PLEASE HELP- FISH DYING, AQUARIUM EXTREMELY CLOUDY?
i got a new tank and its way overcrowded with fish and its still completing the cycle (about 30 gallons 10 small goldfish, im planning on moving them but trying to get water situated). ive been using a lot of stuff in the water because the levels from the test kit all were horrible (nitrates, ammonia especially way too high) and i used something to bring the ph level to 7.5. i have a bubble eye and i turned off the filter when i left because i didnt want the bubbles to get stuck, came home and the water is so cloudy i can see hardly anything and the bubble eye is swimming/floating around tilted on its side. i added a lot of water today too so im not sure if its osmotic shock i really dont know that much about fish (OBVIOUSLY)
can someone PLEASE give me any advice in saving the bubble eye or any idea of whats wrong?? right now i have it in a separate bowl but i reallly dont want it to die!!
ugh i didnt know that could happen so fast i was only gone for about 4 hours and i have been putting some stuff in to speed up the bacteria. i use water from a well would i still need the declorinator?
i got 9 of the 10 fish yesterday, could they have made that much poop yet? i havent even fed them yet because im so worried about it. they all seemed stressed out (theyre pearlscales) and stay in a little school
is there any chance of saving the bubble eye?
i had a bubble up filter going and the water level just got high enough to start using our old waterfall one (i just bought a new one but its either broken or the water level isnt high enough)
but i shut that one off because im paranoid about the bubble eye getting stuck..thats happened to me soo many times in the past and i hate it
i really dont want to take them back because we have another tank about 50 gallons im going to set up for some of them just i need time to get it situated which is not working out well at allll
could i just leave them in there for another day or so and start the bigger one tomorrow? thats gonna be suchh a pain and i really dont have time for it today
i used an ammonia and nitrate neutralizer and the ph thing because it was high. ammonia is way better now nitrates are still bad.. im thinking its because i live near farms and the fertilizer gets in the water from the well.
right now i have 2 waterfall filters going and a bubble up (which really seems to make no difference)
im hoping this helps out.. i added more water too
ill go get the dechlorinator im just sure if i need it or not because my water doesnt have chlorine or whatever (thats what my mom said at least since its from the well)
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get some declorinator fill a large bucket with water use it, this is only a last resort, put them all in it for now get the water filtering, what happened is without the filter there was nothing to suck up the urine and fish crap, which agregated in the water causing the cloudiness, since you won’t have a chance to cycle it, get a slightly larger then recommended filter, get it started up in there let it sit for 4 hours it should clear up the water, then if you have time run to a store they should have a bottle of bacteria for helping to cycle a tank fatser and follow those directions.
You have 10 goldfish in a 30 gallon tank? Sounds fine for about a week I had 10 also before in a 15 gallon tank. Later I learned that they need a much much bigger tank. Good thing that you said your’re gonna move them…
Cloudy water is an indication of some type of pollutant. In all likelihood, the cause is too many fish. With a 10-gallon tank, ten fish this soon is an overload. You should start with just ONE fish and allow the water in your tank to cycle through once before adding another fish. To determine if your tank is cycling you need to take various water readings with your test kit over a period of a few days. You should see the ammonia levels spike and then taper down to an acceptable level. Once that happens, the bacteria base in the tank has developed the capability of handling the waste produced by the current tank population. “Bio-load” is the term used to describe the total biological specimens in your tank. With such a small system, you must add only one fish at a time and wait for the tank to cycle again. You know you can add no more fish once the ammonia level begins the creep towards unacceptable levels.
You have whats called new tank syndrome. Your tank has not cycled yet, so the cloudiness you see is bacteria forming, because the waste (fish poop, uneaten food) cannot be broken down yet.
Immediatley change 70% of your water. Replace it with fresh water. You will probably have to change at least 30% of your water every day. You can use tap water, but buy a water treatment to neutralize the chlorine and chloramines. You can buy it at walmart or any fish store.
It takes a month or two to cycle your tank. To do it faster, get some gravel out of an already cycled tank. Go to a fish store like petsmart and ask to have a handful. also mom and pop types store might sell it to you.
But look up new tank syndrome and how to cycle a tank. I have a 200 gallon tank, and have had tanks for years, so i know what im talking about. Theres a good chance your fish will die. If you want to keep them, buy some amquel Plus which will neutralize the ammonia and nitrates/nitirites. Also add a little salt to the water to help the fish out.
Also, never trust the water. Buy the water conditioner and use it.
You just mentioned you have Goldfish. Goldfish are well known for creating a lot of waste. They usually need twice the normal size filter.
A critical error was turning off the filter. NEVER turn off a filter especially with Goldfish.
Here is what you can do right now to save your fish. DO NOT DO 100% water changes.
Go to a fish store (a local one not the big chains) and buy something called PRIME. Add about 2 capfulls into the tank ASAP. It neutralizes everything toxic to fish for a few days.
Take out about 40% of the water. Add tap water with a few drops of prime and do this each day for 3-4 days. Afterwards I’d go down to 20% water then 10%.
You filter has not cycled yet. This is extremely important. Talk to your fish store about buying some of their gravel in a cycled tank and maybe some beneficial bacteria to help kick start your filter.
