Black Mold With White Fuzz??

[lochness]

Hello Everyone,
About a month ago I introduced 4 pine dowels with rope stapled to them into my community tank (see photo). After about 1 week they started getting these little black spots, then the black spots just kept spreading. Now the entire decor is covered in this Black Mold with White Fuzz!

Does anyone know what this stuff is and is it or will it become dangerous to my community?
Here is some background information.

Using API 5 in 1 test strips my,
PH- 6.0 PPM
GH- 60 PPM
KH- 40 PPM
NO2- 0
NO3- 20 PPM
AMMONIA- .15 PPM

Tank Size- 20 High top
TEMPERATURE- 73°F

Fish in community,
3 Mollies
3 Sm. Giant Danios
3 Zebra Danios
3 Platies
6 Ghost Shrimp
4 Mystery Snails

Thank you,
Nick

 

[musserump09]

Looks like algae. Won't harm anyone. Nice tank. How long do you run your lights?

 

[lochness]

Will it go away with time?

I usully run the lights sun up to sun down to keep it more natural. But I recently read that the light might help speed up getting rid of this stuff so ive been keeping it on until I go to sleep then back on when I wake up... Thank you for the response.

 

[TexasDomer]

I would cut back on lighting - since you have no live plants, 4-6 hours is the max you'd want your light on.

You have stocking issues if you'd like to discuss them.

And I'm not sure I'd add fresh pine to a tank. Pine isn't recommended for fish tanks.

 

[Sarcasm Included]

The white fuzz would be fungus growing on the decomposing pine. I doubt that it will cause a whole lot of problems with ammonia but it will rot fairly quickly and drop the PH significantly.

 

[lochness]

Ok I will remove them. What are my stocking issues?

 

[TexasDomer]

3
3 Sm. Giant Danios
3 Zebra Danios
3 Platies
6 Ghost Shrimp
4 Mystery Snails

Mollies will outgrow the 20 gal high and should be kept in a 29 gal tank minimum. Giant danios will outgrow the tank and need to be kept in a 48" tank in groups of 6+ of their own species. Danios should be in groups of 6+ of their own species in a 30" tank.

Platies, ghost shrimp, and mystery snails are fine. If you rehome your inappropriate fish, you still have room to add a school of small fish (like 8 neons or harlequin rasbora)

 

[lochness]

Ok that's great information. I knew the Danios and mollies were gonna get a bit too big for the 20gal. I am planning on upgrading my tank in a few months.

 

[TexasDomer]

I would still rehome them now and get them again after you get a larger tank. It's not fair for them to be kept in a tank that's too small in too small of a group for months.