Cloudy Water - Too many fish?

[psun03]

I have a 10 gallon tank that I have been using for the past 6 months. The water use to be nice and somewhat clean, but lately (past month or two) the tank has been very dirty. In the tank, I host 4 comet goldfish and 3 ghost shrimp. The water generally has not been very clear (see photos). I thinking that I either have too many fish and/or not enough or the wrong filtration.

Here is my specs.
10 gallon tank
XY-2831 Air Pump Sponge Filter for Aquarium, Tank [link]
Aqua Culture Air Pump [link]

I do water 20% water changes every week. Once a month, I do a 50%-75% water change.

I feed the fish pellets [link]

I have tried several DIY solutions for filters, but the one above seems to be the best.

Any suggestions?

 

[Autumnsky]

YES, too many!!!

Goldfish seem like they could be in a small tank. BUT it is a bad idea. They're constantly polluting the water. They need a large tank, check out the article link below, and a huge filtration set up with frequent pwc.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...uire-big-tanks-visual-perspective-265871.html

20 gallons for the first fish and 10G or more for each additional fish, more if it is a Comet type which can get well over a foot long ( and really belong in a pond), With a 10x or more per gallon filtration as in how many gallons per hour the filter turns through the water.

Also a recent thread with many things to do to help with cloudy water
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/cloudy-water-help-please-354408.html

 

[Toad]

Rehome the goldfish or build a pond, there is no way to keep comets in 10g long term period, and even short term can cause serious harm like stunting.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Ironworker161]

Hi, psun03 your problem is pretty simple. Your fish have out grown your tank. You see, goldfish grow at a very fast rate and the are perhaps the dirtiest fish of all. What I mean by dirty is they produce very high levels of toxins and waste, which is why your water is cloudy. I currently have several goldfish that are about 3 years old and close to 12 inches long. So you can see how big they can get. Plan and simple, you need a much bigger tank and better filtration. I would recommend at least a 75 gallon without any other fish. I currently have 8 in a 400 gallon. But like I said, they are 12 inches long now in just a few years. If you can't get them into a larger tank you may wAnt to consider selling them or giving them away and getting some fish that don't grow so large. Unfortunately , the people who work at most pet stores don't tell people about how large a goldfish can get. They really do require a lot of tank space to be happy and healthy. Until you can get them into a bigger home, I recommend doing daily 50% water changes. I hope this helps. Good luck with your fish

 

[psun03]

Thanks

I figured as much. Thanks for the advice

 

[Ironworker161]

Just wanted to add one more thought. As I posted above, I keep 8 comets that are 12 inches long in a 400 gal tank, however this is just a holding tank for the winter. And I have to do frequent water changes on it. Fortunately it's in my basement where it is much cooler and the fish are less active. In the spring I move them back to my 4000gal garden pond, which is where goldfish truly should be kept.

 

[BBradbury]

ps...

The water in small tanks needs to be changed a lot more often than the water in a larger tank. If I had a 10 G, I'd change out most of the water a couple of times a week. This way, dissolved material from the tank that gives the water a hazy look is removed regularly and keeps the water cleaner and clearer.

B