New to the Forums w/ a question

[Nskylinerb-25]

Hi, I have a 20G tank w/ some 3 live plants one a amazon sword, a banana plant, and another one that I can't remember the name of. I have 10 fish in there right now a Black Ghost, Rainbow Shark, Dalmation Molli, Gold Nugget Molli, a Tiger Barb, 3 Gold Barbs, and 2 Angel Fish it sound like alot but there all pretty much small except for the Black Ghost he is about 3" long.

Well here goes my question about 3 weeks after I got my fish tank set up my water got cloudy and I was told it was something natural called new tank syndrom that it would go away well after a week later it did the water turned clear again but then I added the dalmation,gold nugget, and the angel fish and the amazon sword plant and the next day my water turned cloudy again and it was not cleared up yet it's been a little over a week now. Don't know what to do I have put some water clarify but no luck should I just leave it alone or is there something that I can try. Thanks

 

[FroggyFox]

A lot of times that cloudyness is a bacterial bloom which is a good thing, it means your filter is doing what it needs to. However, it sounds like you are pretty overstocked there...and that can make your tank go on overload. Have you been doing regular water changes? How long has the tank been set up?

 

[stoddern]

I agree it does sound like a second bacterial bloom caused by adding more fish, keep in mind the 1inch per gal. is not a rule so much as a guide line and it refers to fish when full grown not the half size fish we usually get at the LFS, I also agree that your over stocked, try more water changes, adding more fitration such as a sponge filter as they add tons of space for bacteria to live, also try some differant plants that use more nitrates to help keep your tank healthy in a natural way

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

I did a 15% water change a couple of days ago but I haven't done much more than that because Im afraid it will affect the bacterial bloom about how long does that usually last? Thanks

Here's some pics of the Tank

This is how it looked when it was clean

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

sorry for the crappy pics there camera pics

 

[bmoraski]

Have you been doing regular water changes? How long has the tank been set up?

very important questions.
and they were not crappy pictures ! lol
i love that cabin

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

thanks. I did the 15% water change about 2-3 days ago and the tank has been set up for about a month and a half. I think what Im going to do is wait one more week see if the water changes and Im going to try and remove some of the fish there just so hard to get.

Should I do another water change?

 

[MissFishy]

It sounds like you are having cycling issues. What are you adding to your tank? Are you using water conditioner when you do water changes? The constant "blooming" of bacteria which causes the milky water is a sign there is something wrong with your cycle. I'm also going to guess that your tank is too small to be handling all those fish. I know it doesn't look crowded, but the bio load some of those fish put on the tank is a lot bigger than their size. Also, from looking at those pics, are you sure this isn't a 10gallon tank? It looks small.

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

mmmmmmmmmmmmm yeah I think it's a 20 gallon tank because when I do a 25% water change it only goes down to like a 3rd of the full amount of the tank and that's about 5 gallons Im planning on taking some fish out to help w the water Im going to take out the tiger barb, the 3 gold barbs, and the gold nugget molli hopefully that would help.... but Im going to double check on the size now you have me thinking.

For water conditioner I've been using and to help w the bacteria grow I've been using Stress Zyme but I just bought this new product called Seachem Stability for the cloudiness of the water.

 

[MissFishy]

Well, the cabin could just be HUGE and be throwing off my reference for size. It's worth measuring though so you know for sure.

Again, you don't need to be adding anything but a water conditioner while doing your water changes. Adding other chemicals may throw off your cycle.

 

[Evan]

You do have a lot of fish in a small tank. But try ACUREL-F it's a conditioner that you can cycle through your tank weekly or more, it helps the bio in your filters and it WILL clear up your water, just read the drops per gallon and rinse your carbon after a week on the first use because it will pull all the gunk to the back of it, every water change thierafter just add that and some de cloranization drops to every gallon and you shoulod be fine. ( as long as you keep up on it) Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

thanks for all the great info I'll keep you guys posted Im going to take out about 5-6 of the fishes for sure and doing a 25% water change. Im going to have to wait until the weekend so I can have time to take out the fish since they are really hard to catch lol thanks.

 

[nikcasper]

one of the fish i think is gonna give you a lot of issues no matter how many fish you take out, might be the red tail shark. they can be pretty persistent after other fish fin nipping and stressing them to death; as it grows its ego sorta grows with it. but i could be wrong and you might have got lucky with a mello one.

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

thanks for the info I have been seen him chasing around the tiger barb. Well one of my angel fish died today so I kinda changed the ones that Im going to take out it's going to be all the barbs the 3 gold barbs and the tiger barb that leaves me w 6 fished is that a good amount or should I take out some more what do you guys think?

 

[MissFishy]

I'm still not clear on what size tank it is? Is this tank 20 gallons or 10 gallons? Just measure the sides and post them on here, we'll be able to tell.

 

[unwritten law]

it looks like a 20 high to me...

 

[littletankbigworld]

Good luck cycling your tank!

 

[littletankbigworld]

Another thing, you probably don't want tiger barbs, red tail sharks, and angelfish in with your other fish. They are all predatory fish and they are territorial. You'll see fin nipping with the angelfish and tiger barbs as well as with the shark, like nikcasper said.

 

[Nskylinerb-25]

thanks I'll try to measure the tank later on. I have GOOD NEWS well my water is crystal clear now I just have to clean the inside of the class it's a little bit dirty but not bad at all. I went ahead and took out all of the barbs which was the tiger barb and the 3 gold barbs took them to a local fish store and donated them. I also added a sponge filter so I think that is going to help it out in the long run. I'll post pics later on thanks for all the great info.

 

[OrangeCones]

Hi, I have a 20G tank w/ some 3 live plants one a amazon sword, a banana plant, and another one that I can't remember the name of. I have 10 fish in there right now a Black Ghost, Rainbow Shark, Dalmation Molli, Gold Nugget Molli, a Tiger Barb, 3 Gold Barbs, and 2 Angel Fish it sound like alot but there all pretty much small except for the Black Ghost he is about 3" long.

If by Black Ghost you mean a Black Ghost Knifefish, it will need a much larger aquarium. They can grow to 20 inches! Maybe a 100 gallon tank? They have big mouths too, and may snack on your smaller fish as it grows, especially after the lights go out.