Uhm anyone got any ideas?

[crnbndr]

Anyone have any thoughts on a white "fungi" thats started to engulf my substrate and rock in my tank. I had gone on vacation and thought the person that was taking care of it was capable. I guessed wrong. I've lost three fish, and the fourth is sicker then sick. Its spreads pretty fast and I cant seem to get rid of it. I've been doing 10 % partials and water tests. My amonia is a little high (.25) as is the Nitrate (.5), but this cotton looking stuff seems uneffected, with the partials. We were only gone 5 days, but a quarter of the tank/rock was all splochy with this junk.... I am guessing that this is the reason the fish died, as was something in the water, but now I'm not so sure... Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by crnbndr
http:///forum/post/3280012
Anyone have any thoughts on a white "fungi" thats started to engulf my substrate and rock in my tank. I had gone on vacation and thought the person that was taking care of it was capable. I guessed wrong. I've lost three fish, and the fourth is sicker then sick. Its spreads pretty fast and I cant seem to get rid of it. I've been doing 10 % partials and water tests. My amonia is a little high (.25) as is the Nitrate (.5), but this cotton looking stuff seems uneffected, with the partials. We were only gone 5 days, but a quarter of the tank/rock was all splochy with this junk.... I am guessing that this is the reason the fish died, as was something in the water, but now I'm not so sure... Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Have you checked your phosphates? I checked around and there is an algae that looks like cotton..try, a product called phosphate X to remove all phosphates. Then do your water changes

 

[cranberry]

Can you have a picture of the stuff?

 

[crnbndr]

No, I never checked the Phosphate levels. How would I go about doing this, as a test for this was not included in the kit. Also, the wife has been using a turkey baster (check the spelling on that) and been trying to either suck it up, of blow it around in hopes that it would get pulled into the filter. Is this the same (algae) that is caused by overfeeding? Sorry, I dont have a camera, and my cellphone makes everything look bright white.....

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by crnbndr
http:///forum/post/3280187
No, I never checked the Phosphate levels. How would I go about doing this, as a test for this was not included in the kit. Also, the wife has been using a turkey baster (check the spelling on that) and been trying to either suck it up, of blow it around in hopes that it would get pulled into the filter. Is this the same (algae) that is caused by overfeeding? Sorry, I dont have a camera, and my cellphone makes everything look bright white.....

Didn’t you post a picture on another thread? I would have sworn I saw it. There is a test for phosphates and phosphates feed algae...
I got this off the internet, it matches what meowzer said on the other post I read....But it is about a freshwater tank…rotting food looks the same regardless. Since you were not the one feeding your fish because you were on vacation…overfeeding could be the cause…or…a kid put something in the tank to “feed” the fish, my grandson once thought my tank needed some hot dog on a bun. I was right there to remove it, but if I were on vacation when he did it, it's hard to tell what would happen.
You didn't mention what color it is but if it's white fuzzy cotton balls, it isn't algae. White or off-white cotton ball looking stuff is from rotting excess waste and food. It's from overfeeding. We all do it from time to time. We just have to mend our ways and clean up after ourselves once we realize it and go on from there. Rotting food gets infected with fungus and bacteria (looks like white cotton stuff) and is dangerous to your fish. Cut back on how much food goes in. Make sure there are no leftovers 5 minutes after you feed the fish. Feed once per day. If you see food on the decorations, on the rocks or if a lot is getting sucked up in the filter, feed less next time. Keep cutting back until they finish every bit of food in 5 minutes or less. Letting food sit in there for "later" is not good. Fish food rots too quickly. Clean your tank more often too, but only replace 25% of the water. All tanks really need weekly water changes and gravel vacuuming. Once a week every week. Changing more than 25% can really stress the fish. You will notice that with weekly changes your babies will grow faster and have better appetites too

 

[crnbndr]

Thanks! Alot of what you said makes alot of sense, and matches up with what I learned. I did end up finding out that they were feeding the fish twice per day, two brine cubes in the morning along with flakes, and then just the brine at night! There is also an anomonea in the tank, and if the lost a piece of the fish, they would just go get a new one... Its so hard to find good help these days! We lost four fish, and some of the substrate, as we were removing whatever the "fungi" was attached too (minus the rock). I havent done any more partials since the last one, after we removed the last of the crud... Things seem to be looking better, but at a heavy cost.... Thanks again!

 

[crnbndr]

Oh, and yes it looked like white cotton.... I just wasnt aware that it was toxic to the fish....

 

[jstdv8]

First thing I tell people who watch my tank. "You only get to feed once a day and here is the cube, chop it up and put it in there, and walk away" LOL
If you are keeping corals its allways a good idea to have a phosphate kit as well.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by crnbndr
http:///forum/post/3280862
Oh, and yes it looked like white cotton.... I just wasnt aware that it was toxic to the fish....

Glad it is under control and sorry to hear of the loss...Always explain feeding and the dangers of overfeeding to a helper, so they won't do you any "favors" because they looked still hungry or try to feed your fish enough for more than one day so they won't have to come back so soon.
Also leave a number so they can call if they are unsure about anything, and you can always call and check up on how things are going and exactly what they have done so far.