water quality?cloudy?

Question

i have 6 mollys and 6 tiger barbs and 2 cat fish they all seem happy but the water over the last couple of hours has gone a little bit cloudy could this be a problem? am i over feeing them ? i know i need to do a nitrate and amonia test asap and check the ph level but i cant do that till tomorow cause i havent got a testing kit untill i get to the shop , help?

Answer 1

What is the size of the tank? It sounds like you have a nice load for a 20 gallon tank I'd think. The cloudiness is most likely a bacterial bloom. I've not seen mine get cloudy on overfeeding but usually when I clean the filters. I usually add a shot of cycle to speed up the rebuilding of the bacteria colony. You really don't need to bother with Nitrate testing but rather check your Nitrites and Ammonia. If this tank is new and just starting out, you'll find the levels to be very high, however, the fish you named are fairly hardy and should be able to endure the cycle. But do watch the feeding amounts, and if this is in the current cycle, I'd keep the feeding to once a day. Key to feeding is just enough they will entirely consume in 2 minutes

Answer 2

You most likely are dealing with a bacterial bloom as previously stated. Once you get your tests, this will further help you determine your coarse of action.

Other thought:

*What is your filter? poor filtration or care there of can lead to cloudy tanks. HOB (outside filters) can be over cleaned by simply removing a cartridge. It is best to rinse a cartridge (using de-chorinated tap water) in a new tank rather than change the cartridge. Sponge Filters are an excellent supplemental or main filter as well.

*Feeding as well as cutting back on your feeding as already mentioned, consider the food itself. Many lower quality foods are high in cereals and other ingredients that are difficult for fish to utilize thus leading towards more waste. Spirulina Algae and Whole fish Meal foods are a good start. TetraMin is not.

I would rcommend reading this article about the aquarium nitrogen cycle:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

And this article for more references and articles about fish food, freshwater basics and more:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

Answer 3

Unless you have added some of these fish on the last 2-3 days then yes, I would agree with you that you are probably over feeding just a bit. I would suggest a 25% water change until you can get the kit and check the ammonia levels.

MM

Answer 4

You may be over feeding them, you may also have too many fish in one small tank.. Try giving them fresh water and see if it still gets cloudy. and test the water as soon as you can.

Good luck!