Something rancid in my tank!

[shazam26]

I was feeding my fish today and noticed something very ugly looking- heaps of brown matter- sort of algae like- maving back and forth on my driftwood. It's also spattered along my plants. I don't understand where this came from- I cleaned the tank only about half a week ago, if that! What is this stuff??

[LoachOrgy]

sounds like waste derbris. or decaying food matter. do you have a gravel filter? that would help suck it up. sometimes i see this under large tank ornament when its cleaning time. it hides in the strangest spots. i usually lift tank ornament and clean underneath it if the substrate is gravel. this debris doesn't penetrate the substrate level now that i have sand though.

i think it gets stuck when you have obstacles in the water circulation of the tank. i used to have one spot in the loach tank that was horrible. i changed the orientation of my jetheads and it cleared it right up. now all the waste is pushed to one controlled corner of the tank. the aquaclear is right above that spot so most of the debris is kicked up from the loaches and the filter sucks it up. i also use a tube to clean the debris when its visible. the white sand really helps spot it. with gravel its hard to see.--hope that helps.

[sophie]

sounds like filter bacteria? weird fluffy nearly khaki stuff?

in which case, something has caused it to proliferate in your tank instead of in your filter...

[shazam26]

Thanks guys- I figured something was wrong with my filter, I'm going to give it a looking over. Perhaps I'll move it's position to ensure that it begins to grab this high waste area??

[LoachOrgy]

shazam, i rearranged my jethead and some tank ornament and now i direct all the debris and buildup into one spot for easy cleaning. it has made a big difference in cleaning time!

[chris1932]

Shazam
If it is growing on driftwood and only driftwood, its nothing to worry about. This stuff just happens as the driftwood ages. If you remove the wood and wash it off it may or may not come back. I have had this happen and I soak the wood in almost boiling water for awhile then let it air dry or stick it in the oven on low. Its a wood thing. Not a fish thing.