Gave them to much to eat

[JamesMJ2]

I wanted to welcome home my new aquatic friends so I kinda threw a banquet... So now the water is cloughy of course. I have cut back to twice a day/what the fish can eat in about 5min(4 fish 2x Clown Loach and 2x Red wagtail Platy's) Will this conditon correct itself in time, I am going to suck the extra crud off the gravel tonight, hoping that will do it. Thanks for any advice.
James.

 

[loganj]

Is this a new tank? If it is, you need to get all that extra food out of there as quickly as possible. If not, then a gravel cleaning and return to normal feeding will probably suffice. If it's a new tank, I'd feed no more than once a day and maybe every other day until the cycle is completed. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle and it's relation to aquariums? Sorry for all the questions but it takes us a little while to get to know the new members and sort out who has experience and who is new to the hobby.
Logan J

 

[JamesMJ2]

It's not new, the tank cycled itself for 7 days before I got fish in it. Now the fish have been in the tank for maybe 3 days. I am familiar with the nitrogen cycle, I understand that it's a bacterial bloom, so I am hoping to control it by removing those nutrients that caused the bloom.

 

[loganj]

It's not new, the tank cycled itself for 7 days before I got fish in it. Now the fish have been in the tank for maybe 3 days.

Just to clear things up for me...how old is the tank? The reason I ask is that 7 days is not nearly enough time to cycle a tank. After 7 days, the cycle would just be in the beginning stages. Entirely possible that I misunderstood your post.
Logan J

 

[angelstiger]

Correct me if i am wrong. But a tank with no fish in it won't cycle. Something needs to supply the ammonia to feed the nitrifying bacteria.

 

[loganj]

You are quite correct there, angelstiger. My apologies if the previous post was misleading .
Logan J

 

[JamesMJ2]

I figured that was true as well, But I couldn't put anything in the tank, except a plant, The alkalinty here is terrible, 7.6 out of the tap.

 

[loganj]

7.6 isn't too bad...just about perfect for the platys actually. What I'm wondering is, and I hate to keep bugging you about it, how old is the tank (total) and how long have there been fish in there? Have you tested for ammonia/nitrite? The cycle can take from a month to 6 weeks...even longer in some cases. Lots of people lose fish due to elevated ammonia or nitrite levels while cycling. What size tank is it and what kind of filtration do you have running?
Logan J

 

[JamesMJ2]

First off, you're not bothering me in the slightest, I appreciate the help.

Aquarium is about 2 weeks old, ditto the water. Fish are in for three days so far. As far as the filter goes, it's a power filter, I think biological filtration- called the Aquaclear 150.

 

[angelstiger]

I agree with loganj. 7.6 isn't bad. Mine runs about that most of the time. It has never been a problem for any fish I have. Most fish will acclimate to moderate PH levels. Most important words of advice in this string were given by loganj

you need to get all that extra food out of there as quickly as possible. If not, then a gravel cleaning and return to normal feeding will probably suffice. If it's a new tank, I'd feed no more than once a day and maybe every other day until the cycle is completed.

The cycle can take from a month to 6 weeks...even longer in some cases. Lots of people lose fish due to elevated ammonia or nitrite levels while cycling.

Get it cleaned up. Don't overfeed them. Don't put any more fish in until it's cycled. Be patient. BTW you never told us how big is the tank? The aquaclear 150 may be rated for up to a 30 gal by the manufacturer, and it provides really good mechanical filtration. It doesn't however provide very good bio-filtration. Not much wet-dry. Personally I Wont set up a tank without either a good bio-wheel or some other type of good wet-dry system.

 

[JamesMJ2]

My apologies, the tank is a 20gal rectangle. I did a big water change, used better water so my ph is now around 7.0. Still cloudy but less so, and I will wait a bit to feed them again.