film on top of water

[p3rf3ctsp3cim3n]

I get this foam as well but not from over feeding. I think it also has to do with certain foods u feed. I feed every 3rd day and I feed market prawns and lake smelts. The foam only appears while feeding lake smelts. When I see my Alligator Gar take chomps at it I see a residue coming out of the smelt alone. Now I feed more prawns and pellets and only feed Lake smelts once a week. After feeding lake smelts I do a huge waterchange.

I get surface foam/air bubbles when I feed my two turtles a fresh caught texas tiger shrimp. I throw one in there once every two week or so as a treat and they love it. Takes them about 15-30 mins to devour it. Turtles are a messy eaters so I get food debris they rip with their claws all over tank. Pretty much impossible to clean. But I have two silver-topped sharks in there that scavenge the bottom for food. Same with regular feeding, bust not as messy as shrimp.

Bubbles go away in about a day or so and I don't see any negative effects.

I would just scoop stuff up and not overfeed.

 

[Crazyfish88]

I get surface foam/air bubbles when I feed my two turtles a fresh caught texas tiger shrimp. I throw one in there once every two week or so as a treat and they love it. Takes them about 15-30 mins to devour it. Turtles are a messy eaters so I get food debris they rip with their claws all over tank. Pretty much impossible to clean. But I have two silver-topped sharks in there that scavenge the bottom for food. Same with regular feeding, bust not as messy as shrimp.

Bubbles go away in about a day or so and I don't see any negative effects.

I would just scoop stuff up and not overfeed.

Mine is more like a oil film compared to bubbles. After feeding smelts it makes my water smell not so great. Also my fish consumes everything and I still get the film after. I don't get it with prawns tho and it only happens with the fish in my 450g. Just look at my stock list in my 450 in my sig. No food ever gets left over.

 

[p3rf3ctsp3cim3n]

Mine is more like a oil film compared to bubbles. After feeding smelts it makes my water smell not so great. Also my fish consumes everything and I still get the film after. I don't get it with prawns tho and it only happens with the fish in my 450g. Just look at my stock list in my 450 in my sig. No food ever gets left over.

Yeah, I bet some scoop some poop as well in starvation. My dummie turtles will eat their own at times. Weird.

 

[Crazyfish88]

hehe they dont eat their own poop. Gonna let my Niger Catfishes take care of that. Just waiting for them to grow big enough to be placed with my big boys.

 

[zspidel]

You shouldn't feed Oscars feeders.

you can feed them feeder fish tho. theyre in a QT tank prior to being fed. I got my oscars for 2 things. 1. theyre comparable to owning a dog lol. 2. they eat like hogs including feeder fish. i keep water quality very high and do water changes frequently, so yes, im gonna feed feeder fish

 

[zspidel]

You are from PA like me. You probably have the film right out of your tap. It has nothing to do with food or feeding quantity. I get the film when I first fill up a new tank and it never goes away. I have a skimmer in each tank.

I recommend the AquaClear or Fluval surface skimmer; both are the same skimmer but with different adapters. The AC skimmer comes with an adapter that fits perfectly on a Rena XP canister and the Fluval has an elbow adapter that fit perfectly on my HOT Magnum canister.

thank you so much for this info. i have a rena xp4 so the AC should work perfectly right?

i use tap water to do water changes. i treat it w aqua safe and let it set over night before i dump it in the tank. there is a natural spring that comes from the top of a mountain close to my house that empties out from a drain, and ppl use that for drinking water, so i decided to use that one day. it seemed to help clear up the water more than the tap water.

oh another thing about tap water, if i fill up my jugs w warm water (i guestimate what would be appropriate for the tank) i notice theres tons of tiny little airbubbles in it. but when i fill up with ice cold water, set it on my old radiator style heaters to warm up, theres less air.

 

[Crazyfish88]

I don't think the film should be coming from your tap water. I use tap water straight out of my tap and I don't let it sit over night. I just prime my tank and use AquariaVac to refill when doing water changes and I don't get this film. Your filtration should clear up your water within a matter of minutes. If it doesn't then you need more filtration.

Also u say u have a Rena Xp4 in a 120gallon with predatory fish and power feeding? Your Xp4 ain't gonna be enough to handle the over feeding and the bioload. I advise adding another filter.

 

[odinthejd]

To clean it of you could use a airstone.

 

[fishbum]

you can feed them feeder fish tho. theyre in a QT tank prior to being fed. I got my oscars for 2 things. 1. theyre comparable to owning a dog lol. 2. they eat like hogs including feeder fish. i keep water quality very high and do water changes frequently, so yes, im gonna feed feeder fish

Have you ever heard of Hole In the Head(HITH). This is a very common disease in Oscars. It has been linked to giving them feeder fish. Quarantining them is not going to change that. You should read up on it before your O's get it.

If you want to feed them live food, crickets are much better for them.

http://www.oscarfishlover.com/hith-disease

 

[BlackShark11k]

Have you ever heard of Hole In the Head(HITH). This is a very common disease in Oscars. It has been linked to giving them feeder fish. Quarantining them is not going to change that. You should read up on it before your O's get it.

If you want to feed them live food, crickets are much better for them.

http://www.oscarfishlover.com/hith-disease

No, feeder fish is not linked to HITH the only thing it shows consistency in cause to is high nitrates.

Thats not to say feeders are good, the only ill effect comes from cyprinid feeder fish (goldfish, rosies) because they are high in thiamanise which destroys thiamine (b1) causing nutritional deficiencies if fish. Feeding them other live food, like convict or molly fry will have no ill effetc.