On one of my tanks (newt tank to be exact, 20 Long) their is a light film collecting ont he top. Almost looks like oil on the top of the water. There is plenty of surface agitation but I am not sure what is causing this. I am trying to do a 1 Gallon water change every day to see if that helps. I am doing this because I think it is caused by an excess of AmQuel+ (de-clorinator, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia remover). Any other ideas or ways to solve it?
Film on top of water.
- Thread starter jsmestad
- Start date
AmQuel is not the best solution to waste problems in your tanks. Are the tanks newly set up? Regular Water changes and/or lots of live plant growth are the 2 ways to reduce waste levels in your tanks. Both are a lot of work in terms of time and effort, and research if you go the live plant route, but it is more rewarding too.
I kept fire belly newts when I was younger, and I remember them being filthy little waste factories. Lots of water changes are probably the best bet with them.
I kept fire belly newts when I was younger, and I remember them being filthy little waste factories. Lots of water changes are probably the best bet with them.
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the film is a protien film and it is usualy caused by feeding the fish things like blood worms and slow moving water (in my experience). I have this sometimes in my 20g long if i havne't done a water change in like a week. According to avalon a molly will eat the film and it does stop some gas exchange. And in my tank i have a lot of plants but the film was still present :/ so i dont know if that is the best solution to the problem.
Yeah, when in the pet store yesterday, the (extremely knowledgable) guy working there said something like, "...mollies keep the surface of the water clean..." At the time I didn't really know what he meant by that, but now after hearing Balloon Fish quote Avalon it, it makes sense. And come to think of it, since I put a few mollies in my tanks, I've had no surface film!!!
Hmmm... MUST BE TRUE.
I hesitated getting mollies because I thought they were beneath me as a serious fish person, but now I realize the error of my thinking. Next I plan on getting a couple of guppies and a platy...
Hmmm... MUST BE TRUE.
I hesitated getting mollies because I thought they were beneath me as a serious fish person, but now I realize the error of my thinking. Next I plan on getting a couple of guppies and a platy...
ya i added 2 mollies to my 20g and haven't had any film lately either 
avalon suggested 2 females but i couldn't resist all the molly babies that i was planning on feeding my angels so i got a pair lol. The only problem is the female one is a little shy but i'm hoping she'll feel more safe in my tank but its already been a week
avalon suggested 2 females but i couldn't resist all the molly babies that i was planning on feeding my angels so i got a pair lol. The only problem is the female one is a little shy but i'm hoping she'll feel more safe in my tank but its already been a week Problem is I cant get fish in my tank since I have newts in there. The common saying when u have newts is "dont mix!" I did have guppies in the water for awhile but moved them because it can stress the newts. Also newts may nip @ the guppies and the guppies always ate at the newts food before he could get @ them. Also, I feed him frozen blood worms so that may be why I have the film?
ya the blood worms is the main reason, i would say just do the paper towel thing on top of the water for now and probably add an airstone into the tank to help out with gas exchange if the airstone won't hurt your newts, never had any so i'm not sure. You might even consider a skimmer if your really that worried about the film but i dont know if skimmers are made to reach a few inches into the tank cause of your low water level and skimmers are sorta costly i think.