What is the brown stuff in the bottom of my aquarium?

Answer by  bunkerhill (825)

It is basically waste material. It can be fish poop, algae, extra food that your fish didn't eat, dust from the air settling in the water or if you have live plants, it can be pieces of the plants. You can clean it manually by taking out all the animals and changing the water or buy a bottom feeding fish.

Answer by  Youngmom (233)

There are three possibilities. 1) Uneaten food, from over feeding fish. 2) Poop, from a broken filter. 3) Algae, which is a naturally occurring thing in tanks, but needs to be scrubbed away regularly.

Answer by  tackleshack (140)

This could be a variety of things including fish excrement, dying algae or other plant matter. Clean your tank regularly to avoid any accumulation of this brown stuff. If it is algae, try getting a Plecostamous or similar algae eating fish to help clean the tank. This could also be a fungus, but that is highly unlikely.

Answer by  smcc (43)

It could be algae. Try moving your tank to a shady location. There may also be too many nutrients in the water, try 25% water changes every couple days.

Answer by  Purple (948)

Fish poop. You need bottem fish to stir it up so it goes through the filter. You need to change the water from the bottem to get rid of it.

Answer by  bigwig (654)

There are types of algae that are brown. It could be dead plant leaves or debris or waste from your fish.

Answer by  Mathmeteachin (192)

You've got one of two choices - fish poo or algae. The former will move around if their is a current, the later would be attached to the substrate. Clean the former with a water siphon and a bucket (just flush the water down the toilet) then add water de-chlorinated water. The latter requires turning the substrate over and scraping.

Answer by  tanks (5)

The brown stuff in the bottom of an aquarium is a combination of silt,algae and most likely fish secretions. Silt is caused by small dust particles in the air landing in the water and sinking to the bottom of the fish tank.

Answer by  BrendaG (6111)

This is brown algae and can be caused by excessive nitrates and silicates, or even poor lighting. When the tank cycles it usually disappears. Keep it at bay by vacuuming tank and doing a monthly 30% water change. Increase the lighting several hours a day.

Answer by  Requin (290)

It is most likely brown algae. This can be caused by many things, but a very common cause is too much direct sunlight shining on your aquarium. Decrease the light, and scrub the algae off or get an algae eater to help control it.