Question: White film gathering at sides of tank- is it harmful?

[PixelStix]

I've had my Lotl for about a week now, and after doing a small water change I noticed a white, soft, silky film has covered all the sides of the tank and the bottom. I looked in the filter, and it was covering the cartridge as well. I switched out the cartridge for a nice clean one and continued with my water change, with the silky film coming off anythong it was attached to at the slightest touch and floating around the tank. This film wasn't there when I first got him, and wasn't present when I was cycling my tank before I put him in either. Could thjs be harmful to my Axie? Or should I just leave it?

 

[rumsey232]

I had this as well, I believe it was the break down of proteins, ie rotting leaves, food, or in my case a by product of daily dosing seachem prime when my cycled tank hit a bump in the road.

It's not harmful to the axolotls. A temporary solution is to use a thick piece of kitchen paper/roll/towel and just rest it on the surface for a second. A more permenant solution would be to add a small air stone to your set up, or even a spray bar to your filter close to the surface. This will address the root cause of this issue which is: not enough surface agitation. Although these solutions won't remove the proteins, only weekly water changes do this, it will prevent the build up that results in the skin you are experiencing. I hope this helps.

 

[PixelStix]

Thanks so much! This really helped!