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Well, I set up my tank and added some driftwood. No big deal, I weighted it down and it's almost water logged. There is a problem however...It's covered in this clearish fuzz/slime. I have no idea what it could be, but my Rams keep picking at it like its food. It's spread all over the wood now and it's one big eyesore. Any ideas what it might be?

If it matters...

Ammonia - 0
NitrIte - .5
NitrAte - 0
pH - 6.8
GH - 75 ppm

Oh and it hasn't spread to anything else, it's just on the wood. I may be able to get a picture a little later, but for now...any ideas?


Last edited by Tetra Fan at 09-Dec-2005 18:14

i had that same thing on a piece of drift wood i added. i just used a brush and cleaned it off. i only had it on two small spots. now everything looks fine.

the fishes i have in the tank, just ignored it and went on playing

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

Hi,
It's normal. It is a bacteria build up on the wood from
bacteria in the wood. You can leave it and let the fish
snack on it, or if it looks real bad take the wood out
and scrub it off with a good stiff brush and then replace
the wood back into the tank. Actually, cleaning the wood
is a better idea as the bacteria can easily get out of
hand.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Ah, thank you for the quick replies.

I think I will go ahead and scrub the wood as the bacteria does look rather unattractive &gt;.&lt;.

Glad it isn't a bad thing.


Thanks again

Actually Frank, it sounds much more likely that this is fungus, not bacteria. From the skeptical aquarist's page: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/aquascaping/wood.shtml

"Fungi on wood. Sometimes patches of whitish fuzzy Saprolegnia appear on bogwood that's recently been placed in the aquarium. Though wood in oxygenated water at neutral pH values is almost always decaying, however slowly that may be happening, you don't want to encourage visible patches of fungus. Resist any temptation to attack the fungus by adding something toxic to the water. Don't haul out the wood and boil it in saltwater either. Be patient. As the aquarium matures, fungus on wood won't normally trouble you; in fact, bacteria are much more prominent than fungi as bio-degraders in submerged environments. Stronger light will encourage a thin coating of sessile algae, which soon brings the protists that feed on algae and on the fungal spores; the algae and bacterial polysaccharides form the basis of an increasingly balanced biofilm that will appeal to grazers like Epalzeorhyncos siamensis or Otocinclus and other Lory catfish. And the result of their grazing is that, though the spores are everywhere in water, patches of fungal hyphae don't get a chance to develop. Tannins in the water reduce the bacterial and fungal load too, so it's possible that peat filtration would have some slight positive effect in controlling fungus. "

Secondly, I would for you to clarify what "get out of hand" would mean? There is lots of bacteria in your tank, and in fact lots of bacteria on just about everything everywhere. What is important would be to identify what kind of bacteria it is and if it was dangerous, but bacteria as a whole is harmless and in fact perform several useful functions.

In fact, it is generally recommended to encourage as many different kinds of bacteria to grow as possible -- also known as encouraging biodiversity. That way, if you should happen to get a dangerous strain of bacteria in your tank, it will have to compete with several other species of bacteria and may not be able to grow.