Cloudy Tank? :/

[Mr.Albiman]

I woke up this morning to find that my tank water was really cloudy. I read that it could be because i left in 2 slices of carrot for the Cories a few days ago for 3 days. Apparently it has caused a bacterial bloom. I did a 100% water change and it has gone away considerably but not completely. Does anyone know if it will go away or if it's harmful?

Tank stats:
12 UK/15 US gallon planted lightly. 1 Panda Cory and 1 Zebra Nerite Snail. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5 (API Freshwater Master Test Kit).

If you need to know anything else just ask.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Anyone know if it is, in fact a bacterial bloom??

 

[LyndaB]

You shouldn't leave fresh food in the tank longer than overnight.

If it were my tank, I would immediately check for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Those readings are current?

 

[Mr.Albiman]

They were from after the water change. I know about not leaving it in now. :/

 

[LyndaB]

Do your fish look alright?

I would imagine that food was pretty moldy by the time you scooped it out of there. Sometimes the fish can experience adverse effects from it.

If your readings were good, I'd just attribute the cloudiness to a bacterial bloom. Sounds like you made your bacteria work overtime to get the job done this time.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

my fish are fine. The carrot wasn't mouldy but it was crumbly and squishy. I just did test again and ammonia is 0 Nitrite is 0 and nitrate is between 0 and 5. I will definitely not leave it in that long again... What's ironic is the fish or snail or shrimp didn't even like it! Haha. Thanks!

 

[LyndaB]

Did you blanch it first? Carrots are pretty hard, I'm not sure if they would've been able to eat it raw.

Glad your params are good.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

I put it in a cup of water and microwaved it for 4 minutes. Also pH is 7.2. Is that okay?

 

[LyndaB]

As long as that's about your standard pH, it's probably fine. It's a change in pH that bothers the fish.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Okay then. Do you know how long it will take for the water to become clear again?

 

[LyndaB]

There's no one answer to that question. It would vary based on bioload, your water change schedule, your feeding schedule, etc.

Keep up with water changes and it probably won't take long.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i recently found my tank was horrifically cloudy - no matter what percentage of water i changed it was still as bad as before.
so i shook up all the substrate and scooped out (with a bowl) the worst of it, leaving 10% and refilled the tank. iv never seen it so clear before
so maybe its worth a try? u have to remove the filter first tho! otherwise it can get clogged xx

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Well there's only 1 Panda Cory and 1 zebra Nerite snail in there at the minute. And i change at least 50% every 1-1.5 weeks.

i already vacuumed all the gravel and changed 100% of the water today to try and get it clearer. It worked but it's not completely gone. Thanks though

 

[LyndaB]

You always need to be really careful with 100% water changes as this can sometimes cause a fluctuation in pH and temp, which can shock the fish.