Asked on the Fish Forum by Alex on 12/16/01, 7:44 am
Q: Cotton wool?
Hi, as i said yesterday i had just put my first fish in my tank yesterday, two guppy's (both male) and two swordtails (one male, one female) well i woke up this morning and unfortunately the female swordtail was dead. Two days ago i got a log with a couple of plants attached to it from our local pet shop and put it in the tank. This morning there is what looks like a very fine cotton wool all over the log, mostly at the base of the plants. Can anyone tell me what this is and if it has anything to do with my dead fish.
Answered by ambertiger on 12/16/01, 8:37 pm
A: Cotton wool?
Hi, I do not think the white stuff on the wood contributed to the death. More like the fish was fighting and came off worse. Or you water quality is poor. What are your ammonia/nitrite levels? If you have not already bought a test kit I would go and buy one. They are essential. The 'white stuff' is probably a simple fungus. Remove the wood from the water and scrub it with a tooth brush dipped in salt. Rinse off and replace. good luck.
Answered by Jimthefish on 12/17/01, 1:06 pm
A: Cotton wool?
As your tank is fairly new the filter rather than the fungus on wood is more likely to be your problem. New filters need time to mature so that they can reduce ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate. There are test kits available for all these. If the filter has not matured then the fish may be affected by ammonia or nitrite poisoning. You can speed up the maturation of your filter using 'Cycle', a culture of filter bacteria. For more information on new tanks follow the link to my web site from my profile here.
The fungus on the wood isn't a good sign for the shop where you bought it. It isn't dangerous, just scrub it off with salty water. The reason I question the store is that most reputable places sell mature plants on wood. Only new, uncleaned wood will produce fungus.
