What is this in my tank???? Heximata symptons?

[Jet_SU]

Doing my usual two day maintence and noticed this white mucus stuff in my tank.

I don't really know how to decribe it as its not like a white poo, it looks like my discus have shed skin or something. As i have seen discus with heximita and its a solid white poo colour.

None of my fish are doing white crap though, and all eating

Can someone pls suggesst wat it might be??

[DR.V]

That looks like a hex symptons to me !
But it also might be something else, like white stuff that grow on your heater sucker.

Observe 1-2 more days before start treating ??
Observe closely when feeding, see which fish is not eating ...

[fishgeek]

may easily be skin slime
water bourne mould/fungal growths
you will sometimes see them on driftwood- dont appear to be dangerous though i do not exactly know on that score

protein scum from the surface, disslodged from a still part of tank surface

bacterial colony again usualy at the surface with high O@ levels (a bit liek a bga bloom)

juust some thoughts

[axelfaz]

hi mate imo if your fish are of normal colour eating and have normal poo its not hexs as dr v said it could be the white stuff that grow on your heater sucker. if it was the slime coat coming off you would also notice your fish turning black and hiding i would moneter over a couple of days .

cameron

[Dee]

G'day Dave,

IMO that does'nt look like Hex to me, it's a little to 'whispy'. Hex when I have dealt with it is alot thicker and more mucas like and IMO the fish won't be eating normally if it's excreting white stuff. As the others have said it could be a fungal thing ? or like the stuff that grows on suction caps of new tank. If the fish are eating, showing good colour and not hiding I would'nt treat ... just moniter. If you see one of them excreting this stuff then it's another story. How old is the tank they are in ? what are the specs ? equipment used etc ?

Just keep an eye on the behaviour fish, but from the sounds of it they are doing well ... just keep an eye out and see if you can see where the "stuff " is comming from. Best of luck with them mate.

Oh .. almost forgot ... if it's a free floating fungal/mould thing, i would suggest placing a UV on the tank ... it could very well zap it ?

Cheers,

Dee :)

[Jet_SU]

Thanks for all the replies.

I suspect its proabaly baterial related, as my water seems a tad cloudy from overfeeding in recent days. Not to mention i have these small micro worms in the tank now.

Anyway, thanks for the help... all the fish are eating so i'm glad of that.

Just couldn't determine what it was from, and now makes sense as orginating from bateria.

BTW: why do discus slime coat & what could be causing them to shed?


David

[axelfaz]

hi david discus normally shed slime coat from acid burn, bacteria, and or plague.

Cameron

[Trebs]

filter wool?

[Jet_SU]

ok cool thanks Axelfaz

Trebs nah no filter wool in my tank (not the white stuff anywaY)

[fishgeek]

all fish have what is called a slime coat , not just discus
it is for a few reason and consists of both mucous and cellular debri

the slime coat contains certain immune products to protect against extenral infectious agents and hep maintain health
ith also helps in reducing friction at the fish water surface and allows the fish to slip through the water more easily

increased production of slime coat will occur with anything that irritate/inflames the fish skin
most commonl excess mucous will dull the fish's appearance and give a greyish colouration
possible cause's- water quality: chemicals,pH
- external parasitism :ich,chilodonella,costia etc etc
- tet disease and otherprotozoa
- bacteria: most commmonly columnaris

andrew

[Merrilyn]

Very comprehensive reply Andrew. Thankyou.

TaybelZ, I think we all agree it's not hex, just an excess of slime coating. Check your water parameters. If you have a white bloom in your tank, that's an indication of a bacterial bloom. Give your tank a waterchange and through gravel vac, and it should go in a few days.

Either that, or install a UV unit. :wink: