Bubbles - Yikes

[fishinAZ]

OK, the cloudiness is gone, the fish are happy, water tests good, but the bubbles at the surface of the tank are a 1/4 in thick. I tried water changes, the water tests fine, what does one do about bubbles and why are they there, what causes them?

[silentskream]

usually i'd blame that on some sort of oils in the tank, similar to that which would come from a dead fish.. just keep the water clean, make sure there isnt anything dead in there, and it SHOULD clear up soon if this is the case.

i could be wrong tho.

[Leopardess]

Sometimes overuse of water conditioners or dechlorinators can cause a foam at the surface.

What are any chemicals that you add to the tank?

[vato]

also it could be slightly possible that it is a fish doing it making a bubble nest(although I don't think this is the case it is a possiblity). Do you have any bettas/gouramis/paridise fish in your tank?

[fishinAZ]

It's a 29 gal tank with 4 tiger barbs and 1 cory cat.

I did consider the conditioners. I use stress coat to eliminate chlorine with water changes. I DID use a "tank buddies" tablet when I was first getting the tank squared away and adding fish. I was wondering if it could be that.

Other than water changes, is there any other way to get rid of the bubbles? Will it eventually bubble itself out?

Thanks!

[Deniz]

If the substrate wasn't washed properly who knows what could have been in it?

[adblair]

I've had stress coat do this before..... I tend to be overly generous with the stuff.

Just GO BY THE DIRECTIONS (don't guess - measure) and do a 25 or 30% water change and see if it doesn't go away.

Good luck!

[Cruise Control]

I read somewhere a neat trick to get rid of surface debris/oil (since someone mentioned oil up here) Just flip your filter head to the water surface - half the nozzle slightly out of the water. It should clear up after a couple of hours. I've never had this problem before but it might help.