New fish tank already cloudy

[Ballerina87]

My boyfriend and I just got a brand new aquarium. We set it up and let it run for 24 hours like it said in the instructions. We went and picked up some fish. One of them was sick and died during the first night. We took it out as soon as we found it dead. Ever since then the water has been cloudy. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? I don't want our fish to get sick.

[Hunna]

If it was a brand new tank, your tank is regulating itself. A tank needs certian bacterias to thrive, and new tanks do not have them. Give it a few days, it will clear up. You may loose a few more fish in the process tho, it is hard on some of them, others can handle it quite well.

What kind of fish did you choose?

[emroul]

I agree with Hunna. The new tank you set up has no bacteria established, that could be why your fishy died. The cloudiness may be caused by a "bacterial bloom" which is not a bad thing. Take a look at the Nitrogen cycle - this is the process your tank is going through to establish itself in order for fish to live happily in it. :)

These are all links explaining the Nitrogen cycle and the process. The explanations are laid out differently so you can decide which one is easiest for you to understand hehe.


http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

http://www.algone.com/cycle.htm

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling2.htm

http://www.versaquatics.com/nitrogencycle.htm

[emroul]

oh yes! And what fish did you pick out for your tank, and how big is your tank? :)

[Ballerina87]

Well it is a regular 10 gallon tank and we have 12 mollies and a beta. My boyfriend claims he expected some to die since he has "bad luck" with fish lol.

[RoxyGirl]

I agree with the others.

When i got my tank a while back ( i don't have it anymore) it was cloudy for 2-3 days,but don't put anything in it, just leave it be, and it should clear up up and become crystal clear!

I was told it was better to start off with gold fish, to build up the bacteria, and since they are very cheap, i opted for that before putting my sharks in.

[Kkye]

i have learned that you should allow your tank to cycle for quite a while before adding life to a virgin environment, if you know what i mean. if i ever set up a tank, filled 'er up, gave it the necessary water treatments and then added fish right away, they always got sick and i lost all my fish. then i read somewhere to let your tank mature for a couple weeks (the waiting period is terrible) so i tried that, added some guppies and they all survived, and went from there.

the cloudiness is normal. it'll go away.

[kaitlin]

i agree. also we suggest where i work to add fish gradually, like after 24 hours put in 2-3 fish and add more as the tank cycles more. we also suggest 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. it could be they were over fed, or they just plain dont have enough room..

[Macawpower58]

Many new aquariums have this problem, exactly for the reason the above members said. It is advisable to only buy one or two cheap fish to 'season' your tank. You may end up with many more dieing (I hope not though) before your tank establishes itself.

There are additives to help 'season' new tanks, though it's been so long since I've had a tank, I can't remember their names. Any good fish store should be able to help you.

If the worse happens and you lose your fish, don't despair. Buy one or two feeder goldfish and allow them to season your tank for a time before adding any other fish.

[JMar0408]

^^^feeder fish aren't advisable to help season out the tank because apparently they aren't too healthy and can be carrying diseases and you don't want that left in your tank when you're ready to put your fish in.

[e1beth1]

I agree with all the stuff above but I also want to add that 13 fish in a ten gallon tank is a bit much and is probably a bit stressful on your fish. I would highly suggest that you don't replace any you loose and keep your number down to maybe 5 or 6, mollies can actually get a little size to them.

[kaitlin]

if the feeder goldfish end up surviving, they will become very large, and will out grow the tank very quickly as well.. they are also a cold water fish, so if you want to add mollies, they will not coexist with goldfish.. also i wanted to add mollies give live birth, and they will eat their babies.. but if u do decide to scoop them out, there can be up to 24 babies at a time.. and thats a lot of fish to deal with!!

[Irish_Lass]

One of our mollies gave birth a few weeks ago along with some guppies. Its amazing how different they look, even from birth.

[srgrimes]

re:Cloudy water in a new tank...Its a shame there aren't more places to go for fish and reptile info and most of the major pet stores around here are out of business. We are avid dog lovers and built a web site to Vets online willing to give away free advise with videos to help people out in this economy. There is no reason for the pets suffer. http://www.pamperedpetsandpals.com (http://www.pamperedpetsandpals.com)

[srgrimes]

Build a small outdoor pond and start stocking it! The Free plans are at http://www.pamperedpetsandpal.com (http://www.pamperedpetsandpals.com)Its easy and fun for all ages and attracts an amazing amount of wildlife during bird migrations.

[Ranchu]

Many new aquariums have this problem, exactly for the reason the above members said. It is advisable to only buy one or two cheap fish to 'season' your tank. You may end up with many more dieing (I hope not though) before your tank establishes itself.

There are additives to help 'season' new tanks, though it's been so long since I've had a tank, I can't remember their names. Any good fish store should be able to help you.

If the worse happens and you lose your fish, don't despair. Buy one or two feeder goldfish and allow them to season your tank for a time before adding any other fish.

any of you tried this product - Microbe-Lift Clarifier Plus Show Tank Water Clarifier Plymeric Blend, 16-Ounce? I found it at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Microbe-Lift-Clarifier-Water-Plymeric-16-Ounce/dp/B001L1R7KI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1240984519&sr=8-2 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/B001L1R7KI/?tag=propeller08-20)

I can't find any comment there so am wondering will it help for cloudy water? Thnx in advance.