I have a new 10 gallon tank. And have done everything that the store and directions have told me to do! But...

Question

There is a chemical looking film floating at the top of the tank, and the tank is really foggy. My initial set-up, I used Aqua Safe-Water Conditioner, waited 3 days till I put my fish in. I have 3 Africian Cichlids Island Johanni's. I was also told to put in Aquarium Salt, and when the water got foggy to put in a Water Clairifier. Now reading similiar questions and answers, the only thing that everyone has in common is not to use any chemicals except the water conditioner! So I'm not quite sure how to fix this problem, nor do I want my fish to die! Please Help!!

Answer 1

Sound like maybe you didn't rinse the tank good enough. If the fish seem to be alright, take a dry paper towel and lay it on the film and the towel should pick it up. If it doesn't clear in a day or two, call the pet store where you bought the fish. You may be over feeding the fish, they don't need too much food. Good Luck.

Answer 2

All that water clarifier does is helps tiny particles of "stuff" cling together to make bigger particles that can then be picked up by the filter. I don't think that could be the problem. The cloudiness could be from too much food breaking down. Feed very very lightly. Most fish only need to eat every few days (the smaller fish like neon tetras need to eat at least every 2 days, larger fish can go longer).

Even if you don't put chemicals in, you'll have chemical reactions from the natural aging of the tank called "the ammonia cycle." If you have an ammonia testing kit, use it to see the toxic levels of ammonia. If the levels are dangerous you'll need to do a 25% water change. Also check for nitrites (a byproduct of bacteria processing ammonia) and here too if they are present do a 25% water change.

A good rule of thumb in the whole process is that if things are looking weird, change some of the water. But also keep an eye on the fish themselves. Like other animals, you should be able to tell how they are doing by their behavior. Are they hanging by the surface? Trying hard to breathe? Having trouble swimming? Not eating?



Hope that gives some ideas!

Answer 3

The film and fog is a bacteria bloom because you did not cycle your tank. Read up at http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598 to find out about cycling, what it is and how to do it. I reccommend a fishless cycle. Your tank is dreadfully overstocked. Those cichlids get too big for a 10 gallon. You need at least a 30 for those 3. You really need to take them back to the store or they will become stunted and their internal organs grow inside a body that does not grow, and the fish will die early. Now if you absolutely must keep the fish in that tank, get a test kit and monitor ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels very closely, and you will need to be changing water very often. Until your tank cycles, which will take 4-6 weeks, you need to be doing 50% water changes EVERY DAY to keep the ammonia levels down. As overstocked as your tank is, ammonia is going to rise very quickly, burning the gills of your fish and causing permanent damage, even if you do change water every day. If you don't change water, they are going to die in the next week or so.

1 person here said that adding salt was bad and to clean your tank with antibacterial soap. 1st off, NEVER use any soap in any aquarium. It is very hard to get out and is very toxic to fish. Antibacterial soap is even worse because you need a colony of bacteria to consume toxic ammonia and nitrites. And about the salt, aquarium salt is reccommended for african cichlids because they come from the african rift lakes which have a high mineral content. Aquarium salt helps raise the mineral content of the water so that is fine. Just don't use marine salt.

Answer 4

there is not any way 30 goldfish will stay very lengthy in a 10 gallon. it should be out of the frying pan and into the fireplace with the point to talk. For 30 goldfish, presuming elementary/comet variety, you're going to choose the same length fish tank as you've pond, if not larger to take dimensions into consideration, blended with double the filtration of the quantity. they are extremely messy fish and that is basically accentuated in slender underfiltered fish tanks. both get a significantly better grid for the pond, or a numerous hundred gallon fish tank.

Answer 5

Drain 1/3 of your water out today..... wait a few days and see if this helps. I have South Africian cichlids. All I put in my water is water conditioner and biological water enzymes. When I set my tank up (30 gallon), I used rocks that had a little salt on them but not aquarium salt. Probably too much chemicals, salt, etc.

So drain 1/3 of your tank and see how that goes. You can even drain 1/2 but do not rinse any filters.

Answer 6

Your tank is cycling. You didn't do anything wrong but every new tank has to cycle.

For the next few days do a 25% water change and only add de-chlorinated water. Do this a few days in a row. Your fish may or may not die without doing this but if you do it your chances of having them all live are better.

Look up "aquarium cycling"

Answer 7

You'll want to change about 1/2 the water in the tank with fresh water. Make sure you use a Chlorine remover if you're using city water. (Not needed if you use well water.) Also, put in a new filter. Don't put in any more Aquarium Salt, as your gravel probably still has all you need for your Cichlids.
This should help.

Answer 8

Aren't Cichlids fresh water fish? I don't understand the use of salt if they're fresh water. Anyway, read more here: http://www.cichlids.1hwy.com/

My advice is this:

Step 1: Get your fish into a temporary habitat IMMEDIATELY! Put them in a pot of conditioned (bottled) water if you have to, but get them out of that tank.

Step 2: Tear down your tank and clean it COMPLETELY with anti-bacterial soap and rinse it thoroughly. Once this is done (and you can't smell soap on anything...gravel, plants, filter parts, etc), re-establish your tank.

Step 3: I recommend that you go to PetSmart and talk to someone there on how to set up a tank properly. While, yes, you should wait for the tank to re-establish for 3 days, you don't have the luxury of time. Ask them what they recommend as far as getting the good bacteria established, as well as what sort of water purifiers to use.

Here is a list of the stuff that I use in my tank:

Proper pH 7.0 (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals)
ProQuatics Bacteria Starter (Pacific Coast Distributing)
EasyBalance (Tetra)
AquaSafe (Tetra Aqua)
Stress Coat (when introducing new fish - Aquarium Pharmaceuticals)
Cycle (Nutrafin)

Good luck!!

Answer 9

First I would drain half of the water, add fresh. Try not to over feed, this can make the water cloudy too.

Answer 10

use a filter--i recommend using an aquaclear 50