New Black Moor fancy goldfish owner needs help!?

Question

I purchased a basic aquarium last week for my two new coldwater black moors. The tank is a FRF 440 with a pressurised filter box and 12v filter pump. I ran the filter on the tank for about 4 days before adding the fish. They have only been in there for about 4 days now, but the water seems to be going very cloudy very quickly. I did try and replace a little of the water as advised in the brochure, but am conscious of the chlorine values in tap water etc. What could be causing the clouding of the water so quickly, and what can I do to stop it happening?

I have not been feeding them more than once per day (and not loads at that), so dont think its to do with the food.

Any ideas would be welcome, before I trapse back to the shop for advice.

Thanks for all the responses so far. i am new to this and learning as quickly as I can, although have to say judging by what some of you are saying, I was misinformed by the shop I got everything from, as I quizzed the guy for ages on what I need to do. I will hunt down the books suggested and work as hard as I can to help my little fellas get through it. Eenie and Meanie are grateful to you all!

Answer 1

What you are seeing is commonly called new tank syndrome and is the result of a bacterial bloom in the water as a result of rising ammonia levels in the tank. Here's a link that will help you through this first few weeks of having a tank:
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

The chlorine level in the tap water will not e a problem if you get a bottle of dechlorinator solution the next time you are near the pet store.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 2

This is called "new tank syndrome". The water will clear in a day or two to a week.... however there is more you need to know. First, the nitrate cycle is what caused it (you REALLY need to research this, its important). 2nd (sorry to tell you this) but your beautiful babies may not survive this cycling, its a rough time even on the most hardy of fish. 3rd the cycling would not have started until the fish were put in no matter HOW long you waited after setting up the tank, no fish means no ammonia, no ammonia means no start of the cycle.
Last (but not least) this is not your "fault", it doesnt reflect the quality of care from you at all it is a stage EVERY new take must go through.

Step one: Wait it out (its going to take anywhere for 3 weeks to 8 weeks for your tank to fully cycle)

Step two: Dont overdo your water changes during this time as you need the good bacteria to build up (like I said research the cycle - very important)
Step three: Watch fish closely for signs of illness. You will need to catch any illness early if you want the best chance at saving your fish.


Get a good book about freshwater aquariums from you local library (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freshwater Aquariums is a good one).

Answer 3

I have a goldfish tank and a marine tank....in my experience tanks always get really dirty when they're first set up or when you first add fish. Just keep an eye on the ammonia levels to make sure they're not high, and if they are, do a 20% water change and add Ammo Lock or a waste control product (or both) it'll pass by itself

....sometimes i wonder. You fish fanatics who say things like 'a goldfish needs 100 gallons of water' and stuff like that. According to your calculations, there is not enough water in the ocean to accommodate all the fish in it. Should we exterminate some?

Answer 4

You have a bacterial bloom. Really you should have waited longer after setting up the new aquarium before adding fish.
It takes up to a month or so for an aquarium to become established.
Are you adding a de chlorinator to your tap water before pouring it into the aquarium? If not you should be doing so. In the UK we use a product known as Aqua + which does the trick.
You should also be adding a product to encourage a good bacterial balance within the aquarium such as Cycle and another to help break down the waste products of the fish such as Waste Clear.
You're not overfeeding if the fish clear their food within 5 minutes of putting it in.
Black Moors are quite difficult to keep. Don't be too upset if they make their way up to fishy heaven. This will be quite a difficult environment for them to cope with and they may die.

Answer 5

Feed twice a day. Twice a day one when you get up and one before you go to bed. I feed mine 2-4 times a day but that's because I have 7 goldfish. 10 gallon tank is a good size tank. Once he gets about 5-6 inches look into getting a 20g long or bigger.

Answer 6

Goldfish tend to be very messy and can dirty a tank quicker than any other fish. What I used to use with my goldfish was an undergravel filter with a powerhead on it. I very rarely had to clean my tank. Also new gravel if not thouroughly rinsed will make a tank cloudy. And if that is the case you usually have to empty the gravel out and clean it thouroughly.

Answer 7

two main reasons...

1. tank size, that's a 5 gallon, fancy goldfish need 10gallons EACH minimum, preferably 15gallons each. you're overloading the tank. each one can get up to 10" and is extremely messy.

2. you didn't cycle the tank first. running the filter does nothing except push around the water. cycling the tank means getting a good build of of bacteria in the tank. the bacteria keeps the tank balanced.

for a quick fix do a 20% water change, but you're going to need to get a bigger tank. I suggest cycling the tank first.

Answer 8

try to boil about 1/2 of the rocks in the tank, and every week u need to change 30% of the water. your tank will eventually get stabol.

good luck.

owner of black moors

Answer 9

If you didnt wash the gravel properly before adding the water? The fish could be disturbing it?

Answer 10

black moors are very messy fish you need to get water treatment stuff and treat your water and do water changes every week