The Planted Tank Forum banner

Bubbly Foam Surrounding Rim of Tank

2K views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  minorhero 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

I've been seeing this bubbly foam surrounding the rim of the tank for a couple of weeks now. It goes away after doing a water change but reappears after a couple of days or so. I've attached a picture of what it looks like!

Just wondering if it's harmful or a common appearance.

Thanks!
 

Attachments

See less See more
3
#3 ·
It looks exactly like the bubbly foam on my tank when my fish are just too happy. Betas, gouramis, and even (pregnant) guppies blow bubbles for entertainment and joy in my tank, and also as a sign they'd love to make babies. If you've got fish in there and some free time, I'd recommend watching them quietly for a while until you catch the bubble blower in action.
Some herbal medications can cause foamy bubbles like this too, but you didn't mention dosing anything.
 
#6 ·
Persistent bubbles need something in the water to stop them bursting. Protein in the water will do it as will an oily surface getting agitated but that does look like a bubblenest. Can't see anything other than tetras in your pictures. What do you have in there?

The male fish coats the bubble in mucus to stop it bursting and to keep them together. If you make some of the plants float or lower the water level so the plants hit the surface the nest will be smaller. At the moment the fish is trying to use the corner of the tank to keep it together but it's spreading a bit.

My betta makes them in amongst the vals leaves running across the surface and I have duckweed as well and they like that for the nest as well. In the wild the nests can be hard to see as they in amongst the vegetation.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top