Oil on top of tank water?

[samwood26]

There is a cloudy oil like substance on the top of my water when i shine a light on it . what is it and will it be harmful to my fish .I use a 6.5 ph fixer , could this be the reason why there is oil .How can i remove it ?
thanks Sam

 

[regani]

It usually is protein and oil/fat from food that accumulates on the surface that way. You can skim it of with some kitchen towel or use a skimmer or surface agitation to get rid of the film.
It may also be worthwhile to look into the food you are using and the amount used, some foods are more prone to give that film than others.
The other possibility is that the film is formed by a type of algae floating on the surface. Same method as above to get rid of it. Excess nutrients in the water are usually the cause for this

 

[samwood26]

il try that , the foods i use are flakes , brime shrimp and bloodworms . Could it be dyeing plants ?

 

[mwwade33]

I used to have a problem with this in my 3g when I had it set up for my Betta. I'm pretty sure what was causing my problem was the food I was using. It never really seemed to harm the fish and was easy enough to get rid of during water changes. It was just a little unsightly in my opinion but no but no one but me even seemed to notice it.

 

[regani]

Unlikely to be the dying plants IMO. Check the fat content of your flake food and maybe try another brand with lower fat and probably feed less.
If the plants are dying something is not right for them, so you may have to look at that in the long term to avoid trouble. Most common causes for plants dying are not enough light, not enough CO2 (for some plants), wrong water conditions (most plants prefer slightly acidic water)...