Froth on the surface

Hi all,
I currently have a problem with froth on the surface of the water. When I switch off the air-stone it subsides a bit, but I want to know what's causing it.
Is it overfeeding, too much protein left in the tank?
The levels are all good, nitrates and nitrites = 0, pH around 6.9.

There also seem to be some black worm-like parasites in my tank which I also want to get rid of, not sure if this is related to the froth issue.
Thanks very much.
Hugh

 

Hi I think you'll get the best answer after completing the disease questionnaire- without the other information, other users will just speculate.

 

Hi HH

The above readings seem inaccurate, an indication of poor quality indicators

Are you dropping your ph, or is there a lot of wood in the tank?
What additives do you add to the tank ?

 

hm how can the nitrates be 0? or did you do a water change?

 

Hi give us an idea of tank size, what fish you have, filtration, how often you do water change etc.

 

Hi and thanks all,
This was after a water change, the nitrates are higher now but still acceptable, less than 10 - 20ppm. The KH seems very high but in JHB the tap water is hard. I do add Prime and Stabiliser to new water before each change. But it is still high.
My pH has always been low, I try to increase it at water changes with a small amount of pH Up, and have put shells in the tank. There is no wood but plenty of plants.
On the plants, I keep them anchored with lead sinkers otherwise they get pulled out of the gravel. Is there any risk of lead poisoning in the tank?
The froth seems to have subsided as I have been feeding less. So I think it might have been uneaten food producing excess protein in the tank.

Still don't know what to do about the parasitic worms, Metronidazole?
Cheers,
Hugh

 

They may not be parasitic. You do sometimes get worms that are harmless. They will be more of a problem if you overfeed or if your filtration is insufficient. Are they on the substrate or on the fish?

 

Completing the disease questionnaire will aid in the most appropriate diagnosis and eventually treatment. For starters sounds like there are two problems, namely the "froth" on the surface and the parasites. see: http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?6393-Identifying-Disease-Questionnaire

 

Funnily enough, there are two kinds of worms. There are larger black ones (1cm long), and now a million tiny white ones on the glass (3mm long). I've googled the latter. Seems they're from overfeeding and are harmless. Must check that my 3 year old son is not "helping" with the feeding when I'm not around.

But the black ones I think are parasitic, because three fish have died for no good reason and the water quality is good. I will complete the disease questionnaire when I get a moment as suggested by MZ89.

But first to vacuum the gravel......

 

OK. Lets have a go.

The longer black worms are, or should be, planaria. A harmless little worm that is brought about by overfeeding. Halve your feeding. A happy fish is a hungry fish...
You said your fish are dying for no good reason. Nitrates are the end product of ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate is not poisonous in small amounts, whereas the opposite can be said for ammonia and nitrite.

Do yourself a favor and get an ammonia (NH3/NH4) or nitrite (NO2) test kit and test the water.
If they are are high, then that will tell us two things:
1) Your tank is either overstocked or there is inadequate filtration, which could also explain the froth on the surface. Have you added any medication lately?
2) You need more waterchanges.

HTH