my little brother is asking if you would know why his fish tank water is a milky color...?

Question

we have special filters and water warmers.
i was thinking he could fish to much food, he says once a day "im thinking more than that".
anyways his 15 gallon fish tank has 1 black tailed shark, 2 dwarf gourami's, and 2 chinese alage eaters, and 8 guppie feeders.
but why would the tank water be a little murkey?
in other words a milky color water.
sorry its kind of harder to explain.

Answer 1

That's actually a very good discription of the problem. If he has had this tank for more than a few weeks, I thing you are probably right and he is feeding them too much. Now, he may only be feeding once a day, but putting in too much at that time. The tank needs at have about 25% of the water changed every week and clean out the filter when you do that. Also help him to learn just how much to feed the fish. Only feed as much as they can eat in about 3-4 minutes.

The tank will clear up and be fine in a few weeks if you do that.

MM

Answer 2

There could be a number of problems leading to your tank being cloudy.

All too often too many new fish owners make the same common mistakes. Did you wash your tank out properly prior to installing? Did you wash your gravel thru a strainer (and I don't mean just rinse it off)? These are the two leading cause for cloudy water.

Your tank may not be cycled properly. See web page.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolog...

Your biggest issue now isn't the cloudy water; it's the ammonia spike that may be occuring (if it hasn't already), followed by elevated nitrites. Both could result in the loss of some or all of your fish. I'd strongly recommend that you become familiar with the Nitrogen cycle, so you are aware of what will be happening in the upcoming weeks.

You should begin testing your water right away for ammonia and take appropriate steps to keep it below lethal levels. Hang in there; once you get your tank through the initial cycle the cloudy water problem will clear up. If you follow the links under Related Resources, you'll find all the info you need about the Nitrogen cycle, and how to deal with problems that occur.

Do you or are you using a gravel siphon to clean the bottom when doing water changes? Did you rinse out your filter and pads prior to installing them?

If you did not rinse the gravel well enough you can do one of two things, stir up the gravel in the tank really well. This will cause all the "dirt" particles to float in your tank. Keep the filter running and do a 20% water change. As long as your water "quality" is fine, do this every other day until the water is clear. Each time, be sure to rinse your filter out as well.

Adding an air your bubble want does nothing for the fish or the water. Dissolved O2 comes from the water itself moving. Bubblers move very little water there for add very little to no Dissolved O2 to your tank.

Do your water change every other day (I know pain in the butt) but if the tank would have been cycled properly in the beginning, this would not be happening now.

Doing excessive water changes also will lead to your problem.

Shut your filters off for a half an hour. This will allow the food particles to settle on the bottom of your tank. Do a real thorough gravel cleaning. Clean up all the excess food particles with your gravel siphone.

Small pinches of food is all your fish need. Never feed your fish more than they can eat in 3 minutes. It is better to underfeed, and feed more often than too much at once.

Answer 3

A milky color is usually due to a bacterial bloom. Bacteria will get out of hand if you overfeed, haven't done your weekly 30% water changes or if there are too many fish in a tank that has not had time to "cycle in."

Cycling in is when a tank is first set up and the beneficial bacteria are multiplying so they can help convert the ammonia to nitrites and nitrates. The milky water happens when they have not had a chance to multiply to the proper amount needed to process the ammonia that uneaten food and fish waste decay into.

Do a 50% water change right away and then do a 25% change every other day for 6 days (3 changes). The bacteria live in your filter and in the gravel, so don't discard the filter media or siphon the gravel yet.

Once the tank is "cycled" you should start doing weekly 25-30% water changes to keep the tank and fish healthy and happy. Never tear a tank completely down and change/clean everything, you will kill off all the "good" bacteria that take 2-3 weeks to grow.

I have tanks that have been set up for as long as 6 years without tearing them down. They are still up and running with healthy fish that spawn regularly. All I do is regular partial water changes and gravel siphoning every 6 weeks or so.

Answer 4

because he is over feeding the fish. Or the tank is under filtered. The filter should be for a tank that is for a 20 to 30 gallon tank. Also how often do you clean the tank. Do you have an air pump? You should clean the gravel with a gravel vac and also take out about five gallons of water every month. also do you use water conditioners to remove the chlorine and other chemicals. Is the tank new like a month or newer. With new fish tanks you need to let the tank "cycle" for about two weeks before you can put any fish in it. This means that you need to fill the tank with every thing you need to get it ruining but do not put in any fish. Now buy a product called Eco Start this product will help establish a colony of beneficial bacteria in your tank which will eat the ammonia and other fish wast in your tank. The reason why your water is milky coloured( too much ammonia in the water) is because your tank cant handle the bio load in its current condition. To fix this problem you need to start to use the Eco start product and also change 10% of the water every two weeks. Also if you don't have an air pump than I recommend getting one right away because a lack of oxygen will also make it difficult for the beneficial bacteria to grow in your tank also the air pump will allow harmful gases to escape out of the tank. Your water should start to clear up in about two months.

Answer 5

He must not test the water. It sounds like a bacterial bloom. The bacteria is beneficial, but it uses a lot of oxygen so he should do a water change asap. He should start testing the water for ammonia and nitrites so he knows when it is cycled. His tank is overstocked so he will have water quality issues in the future.

Answer 6

that's no longer algae. this is maximum possibly a protien development up in the tank. Incease the size of your weekly water differences and make sure the clear out disturbs the exterior of the water. If it would not upload an air stone to do the pastime and you will no longer have the slime back. stable good fortune!

Answer 7

clean the filter more frequently. Let the junk in there (old food, Algae, etc.)settle at the bottom, and then look in an hour to see if it has cleared up. if that does not help, it is probably not that big of a deal. You only have to worry if the fish begin to die.

Answer 8

He probably has to clean the tank.

Answer 9

bacteria bloom

do some quick checks on google