new tank

[schwab]

Around Xmas we setup a new freshwater tank. Last night I saw something that looks like a spiders web going between silk plants that are in it. Does anybody know what this might be?

[OrionGirl]

Moving this over to GFW. OG

What all is in the tank?

[schwab]

I'm hoping that you mean fish. We have a couple of neons, a couple of bleeding hearts, 4 guppies, a shark, a frog...I think that's it.

[OrionGirl]

Have you reached in and touched them?

It's unlikely they are spider webs. There are a few possibilities, from fine hair algae, to human hair (it happens--I have long blond hair, and it looks web-ish in the tanks), to the silk plants fraying. I'd probably just use a net or wooden spoon to gather them up and remove them.

[schwab]

Thanks OrionGirl. I'll check it!

[JSchmidt]

If it's whitish and cob-webby looking, and kind of sticky to the touch, I wouldn't worry about it. I think it's either some kind of algae or fungus, but most of my tanks had it early on. It has always gone away on its own accord, usually after several weeks.

You can remove it manually, but in my tanks it always came back quickly.

Jim