In my 37 gallon community tank I have an artificial floater with tiny leaves. Today I noticed that much of it is covered in some brown stuff. Is this algae or gunk developing due to food falling from the top. It's about where a decent amount of food settles. Not to say that I feed much...I'm *very* stingy with the food, but of what little falls down, most would settle here. I don't see the brown stuff anywhere else, but it would be hard to see with my black backing, black substrate, the natural coloring/fake algae on my artificial driftwood, etc.

In my 3 gallon tank, which houses one African Dwarf Frog, there are 3 pieces of slate on the bottom. Two splotches of brown stuff have appeared on the slate. One is about the size of a quarter, the other about the size of a nickel. Again, not too easy to see on some other surfaces if it is anywhere else. I seriously doubt this could be food. He's fed in a dish and hogs every bite.

What do you think I'm seeing?

Thanks for your time! My tanks thank you too.

Zambize

my best guess is brown algae. in the frog tank, the slate may contain iron which could increase the growth of the algae. in the other tank, could be excess waste causing the algae to grow.

and thats where my expertise ends.. lol

Go planted, with icky snails! Hope I'm not sounding like a broken record a broken record a broken record, er um. Or anything? =D