Ask Me Help Desk - What could possibly be wrong?

What could possibly be wrong?

:confused: :( I've had the same fish tank for 10 yrs now, and all of a sudden my water is constantely cloudy!! I've changed the filter, done an 70% water change... got some ammonia drops (thats what a pet store clerk told me to use) but I don't think it's ammonia... that bottle is gone, and the water still isn't better... my fish aren't going to be able to gasp for breath much longer at the surface AND... I have a baby swordtail at the moment that eventually needs that 10 gallon tank... What could possibly be wrong?

I'm not sure about the tank and water thing myself, as it has been a long time since I have had fish as pets. But, the following site may be of help to you. I hope that it is.

Why Is My Water Cloudy? - The First Tank Guide - Maintaining a Clear and Attractive Aquarium

Sounds like a bacterial bloom.
Something must have disturbed the beneficial bacteria (The Nitrogen Cycle)...
If your tank is not newly set up and was doing good before, I would suspect that over cleaning the filter and preforming large water changes caused too much good bacteria to be washed away or removed from the tank.

Bacterial blooms cloud the water and are unsightly, however they pose no harm to the fish.
The fish are only in danger if you have ammonia and nitrites present in the water.
It is possible that too much bacteria was removed and not enough remained to convert the toxins (ammonia and nitrite). This is a possible reason as to why your fish are gasping for air.

Do you have any means of testing your water?
It would be very helpful if I knew the readings for:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

From your short description, I'm suspecting that the nitrogen cycle was disturbed (cloudy water) to a point that allowed the toxins ammonia and nitrite to build up high levels (cloudy water and ill fish).

This situation clears on it's own as the nitrogen cycle repairs itself.
It will produce massive amounts of good bacteria at a high rate.
The bacteria clouds the water because it has not yet colonized.
This is known as a bacterial bloom.

Once the bacteria colonize inside the filter and gravel,
The water will begin to clear.

If there is ammonia and nitrite present in the water, their levels will also return to 0 as the nitrogen cycle reestablishes itself.

The amount of time it will take for everything to return to normal will depend on how much bacteria needs to be replaced.

The cloudiness usually gets worse before it gets better, so don't be alarmed if this happens.
I had a bacterial bloom last 4 weeks once.

The best thing to do for your tank is to do nothing at all.
It will stabilize on it's own.
However, if your fish are showing signs of distress,
I'd recommend doing a 10% water change daily in order to dilute the toxins.
This step may not be necessary but only water tests can determine that.

Please let me know if you have any further questions, I'm here to help.

Kae

I have done a ammonia test and the resulting color was clear... do you think I should just put the fish in a bowl,or leave them in there... I have a male betta, a female swordtail, and a catfish... the swordtail kind of harasses the betta though, and my fish WON'T under any circumstance eat UNLESS they are in the tank!! So frustrating! I can't believe how picky they are...

Get a new tank

Quote:

Originally Posted by erio44

Get a new tank

I'll wait a week and a half. If not gone by then... New tank for me! Yipee! I'm getting a bigger one this time... More fish!

Quote:

Originally Posted by erio44

Get a new tank

This was terrible advice!

The age of an aquarium has absolutely nothing to do with cloudy water.

__________________________________________________ ____________

Sweetblood,

If your ammonia tests are reading 0, it's safe to assume that the nitrogen cycle is reestablishing itself.
This does take time though, it may not be complete in a week and a half.

I wouldn't put them in a bowl. Apart from the Beta, your other two fish need a source of oxygen provided by an air pump and diffuser.

What size tank do you currently have them in?

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKaeTrue

This was terrible advice!

The age of an aquarium has absolutely nothing to do with cloudy water.

__________________________________________________ ____________

Sweetblood,

If your ammonia tests are reading 0, it's safe to assume that the nitrogen cycle is reestablishing itself.
This does take time though, it may not be complete in a week and a half.

I wouldn't put them in a bowl. Apart from the Beta, your other two fish need a source of oxygen provided by an air pump and diffuser.

What size tank do you currently have them in?

I have a ten gallon tank with just a filter and an overhead light... no air pump and no heater... I accidentally broke that... I didn't know that if the heater is on, and you start to empty the tank that the glass heater just cracks! I was soooo mad!

I've broken heaters that way too... all because I forgot to turn them off.
I resorted to buying the submersible kind and I keep them turned on their side close to the bottem...

If you have no air pump, your filter may not be providing enough oxygen to the water - this is a very possible cause for your fish to be gasping at the surface as well.

One way you can help add more bubbles to the water until you get an air pump is to lower your aquarium water by 2 inches.
The water coming out of the filter will then create air bubbles in the water.

I feel strongly that your tank is going through a bacterial bloom.
Did your filter come with a bio-sponge or a bio-wheel or something for the beneficial bacteria to live in so that it doesn't get accidentally washed away again?
This would be something other than the filter cartridge that has carbon in it.

How is the cloudiness coming along? And how are the fish?

Kae

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKaeTrue

I've broken heaters that way too...all because I forgot to turn them off.
I resorted to buying the submersible kind and I keep them turned on their side close to the bottem...

If you have no air pump, your filter may not be providing enough oxygen to the water - this is a very possible cause for your fish to be gasping at the surface as well.

One way you can help add more bubbles to the water until you get an air pump is to lower your aquarium water by 2 inches.
The water coming out of the filter will then create air bubbles in the water.

I feel strongly that your tank is going through a bacterial bloom.
Did your filter come with a bio-sponge or a bio-wheel or something for the beneficial bacteria to live in so that it doesn't get accidentally washed away again?
This would be something other than the filter cartridge that has carbon in it.

How is the cloudiness coming along? And how are the fish?

Kae

I guess they're doing better... my water is not as cloudy as it used to be, but there is still some small room for improvement... as for my fish... well they're still alive, so I guess that's good...

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetblood_15

i guess they're doing better.....my water is not as cloudy as it used to be, but there is still some small room for improvement....as for my fish ......well they're still alive, so i guess thats good......

Absolutely, good indeed:D
It does take time for all the good bacteria to reestablish itself, and it sounds like it's moving along.
You'll have a clear tank again soon. Just hang in there.
Being a fishkeeper myself, I know the waiting can sometimes seem like it never ends... but it will.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKaeTrue

Absolutely, good indeed:D
It does take time for all the good bacteria to reestablish itself, and it sounds like it's moving along.
You'll have a clear tank again soon. Just hang in there.
Being a fishkeeper myself, I know the waiting can sometimes seem like it never ends...but it will.

Thank you so much for your help!

Your welcome and I hope things clear up for you real soon.
If you ever need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.

Kae