fishish Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 I noticed theres a bit of an accumulation of a clear ish slime in some parts of my tank, on the suction cups of the heater and parts of the filter, possibly a little on the drift wood. I rubbed it off the heater a couple of days ago and floated off in lumps of sorts so I scooped it out, its back again today. Is that normal? Anyone know what it is? I was expecting green algae not clear slime is all.... p.s not sure of best location for this topic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delyall Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Do you have those lil' snails in your tank? Does the slime have lil' white dots in them? Like this - They be snail eggs. Evil little things, though harmless :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 No snails no, not that I'm aware of but no thats not the slime. Here you go, you can see it on the suction cups: and this is what happens if i give it a rub with my finger: bits of it floating round... its kinda difficult to scoop it out as it floats all over the place like a feather in the wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delyall Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) Oh I see, I get that in one of my tanks too, though Im not sure what it is or what causes it Hopefully someone else will come by and help A mystery snail will help clean it up I have none of it in my tanks with mystery snails :) Edited October 1, 2010 by delyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 I have exactly the same problem! Oh, and the same heater too! Really annoying ... and a bit gross. I freaked out a bit when I first felt it while cleaning... I didn't see it, thought I did something wrong with my tank! OH NO ARE MY BETTAS OK? I hope we find out what it is... have heard it is some sort of algae growth? I don't think algae has to be green. Not sure. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Me thinks I'm being overly paranoid again lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 No, no you are NOT being overly paranoid. I was going to try and find out what it is.... you beat me to this topic. I have resorted to using only one suction cup, and trying to keep the black top bit of the heater out of the water completely. I only get this on my heater, not the filter (sponge). Maybe it is because it likes the heat? I've seen one of my Bettas actually eat it! Actually, I'm trying to breed Bettas in this tank, would it hurt the fry? Make them stronger maybe? Or won't even do anything, just sit there staring me in the face? Oh, I think I'm overly paranoid with this, not you. :embarrass: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 lol well if he ate it and was fine I reckon thats pretty good evidence that it isn't harmful if the fact that everyone seems to have it in their tanks isn't evidence enough :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Yeah, but it still is a bit gross. He eats it A LOT! :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 (edited) Yeah, ditto guys.....same brand of heater, same schlekky gunge . I agree, it does get a "gross award" and it would be much more acceptable in a nice shade of green Doesn't seem to worry the fish so I guess it isn't too toxic. Within a week or so of using that heater the blob was a centimeter thick and flowed down to the floor of the tank. After removing it a few times with a vacuum over the course of a few months the blob's growth is markedly slower and restricted to the suction cups only. It is not growing anywhere else in any of my other tanks which all use jager heaters. Jager must use a different rubber to Aqua 1. The blob would be a specific form of algae which feeds on proteins contained in, (or on the surface of), the rubber suction cups on this brand of heater when placed in an ideal chemical free environ. Don't be scared until you see it crawling out of the tank........ -Brad. Edited October 2, 2010 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Must be Aqua 1. Nothing wrong with the brand... but I'll rather go without the gunk. My dad has a 4ft tank that has been going 15 or 16 years, without ANYTHING like this. Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Lolllll! Well ain't that interesting! The brand to blame. They did tell me its not the best quality heater, I suppose that was a euphamism for "it grows slime"? @ Brad, I thought I saw it pulling faces at me the other day so maybe it wans't an illusion after all? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delyall Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hahaa! I just checked what brand my slime making heater is, and its the same I have a different brand heater in my other tanks, and no slime So weird But it seem harmless, just gross :giggle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Not to get all technical or anything but if its not green then its not algae I don't think??? because algae is photosynthetic, no green means no chlorphill (green pigment that traps light energy for photosynthesis) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhong89 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 I use an aqua one heater, but no slime *touch wood*. Photosynthesis is not the green pigment that traps light. It's the chlorophyll that converts all other light waves lengths (colours) except green into chemical energy for the plant. That's why if you shine a green light as the only source of light. a plant it's not light to grow coz it can't convert the green wavelength into energy. Sorry can't tell you what it is sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 (edited) Good point Joan, colour is always the prodect of the reflected wavelength. Still though, no chlorophyll = no photosenthesis right? Edited October 2, 2010 by fishish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Think i got it, a biofilm. "Biofilms are ubiquitous. Nearly every species of microorganism, not only bacteria and archaea, have mechanisms by which they can adhere to surfaces and to each other. Biofilms will form on virtually every non-shedding surface in a non-sterile aqueous environment." "These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymericso a product produced by micro organisms." