I need help!:(

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jjk6410

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 11, 2012
Messages
7
Okay so my freshwater aquarium has gone very very very cloudy. The tank is a few years old but we decided to start using it again. So we bought some gravel, cleaned it off with cold water, and put it in the bottom of the tank, which is 20 gallons. The same day, we filled the tank with tapwater. The coal filter seemed to be running okay and the thermostat was set to 76 degrees. About 3 days later, we purchased 8 fish: 3 rainbow sharks, 3 angel fish, 2 algae eaters. We put the bag in the tank so the fish could adjust to the temperature. After releasing them from the bag, we fed them some flakes, which I believe was the problem. None of the fish ate any of the flakes, so the flakes just floated down to the gravel. A few hours later, the water was really cloudy and the fish were at the top of the tank gasping for air it looked like. I checked the temperature, pH levels, nitrate levels, nitrite levels, and ammonia levels (they were all perfect). Within an hour or so, 2 algae eaters and 2 angel fish were dead. We did a 20% water change but that didnt seem to help The next day(today), the remaining 4 fish seemed fine. They were moving around the whole tank, not just the top, but the water is still super cloudy. I have no idea what to do. I can post a picture if needed... I haven't fed the fish since lastnight, and I dont want them to die... What can I do??? Any advice would be great. Sorry the description is so long...
 
I think you should have cycled the tank first before you put in any fish. Also I think another problem would be that you put way to many fish in at one time. You should only put 1-3 max fish at a time. The ammonia levels must have spiked and killed your fish. My suggestion would be to do water changes. That's the best you could probably do at this point to try and save your fish. Do mini water changes every day until you can see the water is better. It might take up to 2 weeks though to get to that point.

Hope everything goes ok and you can save your fishes. Best wishes.
 
Hi and welcome!

Unfortunately you have a few issues here. The first is that the tank wasn't properly cycled; you're going to have huge ammonia spikes very shortly which can be harmful to the fish and with that many fish in a 20 gal you probably aren't going to be able to stay on top of the toxins with water changes. Also your fish are not suitable for your tank at all; Sharks need a MUCH larger tank (at least 55 gals, preferably larger) and can be aggressive. Also Angels aren't going to do well in there either. Also algae eaters aren't' recommended for new tanks as new tanks wont have enough algae for them to eat and most won't eat anything else. What kind of algae eaters are they? And as I mentioned your tank is now about 100% overstocked so your'e going to have tons of toxins in an uncycled tank with that many fish. What test kit are you using? I find it hard to believe there is no ammonia in a tank of that size with all of those fish after 3 days.

The cloudy water could be a bacterial bloom which is normal; it'll resolve itself in time but that's really the least of your problems.

There's a link in my signature: new tank with fish. It's a guide to fish-in cycling, which is what you are now doing. Unfortunately though as I said it's going to be impossible to keep up with water changes as ammonia rises with the stock you have now. I highly suggest returning the fish ASAP, doing a fishless cycle (the other link in my signature: new empty tank) and in the meantime research proper fish for a 20 gal. Until you return the fish I'd advise 50% water changes 1-2x daily with dechlorinator. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Good luck.
 
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you have what is called "new tank syndrome" it will clear up in a few days. For now feed maybe every other day very small amounts. You are most likely going to loose more fish in the process as you have no bio-filter(bacteria) to convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. If you have any friends that have a tank you could get an old filter cartridge or gravel to toss in your tank to help the process go faster.
good luck
 
Do you think I should feed the fish though...?

Well yes you have to feed them. :) But sparingly, I'd give a small amount every couple of days. I really can't stress enough the importance of returning those fish very quickly, they are just not suited to your tank at all and are not going to do well in a 20 gal tank together especially given that it isn't cycled.
 
jjk6410 said:
Do you think I should feed the fish though...?

If you don't they can get hungry and nip at each other. So feed them but make sure you take out any excess food. And to be on the safe side I'd do a water change a little while after you do feed them. A small one 20-25%
 
I don't think i told you the right type of sharks. Theyre light orange with dark orange fins and red eyes... Not sure if thats what you were thinking of
 
you have what is called "new tank syndrome" it will clear up in a few days. For now feed maybe every other day very small amounts. You are most likely going to loose more fish in the process as you have no bio-filter(bacteria) to convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. If you have any friends that have a tank you could get an old filter cartridge or gravel to toss in your tank to help the process go faster.
good luck

i guess i'll just stick to cycling the water a little bit one a day and feeding them every other day.
 
?

If i took those fish back, and got new fish once the water was clear again, wouldn't the same exact thing happen?
 
If i took those fish back, and got new fish once the water was clear again, wouldn't the same exact thing happen?

