# Slime mold in an "el natural" aquarium?



## avanti (Oct 26, 2006)

I have a 75G tank I set up with potting soil substrate about 6 months ago, and for the past month or two have had a whitish filamentous growth cropping up on the plants, glass, gravel, etc. I'm told it may be a slime mold related to the soil I used. Anyone with any experience with this? It doesn't seem to bother the plants or fish, but it is unsightly. I'd appreciate any ideas about how to encourage it to go away. I posted on the "algae" forum, and was encouraged to ask some "El Natural" folks about it. I have some other pics of the tank and the growth under 'avanti" in the pictures section. Thanks.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/showimage.php?i=5171&c=15&userid=14196


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I don't know what it is but just remove it?


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## avanti (Oct 26, 2006)

It's pretty easy to vacuum out, but it keeps growing back other places in the tank- every few days there is a new "colony" somewhere else in the tank. They seem to live for a week or so if I leave it alone, then it fades away and crops up somewhere else.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

Manually get rid of as much of it as you can and then hit any residue with hydrogen peroxide 3% solution at 1ml per gallon dose with syringe(be do this when your tank is dark and turn off all filters for at least 30 minutes). My guess is that if you run a UV sterlizer it will not become a problem, so this may be a long term solution. After my Betta got fin and tail rot in a EL natural tank, I would personally not risk setting up another tank without a UV sterilizer and certainly would not ignore any kind of slime mold growth in an aquarium, natural or not. Eventhough it may not look like it is doing anything to your fish, you never know what this kind of c*ap can do to water quality over the long run if left alone. With a 75 gallon tank, you have a lot of wiggle room if water quality deteriorates, but I still wouldn' t take the risk as you could put your fish in harm's way over the long run if you ignore this stuff.


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