Question: Strange gross slime

[havocsdesign]

I keep getting this strange, thick, stringy slime on the surface of the glass inside my tank and the only thing that has changed is that I recently bought an air stone. Does anyone know what this stuff might be and how to get rid of it, it's really gunking up my filter. Also, I seem to be having a bit of a problem with red algae, or what appears to be red algae at least. I dont know if these two things are related but I'd like to try to get them both corrected ASAP. I'd really appreciate any input anyone might have on either matter.

 

[LSuzuki]

Is this a new tank? I've seen this kind of slime when a tank is still settling in after cycling.

 

[havocsdesign]

The tank has been set up for months, but we did just recently move and we had to drain the majority of the water, I guess it crashed the cycle.

Any tips on how to fix the problem? this stuff is a pain to clean.

 

[CatSpit]

See if this information fits what you're seeing in your tank. Re: the "quick fix" - I don't know if Erythromycin treatment is harmful to axolotls, so you would need to get other input about this before trying it or the ideal would be to keep them in another tank while you treat the affected tank if you can. The other suggestions in the article are good to know...

Aquarium Slime: What is it and what to do about it?

 

[auntiejude]

Erythromycin would kill all the good bacteria in the filter, and unless the axie is ill with a confirmed bacterial infection should not be used.

'Slime' can be anything - bacteria, algae, aloe residue. Are you using a dechlorinator with aloe? Deposits of various things can be related to water quality - green algae generally thrives in high nitrate environment, red and brown algae thrive on high phosphates. Bacteria thrives on waste. The best solution is more frequent or bigger water changes.

 

[havocsdesign]

My dechlorinator doesn't have aloe in it. I'll try doing bigger water changes, replacing my filter and adding more charcoal to it and see if that helps.

 

[auntiejude]

DON'T change your filter - you'll kill your cycle!
If you need to clean your filter use tank water in a bucket and give the filter media good rinse and squeeze. You can scrub the housing in hot tap water, but you must preserve the good bacteria in the filter media.