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofilm so its a goo microorganisms produce to bind to each other and a substrate. Looks like its common in spas if they're not sanitised properly. Found some references to it being in aquariums with low water agitation, ie no air pump, bingo! I think?? When i do water changes the turbulance breaks it off. How boring am I on a saturday night? :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hi Joan, seems you got ripped off with your heater :alright: . I'd Take it back and ask for a slimey one..... -Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 All my new aqua one heaters produced this muck ... ages ago someone posted on it and said it is harmless. The bristlenose in my tanks love to eat it and after the heater is several months old it stops producing slime Bec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Well now I have a goal with my heater! Thanks Bec. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasV Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) I'm trying to teach the kids in my marine science class about conducting experiments properly, from the research phase through the design phase to data collection and reporting. One group is interested in tropical fish so I've set them a task to determine whether temperature is a spawning trigger (which I know it is but it's nice and simple for the kids to conceptualise). We have two 20 litre tanks with a 50W AquaOne heater (one new and one not-so-new... the new one filmed over), in each set on a base level of 20 degrees (which sits around 21 degrees in reality... they will increase the temp in one tank by 2 degrees a week till it gets to 28 degrees once the fish have settled in)). In one tank this white film formed on the suction cups and I had a mysterious death in the tank with this white film appearing around the gills of the male CT. Having a lab at my disposal I scrapped some of this white film off the fish and off the heater today and examined it under a microscope (@ x 400 magnification). What I saw blew the kids away. There was a seething mass of single celled animals swarming all over the slide. We could only see them under high power (x400) and they looked to be shaped almost like a peanut. I'm picking it as some kind of protozoan and if it grows back after we cleaned it today and did a 100% water change then I'm going to see if I can look at it under x1000 with my oil immersion lense and get a better look. So, it's not an algae but is very definately an animal of some kind. I don't know if it's pathogenic and its pressence on the heater and on the gills of the dead fish could be coincidental. The female in the partition next to the dead male appears unaffected but seemed very grateful of the new water. The water in the tank was only a week old in the first place. Nitrates, nitrites, pH, GH and KH tested fine. Didn't test ammonia (I normally never do water tests cos I've been doing it so long... just one of those things you get a feel for). So keep and eye on it. I don't know whether it is friend or foe yet. Edited October 5, 2010 by TasV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 Very interesting TasV! Oh, I wish you were my teacher when I was at school! So it nots algae... hmmm. Well my dad got me two suckers (a sucking catfish, and a bristlenose) and they are in my tank to clean it up. It is all gone now... I wonder if it is a good thing to have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbowfish Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Has anyone tried using suction cups from a different brand? I have the same thing on my aquaone and I have an Eheim in another tank, I have used eheim suction cups on another new aquaone to see if they grow the film. So experiment is this... aquaone heater with eheim suction cups and a Eheim heater with aquaone suction cups. See what happens... this slime also loves the roots of philodrendrons... the setup I have this in now (slime) is a 45L plastic tank been running 4 weeks, gravel, terractotta pot, plants, driftwood, silk plant, a quartz crystal and a couple of rocks, 1 female betta and a 350L an hour power filter with sponge and activated carbon, it dosn't produce much turbulance it has a long outlet pipe. no airstone. Tank temp is about 26.5c PH last check about 6.5, amonia zero thats all I checked. Fish is healthy, plants roots are growing like triffids. Lighting is a 4 foot 2 28w T5 fluros one white one blue 10000K spectrum. The other tank with the eheim heater is a big black bin with a lid some gravel and a sponge filter, used for pre heating water for water changes. It is heated to 30c because I have to cart it around and it looses a few degrees before I add it to the tank. It has no light at all because it is a bin with a big black lid. I have the aquaone heater with the eheim cups (third heater) in a 25L boys barracks it has gravel, 3 males some java fern and gotu kola growing on the surface. It has a sponge power filter on low, no water disturbance that is noticeable. Ph etc same as other. It has less light than the female tank. So will see what grows on what and where... I have another 2 heaters comming this week, picking up some more bettas and setting up more barracks, also have a winter tank with 2 baby koi indoors that is heated as an experiment to see if the warm water will grow them faster. It has an aquaone heater, temp is about 25c ph etc same as other tanks... has an air driven sponge filter no gravel a few plants, 2 baby koi, it gets a bit of light from the fluro but not as much. Will see if it grows any slime but the koi may eat it. I am really interested now in what this is and why it grows on aquaone rubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappy Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Okies, So I've been searching the forums for somehting like this- so I dont make another post and have people repeat everything they've already said.. The pictures in this thread are no longer working but it sounds like something I have growing on my driftwood? Is this it? Has anyone figured out what it is and what has caused it? And how do we get rid of it? Cheers guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieBell Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 I've had that on driftwood before. I remember looking it up and read that it's nothing to worry about. I just kept sucking it up in the siphon until it was gone. Apparently it happens often when you resubmerge driftwood that has been in water before, then dried out. That's exactly how it happened for me. I hate the slime on the suction cups. I want someone to work out what it is!! Had it for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts