Pureza

I've never tried live plants in my aquarium before. Recently I bought some bulbs to put in my tank. A few of them are now sprouting, but they have this white, mold looking stuff on them. Is this normal? If it isn't normal, will it hurt my fish if I put it in the tank with the plants?

trenac

Welcome, Pureza

I not sure what you may have on the bulbs, can you take a pic? Did these bulbs come from Petco?

Pureza

I tried to take a picture, but they wouldn't come out at all. When I pull the bulb from the water, the white color disappears and leaves a slime type coat. When the bulb is in the water, it looks like a fuzzy, cottony mass. The bulbs came from Wal-Mart.

yager_ps

I had a similar experience... Don't really know the reason though. I just figured that the bulb is organic and some begins to rot. If its sprouted, I wouldn't worry about the white fuzz.

My drift wood did the same thing (I did everything wrong to prepare the wood)

trenac

It does sound like a type of mold, maybe a algae. I really not sure what to tell you, except to try to wipe it off to see if that helps.

Make sure the bulbs are submersible.

Do you have them planted or just floating?

Robert Hudson

It is mold most likely, and eventually the bulb will begin to rot. If the bulb is still firm and hard, hold the bulb under running cold water and gently scrub it with something like a nylon pad or toothbrush. Leave the bulb above the gravel and let the roots form from the bulb into the gravel, or only bury the bottom portion of the bulb in the gravel, enough to keep the plant upright. If the bulb is soft or squishey at all, it is a lost cause. If after a few weeks roots never develop from the bulb, then most likely you do not have bright enough light, even if the plant is still growing. The plant is growing from nutrients stored in the bulb, but once that is depleted if roots have not formed it can not draw nutrients.