Review on Ultralife Blue Green Slime Stain Eliminator by Valerie Jones

I have a 10 gallon tank that I suspect was inoculated with these "green slime" bacteria when new fish were added about six months ago. For several days the water seemed unusually cloudy, and then over the next month everything was constantly covered in a light green, algae-like substance. Buck also began giving off an earthy smell of pond water. I regularly pulled the substance from the bottom of the aquarium and from the plants to prevent them from completely drowning, but I clearly had to be more aggressive to stop this substance. I read a number of reviews and opinions and this product seemed like the best combination of safe and light. The manufacturer is very vague about what it actually consists of, but it appears to be a biological extract and not a chemical or pharmaceutical compound. About three months after the supposed seeding event, I took the initial dose after manually removing the sludge. I carefully followed the instructions regarding the amount and the process of dissolving in warm water etc. I was hoping to see what some others have described where the mucus clearly died and disappeared within a few days, but after a week I only noticed slow yellowing of certain areas. The directions mention re-dosing, so I did the second round at this point. The yellowing turned light brown, but the dead biomass never disappeared. The fish and shrimp seemed indifferent, so apparently they don't taste as good as real seaweed. Finally, about a month after the first treatment, I declared the surgery complete and spent the evening wiping dead mucus from various surfaces and vacuuming up debris. . Perhaps most importantly, she hasn't returned for a few months, which some others have described as disappointment. Effects on fish and plants. Just keep in mind that die-off can be slow over several weeks and you should be prepared to remove some residue after processing. I'll also mention that the instructions say to increase aeration during processing, perhaps in anticipation that the decomposition of dead slime can reduce oxygen levels. The only aeration I usually have is a HOB filter, and I didn't really want to buy a pump and air stones just for this exercise. So I spent the first few weeks of treatment with the water level a few inches lower to create more spray from the HOB waterfall. Minimizing oxygen demand was also the motivation for careful manual mucus removal during initial dosing. I'm not sure which was more important, but I had no deaths or other stressful situations for the fish during the treatment period.