Also give back some of your fish to your fishstore. 10 goldfish is WAY too many for a 30 gallon tank.
The local pet stores can give great advice (not Petsmart, Petco, Walmart) also ask the employees what to do.
If it’s a new tank and you just put water and fish in it you’re going to lose some fish as it takes 7 days to start a biological system. Also goldfish are the dirtiest fish there are so you’ll need to do water changes often to keep amonia levels down.
you are experiencing the normal cycle of the water
…a problem is that goldfish make more ammonia, (due to their lack of a true stomach, they cannot completely digest food)
you have 2 situations to solve:
Situation #1
a.) goldfish water becomes cloudy quickly when unfiltered, so change 30% to 50% of the tank water now…with dechlorinated tap water
b.) turn the water filter back on and leave it running all the time, always….you could place some panty hose over the intake of the filter for protection of bubble eyes (use a rubber band to hold it in place)
c.) the water will cycle several weeks, and as it does you will see white clouds flowing in the water, that is normal and that is a good thing….the white clouds are bacteria colonies growing and eating the ammonia from the water….eventually the bacteria settle into the water filter where they will live….the water will clear up and the water “levels” (parameters) will return to normal…that is less than 2 of ammonia…a goldfish will always live with some ammonia..it is the way nature intended them to be ….see the two web sites i sent along with this, ok?
Situation #2:
a.) what to do with the fish while the tank settles?
….you can keep her in a bowl changing the water every day or two, use dechlorinated water, yes?
…or leave her in the tank…in that case you should change 30% of the tank water every 3 days, until the water cycle is completed (usually the cycle takes 3 to 6 weeks depending on how big the tank is)
b.) do not add chemicals to your water…only dechlorinator
c.) i have used a dechlorinating product known as “Prime” for many years with perfect success…especially with goldfish ($3 at Wal-mart)
d.) your tap water is nearly 7.0 ph, (all tapwater treated by a city is 6.8 to 7.0) ….keep the water filter running
….the tank will cycle normally, as all tanks do
…do not use chemicals, those will always lead to more problems in water parameters (levels)….for example, using antibiotics will kill bacteria…by killing bacteria the tank will recycle, leading to ammonia spikes, etc., etc. using copper based chemicals not only kill invertibrates, but must be removed from the tank water using charcoal and through routine water changes
….avoid the use of chemicals, ok? “usually they are a waste of money because proper tank care avoids problems that require chemicals”
….so, while your tank cycles you will need to keep your fish in clean dechlorinated water….she’ll be fine
Dechlorinators often serve more functions that just removing chlorine from the water. They often have ingredients to help a fish retain its slime coat in time of stress. Some of them also help reduce nitrite and nitrate levels. I would suggest a using a dechlorinator for these reasons. And for that many goldfish you need a MUCH bigger tank.
First off, your tank is not cycled so adding this many fish to an uncycled tank is asking for trouble.
Second, a stable ph is better than one that jumps around. Adding chemicals to adjust the PH will raise it and be pulled out by the carbon within an hour. Now your poor fish no only subjected to spikes in ammonia are now subject to spikes in the PH. Goldfish are fine in a PH from 5.7 to 8.2 so leave it at what it is and don’t add any more chemicals to try to fix it. It needs to be stable. Pitch the PH chemical. You don’t need it and it doesn’t work.
Nitrates for goldfish can be well over 120 ppm and not affect the fish. This is the nice thing about goldfish. NitrItes are different. Be sure you are reading the strips right. Water changes only will get rid of the nitrates.
NEVER turn the filter off for any reason. The filter needs to run 24/7. Bubbles won’t hurt your fish. Your fish was on its side due to the poor water quality.
Your tank is going thru ammonia spikes and then you added more starter bacteria which is basically more ammonia to a tank that has fish producing ammonia. ???? STOP adding this crap to your tank it doesn’t need it. Your fish’s waste is enough to do the trick. Here is a link you really need to read about cycling and how and what it means
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm
If you have a filter designed for the gallons of the tank, your bubble eye isn’t going to get stuck. You just happened to have a really dumb fish in the past. 30 gallon tank 30 gallon filter. NO more for these types of fish. DO NOT shut it off for any reason. If you continue to have the problem, forget the bubble eye or put a sponge on the end of your filter to keep this from happening.
Right now you need to do a large water change about 40-50 % of the tank. Keep all the chemicals other than the dechlor/water conditioner out. Just because you have a chemical that tells you it will fix the ph, cycle the tank, drop the nitrates etc. doesn’t mean it does what it says. Especially in a new tank. Water change.
Keep testing the water daily and change out 25% of the water when you see the ammonia spiking or even the nitrites.
Well water could have higher nitrates however these are no where near as toxic as ammonia and nitrites. Also, if you live near a cow or horse field you have ammonia in your water, get a water conditioner.
Again nitrates 120 will not harm goldfish at all. (Or most fish) although the goal is to have them as low as possiable (They will never be 0) It is the ammonia and nitrites you really need to worry about.
Keep the filter running 24/7 Bubbler doesn’t matter they do nothing for the fish and no they do not provide any oxygen to the fish they are decoration only.
Test the water daily until the ammonia and nitrites are under control