I have a 20 gallon fish tank with 3 fancy gold fish in it. Lately my fish tank has been so cloudy.?

Question

I am not sure what to do for it. I dont want to put my fish in harm by making them live in a cloudy tank. I just took out some water and cleaned the tank. But it still hasnt gotten better. If anyone had this type of problem and found a way to make the water clear again let me know. Thanks!

I have a gravel siphon

I change the filter on a regular basis whenever i see it needs to be changed

Answer 1

The cloudiness you are seeing is from a bacterial bloom. This is caused by a bit more ammonia being in the tank than the bacteria can handle and that caused them to multiply very quickly. The very best course of action for you is to check the ammonia level to be sure it's not way too high and change some water if needed to reduce that level, but otherwise do nothing. Before long the bacterai will start growing on the surfaces of the tank and filter and will die off in the water column. When this happens the tank will clear up. To be quite honest, the most common cause of this problem is over cleaning. Do your regular water changes (25% once a week) and rinse out the filter in the old tank water as you do. Once a month replace the filter cartridge. Wipe the inside of the glass and rinse and orniments that appear to need it, but otherwise don't clean too much. The more you clean the more bacteria you remove and the more likely this is to happen again.

It's really nothing much to worry about and should clear up in a few days.

MM

Answer 2

First thing you should do is test for ammonia and nitrites. If these do not measure as a problem, then the cloudiness is superficial (meaning it doesn't look nice but won't harm the fish).

The most common reason for cloudiness is overfeeding. Make sure you feed lightly, just a couple minutes of eating for the day total, no matter how many times you choose to feed, and any uneaten food must be vacuumed or netted out or it will cloud the tank quickly.

Also, if your tank is new it might be going through what is called bacterial bloom, which is suspended bacteria. If this is the case, don't worry about it. Do regular water changes and don't clean the filter to make sure it matures (I know this is opposite of previous advice, but never change all your media - it's counter productive). Speaking of filters, also make sure you have a good one, because you have a heavy bioload. As I said, you say you change the filter - if you change the entire filter every time, then each time you are throwing away live bacteria and regressing the tank. Instead, rinse out the filter media in a bucket of aquarium water, or replace only a portion of it. This alone will probably help with your problem.

Speaking of bioloads, your tank is quite crowded, considering how big goldfish get and how messy they can be. A 20 gallon really is too small for the fish, though it's hard to believe when we see them so small at the fish store. Consider upgrading tanks or taking back one or two of your current fish. (still, 3 will be fine for a while, but you must make sure you do weekly water changes and gravel vacs to keep on top of things.)

Answer 3

i have a 10 gall. tank with two lemon tetras ,one black tetra, and two cat fish. I clean my tank every week (i do a 50% water change) and it seems to get really murky during the week. You could try cleaning the filter every week and scrub off all the grim inside it, but that will only do so much. You could also leave the fish in the tank, but take out the gravel and put it in a bucket and shake/stir it to make all the grim come off the rocks, then after that make sure all the fish stay on one side of the tank and slowly pour the gravel back in the tank. This usually helps my tank!! We bought this crystal clear stuff but we haven't used it because it only says to use with live plants and i don't know if fish could be harmed if you use it with them in the tank. YOU could get a bottom feeder because they can help clean the grim on plants and the sides of the glass. How often do you clean your tank? you might have to clean it more often.
hope this helps!

Answer 4

Are you changing 20% of the water every week? Are you changing the filter media at least every 2 or 3 weeks? Goldfish are particularly messy fish so you really have to keep up on tank maintenance. Sounds like you have a "bacteria bloom". I recommend 2 water changes (20%) twice a week until the water begins to clear. With a little extra work on your part - it will begin to clear in a few weeks.

Answer 5

Try changing your filter cartridge. Make sure you know what size pad you need, and then go get it from Petco or Petsmart. The cloudy water should not harm the fish, it just doesn't look nice. Don't add water clearing chemicals, the problem will just keep coming back.

Nosoop4u

Answer 6

i had the same problem i over fed it by mastake and i emteyed the tank and refilled it and put clere botle inside and it was clean and dont over feed it they have small tummys expand:your extra food melts on the floor and in the water your fish will become ill do what i said:)

Answer 7

Change the filter, and 33% of the water.
Good Luck

2N!$H

Answer 8

clean it out! get a gravelvacume and it will get rid of all the waste oh well maybe you just need to re start the tank and cycle it!