When your fish tank gets fuzzy?

Question

The water has this light tint to it, like it's not a deep fog but a touch of white to the water, and it's not the light. Do you know what's causing this? Is it bad? If it is how do I stop it?

I've only had the fish a few days this isnt' about not cleaning it every month, I haven't even had the tank for a whole month.

I have fresh water and a lot of guppies, I also have a few catfish.

Answer 1

Sounds like a bacteria bloom. Yeah, it's kinda bad. It means you have too much ammonia. Is this a new tank? If so, the tank was not fully cycled when you added the fish. It can also be caused by adding new fish too quickly. You'll need to do 10% water changes daily to keep the ammonia from killing your fish. Once the tank is cycled it will clear out. You may lose some fish but there's not really anything else you can do. Whatever you do - DO NOT add any chemicals other than dechlorinator when you change the water. They will only make things worse.

Answer 2

You have left out a lot of detail here, but I would first do a water change and gravel vac.

To fully answer your question we need to know the size of the tank, how many fish and what kind, how long has the tank been set up, and have you changed or added anything lately.
It would be also helpful to know if it is freshwater or marine.

If you have a test kit test the water for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph. If you don't have a test kit, you can take a sample of the water to an aquarium shop. Most will test it free of charge.

If this is a newer set-up, it is normal. Don't panic, it will clear up in time. Also, if you have not already done so, do an internet search on aquarium setup and cycling. There is a lot to know about setting up a new aquarium.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Your probably having an ammonia spike which happens quite frequently with new tanks, change about 25% of your water, be sure to use aquasafe or whatever condition you use to get rid of the chlorine in your tap water. Be sure the water's close to the same temp. DO NOT TAKE OUT YOUR FISH, DO NOT USE SOAP, DO NOT COMPLETLY EMPTY YOUR TANK!!!! It's building the good bacteria that your fish need to deal with the ammonia they produce it's a good thing. You can speed things along with products like start right, or bacterial suppliments which i use every time i do a large water change. After you change 25% of your water do 10% more in a day or two to help keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low enough so they dont kill your fish. Keep doing small changes like that for about 2 weeks buy a test kit and test your water for nitrite, nitrate, ammonia etc. When your ammonia lvls are at 0 then you can go back to doing weekly 25% changes.

Answer 4

if you have a filter, then the filter needs cleaned. if you dont have a filter, get one. you could be feeding the fish too much too often. or if you have goldfish then ek.. the tank needs cleaned like everyday. you should also test all the ph crap with the water. if all that is fine, and doesnt work, then buy some tank clearing solution. you can get that at any pet store. even walmart. on the bad side, it could be ich. so i would buy a bottle of that Just in case.... just the other day i was wondering why my water was cloudy. then today my shark was covered in fuzz [ich]. its so sad and hes not gonna make it........ soo i would buy the ich stuff anyways. treat all the fish for it, and it wont hurt them even if it doesnt have ich. its actually a good thing to do every now and again. and if ALL that stuff that i mentioned doesnt work,, get a few snails and a a couple catfish. lol. but i'm being totally serious about the ich treatment. it is soo important to do it. <3333

Answer 5

You have a dirty Aquarium, and the water needs to be changed, if you have a lot of Fishes, inside the Aquarium, you need to clean it every two weeks, and when the water is changed, ask the pet Store where you are purchasing your Fish Food, to recommend some drops to put inside the water for it to remain clean longer, and do not put too much food for the fishes, because the food contributes the algae that starts to stick to the tank. I used to have a lot of Fishes, it got to the point that I had three big Aquariums and a ten gallon one. My specialty of favorite fishes was the guppy, I bred a lot of them and started to sell them until I got to the point that I could not take care of them, when I got sick, so, I sold all of them, fishes and all. Oh! by the way do not buy Goldfish, they are the dirtiest fishes of all. If you still are having trouble with the water, buy yourself a, Sucker, that is not the real name but you can ask at the pet store, about the fish that sticks to the Aquarium, and cleans it.

Answer 6

If yours is a new tank, this is perfectly normal - it's part of what happens when the tank cycles. Bacteria are responsible for the cloudy appearance, but these bacteria benefit your fish by converting ammonia and nitrite from their wastes to less harmful products. The cloudiness only happens when there aren't enough of them to convert all the ammonia and nitrite. Once they reproduce so all the ammonia and nitrite are converted, the cloudiness goes away on it's own. But since both ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish, you should do partial water changes of 25-30% each week to keep the levels of these down. See the links below for more info:

http://www.fishlore.com/CloudyWater.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ammoniapoison.htm
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/nitritepoison.htm

Just be careful not to overfeed your fish, and use a gravel vacuum to siphon any debris from the gravel before it decomposes.

Answer 7

I think your tank has a bacteria or fungus...I would place my fish in a bucket & really clean & rinse the tank well & then reestablish everything.(bye clean i mean scrubber & a good rinse NO soaps. Razor blades work well...but be extremely careful! Not sure if you've got a freshwater tank like me ? I keep 2 , 5Gal. buckets 1 to keep the fish in & 1 to fill with. Do you keep your tank in direct sunlight ? I understand this will cause green alge pretty quickly. How are the fish doing ? Breathing heavy or Whitish on them ? Make sure your filter isn't restricted and that it does come on when you turn the flow up!

Answer 8

That means it is time to clean out the tank. Don't clean it all at once, then you would get rid of all the good bacteria. Do 25% water changes once a week for as long as you want to keep fish. THis, along with a good filter and no overstocking/too much food, will leave your water crystal clear.

Answer 9

wow. i don't think you would read this but what the heck...well. i have that too sometimes. i have a tank where i keep all my feeder guppies in. then a wk/ later it would get white foggy right? i got really pissed off so i went to a local pet store and bought this medicine called....****. lol. not called **** but i forgot whats it called!!! i can't find the bottle either cause i don't have feeder fish anymore. but you should be able to find the medicine. *removes white fog* in the label

Answer 10

I think you have to clean your fish tank! Take al the fish out into another smaller tank and scrub the tank. Put some new water in it or buy a filter to keep the water fresh and clean for your fish.