weird foam

Yo_Loach

Yo_Loach

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Nov 28, 2004
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www.drunkduck.com
wierd white foamy stuff tends to build up on the surface of my 5 gallon aquarium, it is not fully filled, as it contains my newt, any suggestions as sto what this is? it comes and goes on its own, I keep the tank as nice and clean as a tank needs to be. i dont know whats up :huh: Not only that, it makes the tank look unattractive, I also keep 2 black neons and 3 pgmy corys.

is it maybe that i'm overstocked? thanks for your time!
 
oils from the food, dust, protein... on still water surfaces will collect and is the cause of your surface film.

Is there an difference in water level that might make the filter cause more or less surface flow? Some foods tend to cause more film than others, maybe one of the foods you are feeding is to blaim?
 
Yes I know about the towel thing, its just that I don't want to have to be doing that everyday.

I put in a couple shrimp pellets for the cories. a pinch of flake for the neons and a pinch of bloodworms for me newt, any of those?
 
try not feeding one of the types of food for a day or two and see if the ammount of scum changes. My loaches get the same flake food the rest of the tank eats so I'm sure you could feed just flakes for a few days to try to figure out the cause.
 
you need some surface agitation. i had that same problem in my 10 gal. so i got a bubbler, and it was gone.
 
Ah. well thank you! It has some slight surface agitation, as the underwater filter ripples the surface, probably because it isnt breaking the water or film.

I'll look into getting a small bubbler. I'll try the food thing aswell.

thanks!
 
Amphibians shed their skin, increasing the amount of protiens in the water. Additionally, fire bellies do have a toxin on their skin--pretty mild, not enough to irritate skin, but present in the water. These protiens form a skum on the surface, that foams up with mild agitation. Running carbon--replacing every week or 10 days, will remove it from teh water. My frog tank is the only one that gets fresh carbon regularly, simply because the skum builds up, no matter what food she gets or how often I clean the tank (daily worked, every other day did not).
 
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