# white cottony stuff floating in tank



## crowntaillove (Sep 3, 2012)

I have white cottony stuff in one of my tanks. I'm not sure what it is. I've tried water changes, but the stuff seems to come back the next day or two. My fish seem okay, but the stuff is nasty and I'm concerned it might be harmful to my fish in the long run. It's free floating in the tank, has formed a film on the surface and it's growing off of the heater and other decorations in the tank. I can try to get a picture if it would be more helpful.


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## Shayebri (Jul 14, 2012)

Yes, a picture would be great. What do you use in their tank?


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Did you recently cycle the tank using dead shrimp or fishfood as an ammonia source? 

I'll wait for the picture, but it may be a simple as Saprolegnia mold. Not harmful, but surely a nuisance.


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

How big is the tank? More info & a pic would help as previously stated. I had a small 1g with a heater that would get something that sounds similar to what your describing. The heat with the small volume of unfiltered water didn't go well together for me.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

white cottony stuff is usually a fungus of some kind. they can be anywhere from harmless to lethal to your fish, depending on the variety. since it's really hard to tell the difference between species, you might want to start an antifungal treatment to be safe. is any growing or attaching to your fish? if so, that's a HUGE red flag.


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## crowntaillove (Sep 3, 2012)

Sorry it took so long to get a picture. Here's the best I could do.










It's definately not attached to my fish, thankfully. I use stress coat or amquel in my tank. I add aquarium salt once every two 100% water changes. The tank does not have a filter, it's a divided 10 gallon with two adult males in it. The tank is heated to 82F. I tried adding maroxy to the tank, because I was concerned it might be fungal, but it has had no effect.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

I've had that in my tanks---rarely---especially on or near the heater. I just vacuum it out and it stays away for a long time.

You might want to consider cycling your tank. 0.0ppm ammonia and nitrite is a good thing.

Cycling is not for the convenience of the keeper, but for the health and safety of the fish.


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## crowntaillove (Sep 3, 2012)

Hallyx said:


> I've had that in my tanks---rarely---especially on or near the heater. I just vacuum it out and it stays away for a long time.
> 
> You might want to consider cycling your tank. 0.0ppm ammonia and nitrite is a good thing.
> 
> Cycling is not for the convenience of the keeper, but for the health and safety of the fish.


it's not just on the heater, there are huge amounts of the stuff everywhere. I could only get a picture of it on the heater since it's black.


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

*probably heater snot, harmless but an eyesore*


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

The only time I've had that problem was when I had an unfiltered heated 1g container. I would seriously consider getting a filter for your 10g, water circulation helps tremendously. Basically your tank is stagnent (no water movement) so things like this are more likely to happen, even with a good water change schedule. Think of a pond, it's just a body of water with no flow & there are lots of slimy things.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

+1^


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## crowntaillove (Sep 3, 2012)

I realize all that, but it's not in my other tanks. Noone has replied saying it's harmful, so I guess it isn't.


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