2006-12-10 12:58:22 · 5 answers · asked by army52c 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
There should not be any oily substance in your fish tank.
Is it a film on top of the water? Or is it a layer on top of the gravel?
Is your tank open on top? It may be a fine layer of dust from the air.
Do you clean your tank frequently? If your tank have a filter, you should be cleaning once week, 30% of the water. If you have a fish bowl, you need to replace 50% of the water EVERY day (a clean turkey baster is a good tool!)
Be sure not to overfeed. Feed only once or twice a day, only what the fish can eat in a minute or two.
Make sure that anything that goes into the tank is CLEAN and has no residue. Lotion and soap WILL leave residue which may cause an oily film.
2006-12-10 13:03:36 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The oily substance in a fish tank is usually algae, or fish waste, which gives nutrients for algae to bloom. A way to get rid of the algae is to clean the tank every week to every month, depending on the size of the tank (larger tanks with the same number of fish need to be cleaned less). Also, snails are another way to keep you tank clean of algae, they love to eat them. Over feeding can lead to oily substances also. Cleaning your filter, if you have one, is another way to prevent that oily substance in a fish tank. If you do not have a filter, it would probably be a good idea to get one. Putting pebbles on the bottom of the tank is yet another way to trap some of the fish waste and keep the tank clean.
If the oily substance is on top of the water then that could be a sign of a nonpolar substance in your water, like actual oil, and it should not be there, I would just clean the top film off if that is the case.
Hope this helps, and good luck:)
2006-12-10 21:00:07 · answer #2 · answered by Z-Page 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you could be overfeeding or feeding a very fatty food (oily food) it is probably the oily bases of the food you give it and it stays at the surface, since fish dont really digest all the fat in the food.
if you have a big tank try getting a protein skimmer it should remove it or if it is in a small tank, maybe try feeding a different type of food or clean the tank more.
2006-12-10 22:01:34 · answer #3 · answered by azn.balla 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you mean that white filmy substance on top on a fish bowl that's not airated, the term is scum...
if you have a microscope, look at it.. The scum is a collection of protozoans feeding on bacteria... The bacteria come from waste.
2006-12-11 00:10:08 · answer #4 · answered by professorminh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if it looks oily it could be the left over food. What are you feeding them? also remember do not over feed
2006-12-10 21:23:34 · answer #5 · answered by C live 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