Mike’s Fish Tank – Clearing Cloudy Water

A lot of people are asking me about cloudy water. Remember if you have just set up a tank, new or old, you have to be careful not to overstock it. A beneficial bacteria has to grow. It will eat the ammonia the fish produce. However it takes a good 4 to 6 weeks for this bacteria to grow. One way to know that you have the good bacteria is your tank will all of a sudden clear up and the tank will start to smell better. Ammonia stinks. If you have a lot of fish and no beneficial bacteria, your tank may smell. That smell is ammonia. I tell people to wait at least 6 weeks for the tank to really be established. Then start adding fish a few each week.

Be sure to do weekly water changes.That will eleviate some of the cloud and smell.
Also, sometimes well water in the Spring and Fall can cause cloudy water. A lot of things happen in well water that can cause cloudiness. There are chemicals that you can use in well water to help clear it. But these only work if your tank is at least 6 weeks old.

Remember cloudy water can be caused by overfeeding too. If there is a lot of excess food on the bottom of your tank, as it decays and  spoils, it will cause cloudy water. Feed your fish small amounts of food 3 to 4 times a day. Don’t feed a lot of food at one time. If a lot of food sinks to the bottom, you’ve fed too much.

A lot of people use things like crystal clear, accu clear or sparkling clear in the hopes of getting rid of their cloudy water. These products are pretty good but they only work in certain circumstances. If your tank has only been setup a few weeks, those products will not work. Clearing products bind small particles together so that your power filter can catch them in the cartridge. If your tank is cloudy because of too many fish too soon, those products will not work.

I also have a lot of people come in for medication to treat fin rot. 99% of the time, it is not fin rot. Usually when several fish have tattered fins, it’s due to an aggressive fish picking on them. Fin rot is highly contagious and all your fish would have bad fins. What happens is one fish becomes aggressive and starts attacking your other fish. So next time you think your fish have fin and tail rot, check to see who still has good fins. That’s your real culprit.

Pets A Plenty is located in the Blockbuster Video Plaza, Rte 281 Cortland, 753-9213. Open 7 days a week. We now have a website. www.petsaplety.biz. check it out. I post care sheets, coupons, new animal arrivals, contests and more. Any questions, email me at friskyy@hotmail.com

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