I have 9 golfish in a 50 gallon tank. No matter how well i clean the fish tank the water always turns green again.
2006-12-24 08:03:06 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Too much fish, not enough filtration. If you clean out your tank too much you may not let the good bacteria grow. Do not clean out your filters in anything but dirty aquarium water.
Filters that have cartridges that need to be replaced regularly are no good.
Water changes of 50% should be done twice a week, use a gravel siphon and do not clean out your filter in the sink. You should only have 2 goldfish in a 50gal tank.
2006-12-26 14:11:28 · answer #1 · answered by Johnny 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are many reasons that your tank may be turning green. It is most likely that you have a build up of algae, which is a naturally occuring single celled plant that takes up residence in many aquariums as well as ponds and lakes. Without having more information about where you have your tank, what kind of light it is getting, etc.. I would think that you may want to check out the first link that I have quoted below. The main reason is that the plant and leftover food matter that you have in the tank with the combination of light (artificial or real) will create the perfect environment for algae growth.
I am however concerned abou the number of fish you have in your tank. The recommendation for fish is 3 inches per 10 gallons, which means you may have double the number of fish you should have for a 50 gal tank. Gold fish also produce a high amount of ammonia in their waste matter which could unbalance the pH levels in the tank. I'd go to a pet store that carries pH strips and check with them to see what they'd recommend. The Petco here in my town will check the water for you once for free (and of course suggest that you buy a water kit from them). Get some fresh water shrimp and other "algae eater" type fish and cut back a little on the food, next time you do a water change, take out 1/2 the water, after you have scraped the sides and let it settle to the bottom. Good luck!
2006-12-24 16:14:19 · answer #2 · answered by pisces_dreamer_dreaming 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One reason your tank could be turning green is because too much light. If your tank is too bright for a lot of the day, like in a window for example it makes lots of algae grow.
Ah we have something in common. I also have nine goldfish in a 55 gallon tank. Im not sure why these people say we have too many in our tanks though. My tank is always perfectly clean despite their trying to dirty it up with poop.
They have plenty of room to swim around. Except four of them are comets and could grow to enormous sizes. In that case when they get too large i plan of giving them away the my local pond owners.
Well you should get a plecostemus(sp?) I have 2 small ones in my tank and they keep it very clean in there.
Also how often do you clean your tank? Clean it just a little... like a few inches once a week. It helps a lot. You can get a really neat cleaning thing at walmart that hooks up to your sink and creates suction to drain water from the tank through a tube and into the drain. Amazing thing. Never haul buckets again! It cost like 30-40$.
I love goldfish! Happy plecostemus shopping and cleaning! Oh and please remember not to buy the kind of plecostemus that has the label semi-agressive by it. lol... : )
2006-12-24 17:13:17 · answer #3 · answered by Heather 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It's the water but you need to get an algea eating fish, like a pocastamus. They can be a little salty, like 7-8 dollars but they eat all of that green stuff. It is cheaper and healthier for the fish than using chemicals to keep it clean. Also, if your tank is in the sunlight or it gets too much light the algea grows 10x faster than will a low light setting.
2006-12-24 16:10:57 · answer #4 · answered by chris99 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
To begin with Gold Fish are very dirty fish and create a lot of ammonia. There are several ways to combat this, including making sure that your filtration system is running at about twice what is suggested for the size. For example, I have a 25-gallon tank with a bio-wheel for a 55-gallon. It filters water at about 400 gallons per hour. We also have media baskets with extra carbon to boost the filtration, but in your case I'd look at a media that reduces ammonia.
I'd also look at doing 25% water changes bi-weekly, to help remove any excess ammonia.
2006-12-24 16:10:28 · answer #5 · answered by oh_shotdown 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The green is most likely algae. Maybe you are not cleaning the tank good enough and are just simply stirring up the algae. Also, make sure you are not keeping the light on constantly, this makes algae grow very rapidly.
2006-12-26 01:18:03 · answer #6 · answered by babyj248 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
probally because you feed them loads. also try getting a powder for you tank called miracle blue. or just ask the pet shop that it is a powder that makes the tank so clear and blue. Do you have a filter?? Fish need a good filter and the water will always keep fresh and oxygenised with it.
2006-12-24 22:21:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe the rocks at the bottom of the fish than have alge on them or there is alge on the glass part of the tank, don't they have those sucker fish that suck off the alge off the inside of the glass.
2006-12-24 16:08:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yep, sounds like you need algae (<--correct spelling) eaters. Plecostamus fish are often sold as "algae eaters," but in my experience the more efficient ones are the Otocinclus catfish, sold as "suckermouth catfish" or sometimes "Chinese algae eaters." They're smaller and sleeker than a pleco, and more active. They scoured my tank to perfection in no time, and I then had to start feeding them algae wafers once in a while to make sure they got enough food.
2006-12-24 16:14:40 · answer #9 · answered by CO_Hiker 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
do not put algae eaters or plecos with goldfish! if you have an algae problem all you have to do is reduce the amount of light the tank receives
2006-12-25 01:39:26 · answer #10 · answered by Loollea 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