Shrimp Pellets Clouding Watter

[Orion]

We feed our goldfish Wardley shrimp pellets and here for the past couple of weeks any time we feed, the water gets very cloudy. Im not feeding them any more than usual, the only differeance, is that we found an older can of shrimp pellets and mixed it in with what we already had. Could the age of the pellets have anything to do with clouding the watter?

PH is 6.8, sand substraite, bio-wheel 170, and an aquatech HOB filter, not sure of modle #, but does about 120 gph I think.

Nothing new has been added, everything is the same. Not sure what could be causeing this.

 

[Phroge]

Filtration isn't your problem here. Most likely your problem is fish waste. You should consider increasing the frequency of your water changes and gravel vacuuming. Your fish are either not eating all the food you give them and it is decomposing on the bottom, or they are, ummm, 'recycling' the food to the bottom of the tank. Give your gravel a good, deep(really jam the vac into the gravel) cleaning and a 30% water change, followed by another vac and 30% change in a couple days, as well as cut back on feeding. Your water should clear up soon after that.

-Phroge

 

[Orion]

well, we have sand not gravel, so we are able to see all of the fish waste and uneaten food. They get feed once a day. I dont think that it is fish waste or uneaten food because it dosent take it 5 min after the food is put in to start getting cloudy. And it only gets cloudy when the food is put in. Hours latter the tank is clear agian.

 

[adamj]

i'd say yes, the culprit is the older food. Many foods guarentee they dont cloud water...However some do not guarrentee that they will not cloud water.

 

[catfishmike]

that seems odd as i've never had shrimp pellets cloud my water.it's probably a combo of things.my geuss is gold fish plus sand plus messy eating and waste.my friend had a goldfish tank with sand,that tank never cleared up.in another post i think it was you who stated that there is a pleco in that tank too.you might want to find a new home for your pleco.goldfish can carry parasites and disease that won't bother them but tropical fish like plecos and the sort are weak to these diseases.

 

[Orion]

Didnt know that about goldfish. Thanks for bringing that up. And you are correct, I do have a pleco in there as well. I had never had shrimp pellets cloud the water either, but I think that it is probably a combonation between all three. Right now the tank looks perfect. Not a bit cloudy. I belive that if I switched to a floating food, and mabey increased the filtration a little, then it probably wouldnt get as cloudy.

That brings me to something else. I have read that some people do not encourage feeding goldfish with floating food, because when they eat the swallow some air and could possably get a disese in the swim bladder. I have also read that this is not true. We have always feed ours on the bottom, but has any one had any problems feeding them on the top?

 

[jakano]

i have had a goldfish in my tank for about 2 years and that is the only way i have ever fed him and i have never had a problem. i dont know what type of goldfish he is but he has gotten huge.