The water could be cloudy yes, regardless of the fish. It's called a bacterial bloom and happens in mostly new tanks so it could happen regardless, but it's temporary and not harmful. The danger as I said above is that the fish you have are not suited for a 20 gal tank, particularly one that is not cycled. Cycling means growing the proper bacteria your tank needs to keep the toxins in the water down. Fish produce waste (as does uneaten food) and this waste is excreted in the form of ammonia. When a tank is properly cycled (which can take 1-3 months by the way) the bacteria in the filters consume the ammonia so that it isn't toxic to the fish. In an uncycled tank where there isn't enough of the bacteria the fish end up swimming in their own toxins which can killl them if not properly taken cared of through daily testing the water with a test kit and doing water changes to keep ammonia and/or nitrite <.25 at all times until the tank cycles. Cycling with fish can be done with a few of the right type of fish, however with all of those large fish in such a small tank they are going to be creating a lot of ammonia and you're not going to be able to do enough water changes to keep on top of it. Also all of those fish are going to grow quickly and grow much too large for a 20 gal tank.
 
The water could be cloudy yes, regardless of the fish. It's called a bacterial bloom and happens in mostly new tanks so it could happen regardless, but it's temporary and not harmful. The danger as I said above is that the fish you have are not suited for a 20 gal tank, particularly one that is not cycled. Cycling means growing the proper bacteria your tank needs to keep the toxins in the water down. Fish produce waste (as does uneaten food) and this waste is excreted in the form of ammonia. When a tank is properly cycled (which can take 1-3 months by the way) the bacteria in the filters consume the ammonia so that it isn't toxic to the fish. In an uncycled tank where there isn't enough of the bacteria the fish end up swimming in their own toxins which can killl them if not properly taken cared of through daily testing the water with a test kit and doing water changes to keep ammonia and/or nitrite <.25 at all times until the tank cycles. Cycling with fish can be done with a few of the right type of fish, however with all of those large fish in such a small tank they are going to be creating a lot of ammonia and you're not going to be able to do enough water changes to keep on top of it. Also all of those fish are going to grow quickly and grow much too large for a 20 gal tank.

so when i get rid of these fish and buy the right size fish, i should only put in 1-3 at a time?
 
The water could be cloudy yes, regardless of the fish. It's called a bacterial bloom and happens in mostly new tanks so it could happen regardless, but it's temporary and not harmful. The danger as I said above is that the fish you have are not suited for a 20 gal tank, particularly one that is not cycled. Cycling means growing the proper bacteria your tank needs to keep the toxins in the water down. Fish produce waste (as does uneaten food) and this waste is excreted in the form of ammonia. When a tank is properly cycled (which can take 1-3 months by the way) the bacteria in the filters consume the ammonia so that it isn't toxic to the fish. In an uncycled tank where there isn't enough of the bacteria the fish end up swimming in their own toxins which can killl them if not properly taken cared of through daily testing the water with a test kit and doing water changes to keep ammonia and/or nitrite <.25 at all times until the tank cycles. Cycling with fish can be done with a few of the right type of fish, however with all of those large fish in such a small tank they are going to be creating a lot of ammonia and you're not going to be able to do enough water changes to keep on top of it. Also all of those fish are going to grow quickly and grow much too large for a 20 gal tank.

also, do you have any good methods of getting the uneaten fish food out??
 
jjk6410 said:
also, do you have any good methods of getting the uneaten fish food out??

A standard aquarium vacuum would do fine in sucking up the uneaten food, and if you don't have that you can for the time being use a net and just scoop it out. And yes I highly recommend only putting 1-3 fishes in at a time and that's when your water is all cycled cuz if you do it especially without it properly cycled it will spike up ammonia and most likely kill your new fishes.
 
Also the 1-3 fish ratio can change depending in the fish size the bigger the fish the less you can put in.
 
Do exactly what momma said read those. If you take your fish back it will NOT happen again because you can do a fishless cycle!'so your fish will never be in all the toxins they are now. Also your fish probably didn't eat because they were to stressed. Being taken from their homes, put into a bag, tossed around, and put with fish they have never seen before in a way to small of tank for them. You can net any food left ontop of the water and gravel vac what's in the gravel. How often where you planning on doing water changes just out of curiosity?
 
If i took those fish back, and got new fish once the water was clear again, wouldn't the same exact thing happen?

The cloudy water isn't the main problem. The problem is that your tank is not cycled. Until it is cycled I wouldn't put any fish in it. What kind of test kit do you have? You need to read the sites libraygirl gave you so you know what to do.
 
Angelfish and sharks should not be in a tank for at least 4-6 weeks of cycling. For now you should stick to tetras, mollies, guppies, etc. Your pet store should be able to point out all the breeds that are hardy enough for a new tank. After you have them in there for 4-6 weeks, then you can start thinking about other fish. Also, the general rule for population is 1 inch of fish/gallon. So, if you have fish that get to 6 inches long, you would only be able to put 3 in the tank, then maybe a 2 inch fish. The algae eaters need to hold off long enough for algae to form in tank, so I would give those a few weeks as well. When you put fish into a new aquarium, it is normal for the water to get cloudy. Give it sometime to clear up on its own. After a week, if it is still not clear, then you may want to add some EasyBalance in the water to help balance out all the levels in the water. As for feeding, if the fish are not eating all the food within 4 minutes, you are giving them too much. You should give them small amounts 2-3 times per day.
 
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