mold

halak · Post by **halak** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:27 pm

I have white web-like things growing on wood pieces in my newly set-up tank. I believe it is mold. I read that it is not harmful; however, I would like to get rid of them. Is there a fish/snail that eats this stuff?

Viktor

Jeff120 · Post by **Jeff120** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 11:36 pm

nerite snails will eat it.... other than that can you take it out and scrub it

Jamie G · Post by **Jamie G** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:54 am

Sounds like staghorn algae

halak · Post by **halak** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:26 pm

Here is a picture of the mold (?) I have.

Post by **krisw** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 8:05 pm

Nerites will eat that. I've also seen my brushnosed pleco eat that stuff. Does anyone know if Ottos would eat this?

halak · Post by **halak** » Wed May 03, 2006 10:37 pm

It's all gone. It was either oto cats or SAEs that ate it.

ericbullock · Post by **ericbullock** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:27 am

I have a smilier phenomenon growing in my tank (also on driftwood). I've taken it out, scrubbed it down, even boiled it for a few hours! It eventually came back, although definitely at a slower growth rate. Its even growing around some suction cups holding the heater and CO2 reactor in place.

I'm a bit alarmed as this is my first breeding tank, and I don't want my Inkas to suffer from any weird tank anomalies.

Also, the driftwood smells bad when I yank it out of the tank. I believe this never to be a good sign! But if its not an issue then I'll welcome any reassuring words from fellow GWAPA members. What is this stuff, where did it come from, and why the hell is it growing in my tank?

-eric-

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:26 am

The driftwood smelling bad is a bad sign. I'd take it out of the tank.

ericbullock · Post by **ericbullock** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:51 am

I thought so. Is there any way I can sterilize it? Its a nice big (and expensive) piece of driftwood, so I'd like to salvage it if possible.

Thanks,

-eric-

Post by **krisw** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:22 am

It seems to me that whatever it is, it's in your tank now if it's growing on the glass. I can't believe that if you boiled it for hours, that anything would still be living it there. Was the piece too big to be completely submerged while boiling? I've read of folks doing a 10% bleach/water solution, and spraying that on their wood, but I wouldn't recommend that, as you don't want any bleach ending up in the tank. If you did try this, make sure that at the least, the bleach smell is gone.

Just to clarify, the mold your experiencing is white, right? It could possibly be BGA, or something similar? If so, you could try treating the tank with Erythromycin, which is the active ingredient in Maracyn. Sean, thoughts on this?

mold

mold

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