Now the water is cloudy.......?

Question

I've had my first fish tank for about 10 days and I was using the fish food that came with the aquarium kit and the fish seemed to love it, and the water remained clear. After that small sample ran out I bought the same brand and type of fish food and fed it to my fish. The flakes are a bit bigger and the fish don't seem to enjoy it as much, and ever since the new food the water has been cloudy. They usually take a bite and spit it back out. Is the food making it cloudy or could it be the 10 day old filter?

Answer 1

The cloudiness you are seeing is a bacteria bloom. Sounds bad, but it's not as bad as you think and is fairly common in a new tank. This is the naturally occuring bacteria in the tank responding to the ammonia and nitrite levels. I would suggest you change about 1/2 the water in the tank and clean the filter. Just wash off the pad in some of the old water you remove doing the water change and replace the carbon. You should invest in a test kit that will test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Check it daily for the next week or so and change water whenever the ammonia is high. Soon you will see the ammonia level drop and the nitrites begin to rise. Continue the water changes through this stage as well. Before long the nitrite levels will begin to drop and the nitrates will start to increase. This is when the tank is cycled and safe for fish without the big water changes all the time. From that point on, just change about 25% of the water once a week. Use a gravel siphon and clean the gravel as you change the water. This will prevent the majority of problems you would have in an aquarium.

MM

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

Hi! I think that the reason they are not enjoying it as much is because they are "big" flakes, and there mouths are to small for them to eat it. What I always do with my fish is put about a pinch full of flakes between my fingers and smoosh the flakes together so that they are smaller, that way the fishes can eat it and won't spit it back out. do a 25% water change and make sure you are not over feeding them. The filter should do the rest and in a couple of days is should be clear again! Good luck and have fun with your fishes! ( Also new fish tanks don't run as well give it a couple of weeks for it to run better) *guppylover*

Answer 4

You don't say how big of a tank or how many fish, but I definitely think you may be going through " new tank syndrome". Adding fish immediately after setting up a tank will cause the nitrates, nitrites and ammonia to spike proving very critical to your fish's survival. I always add my chemicals for set up, let the tank, filter& heater run for several days, then I will add a few zebra danios for a week or so. then test the ph to make sure it is neutral. The nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia should all read at zero. If you are using municipal (city) water that has been treated w/ chlorine & chloramine , you must use Start Right. Another excellent cycling product that I use all the time is CYCLE.
Hope this helps. Happy fish keeping.

Answer 5

This could be caused by a number of things. Your chemicals could be out of whack so you should test the water.

I will say that if the tank has only been up for 10 days, you should not have any fish in it other than goldfish (to "season" the tank and gravel).

Test the water, your PH and/or nitrates bay be off.

Answer 6

properly, there would desire to be quite a few motives why your water is cloudy: a million. it might desire to be the end results of lots of waste and uneaten fish food: then you easily would desire to alter 50% of your water, pronto. 2. it might desire to be an uncycled tank, meaning that the organic and organic filter out micro organism have not adjusted to the tank. If thats the case, go away it on my own for a pair of million-2 weeks and it will bypass away via itself. 3. it might desire to be the end results of those "sparkling water" drinks that don't sparkling the water in any respect, quite they purely go away it extra grimy. carry out a fifteen% water exchange to help restoration this. it may help in case you secure if it exchange right into a sparkling tank, or a tank you had for a on an identical time as. additionally, your readings of ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites could help verify the priority besides. sturdy success!

Answer 7

Congratulations on your first aquarium!

If the tank has only been set up for 10 days, you're probably witnessing 'bacteria bloom', which is normal. Fish really shouldn't be introduced until the tank has completed 'cycling'.

Check out these links for further reading:

http://www.algone.com/cloudywater.php

http://www.wallaquariums.com/cycling.htm

Answer 8

I think you are probably over feeding if they spit it back out and your water is cloudy. You can break up the larger flakes for them into smaller pieces.

Answer 9

better filter wrong fish temp and water type to many fish not. 1nch of fish per gallon(literally, over feeding I'd try water unclouding stuff thats what i use. every week do a 2% water change and every month 50%. its hard work. but worth it good luck

Answer 10

I would check the chemicals in the water. I think wal-mart sells some stuff called cloud be gone.