anyway. Maybe bring it it a pet store or vet clinic for analysis? it would be interesting to find out what it was.
 
Yeah, my Axies aren't noticeably different at all. They're eating just fine etc.

*Yawn* I still haven't slept yet, as crazy as it sounds I've been stressing about this X) When I wake up I'll try to go to a pet store or call a vet, and probably get something to scrub the walls of my tank with.

Until then, please keep the posts coming. I always tend to get great advice from you guys :)
 
Ok...your tank is not filtered and you set your self even further back by replacing your filter media.

There was no point in the rosies as "test" fish - -

You have an uncycled filter which is doing little more than just moving water around your rank. Google the Nitrogen Cycle.

You should be doing daily water changes as there is no bacteria colony in your filter yet to process the ammonia. Ammonia is in your axolotls waste and uneaten food. A turkey baster will remove the solids, but cannot displace what is absorbed in your water.

New tanks get film on the walls - it is completely harmless. Just wipe it away.
 
I was only trying to follow the filter's directions. Replace the filter pad every 2-4 weeks. It had been two weeks and I had just gotten my axolotls, I figure they deserved a new one.

It is my understanding that people use Rosies as tester fish all the time. I've never had a fish tank before, I didn't know if my water was suitable to house aquatic life.

Out of the 4 days I've had these guys, I've done about 3 water changes. I remove all my waste and uneaten blood worms pretty quickly after they're done eating.

See, this is why I'm so baffled. I've been doing everything right, and yet I have this crazy thing growing in my tank.

The tank is two weeks old, why would a film appear on the 3rd day that I get my axolotls?
 
GazerOfStars said:
I was only trying to follow the filter's directions. Replace the filter pad every 2-4 weeks. It had been two weeks and I had just gotten my axolotls, I figure they deserved a new one. This is to make you spend money. It takes about 8 weeks to build the bacteria you need for a healthy aquarium. You should actually replace the filter media MAYBE once every 12-18 months...and you do this in stages so you do not destroy your bacteria

It is my understanding that people use Rosies as tester fish all the time. I've never had a fish tank before, I didn't know if my water was suitable to house aquatic life. Another gimick - you start the process of "Fish-in cycling". Harmful to the fish as they are exposed to an unhealthy tank, can introduce disease, and is unpleasant to the fish.

Out of the 4 days I've had these guys, I've done about 3 water changes. I remove all my waste and uneaten blood worms pretty quickly after they're done eating. This is perfect.

See, this is why I'm so baffled. I've been doing everything right, and yet I have this crazy thing growing in my tank. This fish store and supplies is to make you spend more than you can. Also, don't buy any "miracle cures" the store tries to force on you - pH adjustment, ammonia lock etc are gimmicks

The tank is two weeks old, why would a film appear on the 3rd day that I get my axolotls? You also had fish in your tank which began the ammonia presence...it is completely harmless.
Click to expand...


A lot of the stuff you hear in pet stores is really, REALLY bad information sadly. Most of the employees have little to no fish/aquarium experience and are taught to recite things which make the customer interested and spend money on the spot.
 
Well, I am grateful to hear that this gunk is probably harmless.

Before I had even gotten my tank my roommate bought a beta fish and it was dead by the next morning. This worried me a great deal. Call it unhumane but I needed to be sure that my water was hospitable (yes, i do water tests - but I didn't want to take the chance with a pet as special as an Axolotl.) But, you'll be happy to hear that all the rosies are still alive and in another tank atm( I didn't want them nipping on my axie's gills lol )

Also, most of my information has came from this forum. Really, the only information I took from the petstore was the branding from the filter I bought. But, I'm happy to find out I don't need to replace my filter so often X)

I guess my biggest concern was that since this film only went up to the level my water was at when I first popped my Axies in, was that my supplier's tank had some crazy organism that hitchhiked into mine.
 
For some of the members, axolotl tanks could be their first "aquariums". I have been mainly a fish keeper who then went into aquatic amphibians. The cycle of a tank has become second nature to me :rolleyes:

A lot of new tanks can get a film or algae bloom.
 
I've had this a couple of times before in a tank that I just started. I guess it's some kind of algae. Suddenly it was gone (and also with a little help of my algae magnet called Mr. Awesome :D)
 
GazerOfStars said:
Absolutely. I test my water nearly every other day. I've done a few 30 percent water changes, usually twice a week.

The room they're kept in is generally pretty dark most of the time. The temp ranges from 68-72 degrees F, but most of the time it's a solid 70. Yep, I've been using a Turkey baster to remove uneaten blood worms and their waste, although I will admit there was a time or two where I missed a few stray worms, not an excessive amount though.

It's a little odd, the line of "White hairy stuff" near the top of the tank ends where I originally had the water level at when I introduced my Axolotls 3 days ago. I raised the water later that day(the level it was usually at with the minnows) to muffle the large splash the filter was making(Didn't want to stress my little guys out.)

Think that some of the water from the bags they came in carried some bacteria?
Click to expand...

The growth on the glass is probably bacterial in nature. Filimentous growth is known to occur in waters with a decent bioload. This bacteria is feeding on the excess organics in the water.

When you feed the bloodworms are you draining the liquid from them before placing them into the tank? The liquid that comes from thawing bloodworms can play havoc with the bioload.

When you test the water, what are you testing for and what are the levels?


Ed
 
Two feedings total i just cut the cube in half and dropped it into the tank, I've since learned that your suppose to rinse it off (I have a strainer just for this purpose.)

Alright well as I write this post I do know at least one thing is amiss. My current levels are:

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0-.5
Ph: 7.8(I'm not always sure about this, I couldn't find any high range drop tests. And I always have trouble distinguishing color in the Jungle test strips that I have for this.) But when I brought a sample into petsmart they said it looked fine.

Before I relied on a continuous tester for ammonia, which I've found out is complete bogus. Just came home with an API ammonia drop test kit. It registered at 2.0 (Yeah yeah, I know O.O)

What percent water change should I do with Ammonia at such levels?

P.s. I bought a magnet scrubber an got rid of that nasty hairy stuff. It's probably floating around in there now. So water change, here i come!
 
Well that ammonia and nitrite level gives a good indication that there is a lot of organics in the water (particularly since you just wiped out a lot of the bacteria).
Your not going to be able to eliminate the ammonia (since if you remove all of it, your going to stop the bacteria from growing to convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.
Since you scrubbed off all that bacteria, you have also reduced the number of bacteria available to feed on those organics. Protect the bioslime on the inside of the tank.
Right off the bat, you need to decrease the feedings. This will reduce the organic load allowing the bacteria to help catch up to the bioload on the system. There are a couple of other suggestions...
first off ditch the dip sticks as they are at best horribly inaccurate...
second reduce feedings
third increase water changes, if you can dechlorinate it, let it outgass (allow excess dissolved gases to come out of solution) and come to room temperature you can do 10-15% water changes daily to help deal with the ammonia and nitrite without stopping the cycle from occuring...
fourth if you add some aquarium salt to the water, you can prevent nitrite poisioning (see abstract here Protective Effect of Chloride on Nitrite Toxicity to Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) - Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada).

Ammonia toxicity can be reduced by increasing the aeration of the tank and lowering the pH to below 7. The increased aeration enhances the bacterial metabolism and can offgas some of the ammonia while the pH below 7 begins to convert ammonia to ammonium which is not toxic to aquatic vertebrates in the levels you should see in the tank.

Ed
 
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