some sort of growth/algae?

[etspam]

Hi all-

I've noticed in my son's tank that he has some sort of growth in the gravel. It kind of looks like brown cotton candy? Pictures attached. Is this algae or something else? I can suck it up when I do cleaning/water changes, but sometimes it clumps the gravel together into a mass, which makes it too heavy and prevents it from being sucked up. I end up having to pull it out by hand.

ET

 

[dougall]

It looks like a type of harmless fungus or biofilm to me.

It's not really a problem outside of being kind of unsightly.. and can be common with new setups or setups that have something new (especially organic) added to them.

Or it can be the result of overfeeding.

I would take care toward how much you are feeding fish, especially where they eat in the water vs the type of food (like I wouldn't use sinking pellets so much for a fish that eats more toward the top of the aquarium)

Depending on the size of the aquarium and what is currently stocked in there, you might be able to add a fish or invertebrate to help keep this clean too