spores on tank surfaces

Question
I have a 5 galon tank, and alot of house plants.  I usually have no trouble with the water conditions but lately I have noticed a white mold or spore type of stuff growing on some surfaces.  The reason I mentioned the house plants is because only one of them has a white substance on it's soil that looks alot like the stuff on the tank.  Could the two be related?  How can I get rid of it without harming th fish?  they don't seem bothered terribly, but I did recently get a snail who seems to climb the walls literally when there is more white suff around

Answer
Hi Tosha
That sounds like it may be a fungus.  Could be from overfeeding the fish.  Could there be food leftover when they're done eating?  Is that houseplant near the tank? Like maybe something fell into the tank from that plant, is that possible?  How bad is it in the tank?   Are we talking all over or just kinda sporadically here and there in small tufts?

You can try doing a good gravel vacuum and suck the stuff up.  What kind of fish are in there?  I'd possibly recommend some salt, depending on what fish is in there first, but you'll need to temporarily relocate the snails and any live plants.

Get back with me on those questions, and we'll try to figure it out from there.

Christy