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by Lesleyann on June 6th, 2006

Lesleyann

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I set up a new fish tank with the filter in order, then bought two small goldfish the next day. Once I got the fish, the tank got really cloudy really quickly. Why is this, and how can I solve it?

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Answers. 5 helpful answers below.

  • by Gideon Griebenow on June 22nd, 2006

    Gideon Griebenow

    Do not rinse your filter under tapwater (unless it's dechlorinated). It will kill the bacteria. Rather rinse it with water from the tank.
    Your tank needs to cycle (with a small piece of rotting fish/shrimp) for more than 24 hours - probably a week or two. This gives the beneficial bacteria that is going to break down the fish waste time to increase. When your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels have come down close to 0, you may add fish.
    The cloudiness can be a bacteria or algae bloom caused by the sudden increase in fish waste, or a pH problem. It will go away if your water parameters stabilise, you filtration is adequate and you do not overfeed. There are, of course, many other factors that come into play when keeping fish, but, at the least, your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH should be stable and at the desired levels.

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  • by gung-ho on June 6th, 2006

    gung-ho

    No, never use tap water in an aquarium! It contains chlorine which will kill all the good bacteria that live in your filter and make your fish really sick.

    The cloudiness is probably a bacteria bloom.
    This has happened because you did not cycle the tank before you added the fish. There are millions of bacteria in fish tanks that turn fish poo (ammonia) into less harmful substances (nitrite and nitrate). However, it takes a few weeks for these bacteria to build up so keep a very close eye on your fish. If they get any black marks on them, these are burns from the ammonia. I would recommend getting a water testing kit so you can monitor the levels. IF the levels start rising, do a small water change every other day (about 10%) and make sure you add dechlorinater to the water before you put it in the tank.
    Don't worry, it's all really simple once you get the hang :)

    On a side note, goldfish are very messy fish and grow very large (they will NOT grow to the size of their tank, they will just end up dying prematurely) so you should allow about 12 US galls PER FISH *no this is not a typo*. Also they need very strong filtration. Give them all this and they will live 10-20 years and breed like crazy!!! I would suggest reading up on the ammonia/nitrate cycle, it is THE most important part of fishkeeping.

    Hope that helps.

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  • by joedice711 on June 11th, 2006

    joedice711

    your ph level might be off.. also check acidity.let filter run a few days

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  • by allanmaxwell2003 on June 6th, 2006

    allanmaxwell2003

    You have to rinse the filter under a tap first. If you did not it will cloud up. Maybe your filter is not big enough for the tank.

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  • by allanmaxwell2003 on June 6th, 2006

    allanmaxwell2003

    You have to rinse the filter under a tap first. If you did not it will cloud up. Maybe your filter is not big enough for the tank.

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