[Desmond]

Hello,
Does anyone recognize this white stuff? Will it hurt my new fish? And what can I do to clear it up?
For a few weeks I had java moss and stones in a 2.5 gallon bowl that came from a healthy tank. Then a few days ago I added a female betta, anubias nana and crypto wendtii. I saw a little white floaty in her PetsMart cup, but I thought I poured it out before I added her to the bowl.
It was cloudy when I added her and the new plants. It settles after water changes, but it sticks to the plants. She (Helda) is clean as a whistle and sassy as ever, so I'm hoping she's okay.

 

[Laki]

It does look like algae. Maybe pick up an amano or ghost shrimp to help clear that up.

 

[ao]

Are you able to shake it off the plants?

 

[Desmond]

Yes, it comes off pretty easily.
This is what it looks like when I stir up the water.

 

[ao]

Might just be mulm. You should be able to take it out after a couple of water changes

 

[Desmond]

Thanks ao, I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on it. Would a filter take care of it?
I'm hesitant to add shrimp because this fish seems to be the aggressive type. And I don't want to add too much to the bioload since it's a smaller tank.

 

[Laki]

A filter would get the stuff floating in the water column out of the water but it won't remove it from the plants.

 

[ao]

just dust it off the plants

 

[Desmond]

Next water change I will cup the fish and really stir things up to see how much I can manually remove. I really appreciate your input, Laki and ao.