white dots on surface of water?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
  i am very concerned with these white dots on the surface of my water and it seems to also have this layer of whitish colour with it?
i tried to soak it up with some absorbent stuff but it wont work?
i dunno what it is
and can you please help me get rid of it?


its been there for a week now and my fish have shown no signs of any problem but it doesnt seem right?

ANSWER: Brendon,

 If you drop an air stone in the tank what do the dots do? Do the dots move at all? do you have live plants in the water? How often do you do water changes? Do you have a filter? What kind of "absorbent stuff: did you use? As soon as you get back to me, the sooner we can figure this all out. Thanks.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi,
  i have not tried dropping an airstone in but i will try soon,
the dots dont move on their own but they just move with the current,
i do water changes once every week,
i have and internal filter,
the absorbent stuff i used was a paper towel.

please help me i want to get rid of them and today i saw and there is more of them?

ANSWER: Brendon,


 Do they come to the top when the light is on? The only thing I can think of is mineral deposits due to your light for the tank. It could also be algae growing. Without a picture, I can only guess. If you are not introducing something new into the tank, I do not think it is going to hurt your fish. Try turning the light of the tank off and see if they go away. Then turn the light back on and see if they show up again. I am not sure but I am thinking mineral deposits. Let me know how the light test goes.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi,
  they stay there when the lights on and also stay there when the lights are off

Answer
Brendon,

 I am thinking either mineral deposits or algae. Both are not bad for a fish, but if you have a light on the tank I would turn it off. The light should be on for 12 hours then off for 12. Maybe keep the light off for a few days and see if it dies away. I do not think its bad but I know that its unsightly and the turning off the light might help it go away. I would keep an eye on the fish and if they start showing signs of problems let me know.