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Cloudy water,fry AND some dead fish

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases & Cures' started by Anonymous, Feb 13, 2009.

  1. Anonymous

    Anonymous Thread Starter Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Yikes..What started out as a sort of dream of mine has now gone ugly.I had a 10 gallon tank that was about a year old and was active and at the time I started out I had began the tank with Platy's.Well..long story short here.I gave the platy's away so I can start over with what I really wanted all along..GUPPIES!..lol..yeah I know Well after new gravel and new water I allowed the tank to set up over a week without adding any fish and btw I did not touch the filter I was thinking I could at least have some of the old "bacteria"left and just add it to the new water.Before I ever changed anything I finally had that "old tank"where I wanted it..crystal clear water and beautiful.I really hated to mess with as I have had this battle before when I originally set this tank up over a year ago.It was always a sort of small cloudy issue but at the end I got the victory and I had to go and mess it up..lol,,ok..now that the history lesson is over here is a update

    I started over like I said but in my 10 gallon..I bought 3 male and 3 female guppies..YES..finally had what I wanted....seems it was within a week I turned on the light and guess what?..FRY...FRY yessssssss..wow it was exciting to see that..I had 7..think two got ate but currently have 5 who seems they will make it.Ok here is where things get strange..I noticed after the birth of those fry I had lost a male guppy sometime afterwards.

    Things were going great after that after a week I noticed the water getting slightly cloudy [ohhhhhhno] but I left it alone for another week and ignored it [maybe it will go away]after a week I decided to change 10% of the water and add a "clarifier".Few days later it has now got worse..I am talking about fish swimming in a fog..lol..the fry have been growing but I have now lost 2 more male guppies..

    So my problem?

    I have severe cloudy water......
    3 male guppies have died.....
    I have 5 new fish...

    I am now stumped..I wonder if the females killed off my males?
    I now wonder if I should do a major water change?

    Thanks for listening!
     
    Anonymous, Feb 13, 2009
    #1
  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    How often do you do water changes and what % do you change ? I see you did a 10% water change once.

    What type of filtration are you using ?

    How long has the new tank been set up completely (with fish) ?

    Have you tested your water ? Ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte ?
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
    #2
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Thread Starter Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    How often do you do water changes and what % do you change ? I see you did a 10% water change once.

    Ok..since the tank has been up and running [with fish] for about 3 weeks now I have only performed the 1 10% water change


    What type of filtration are you using ?

    I am using a Whisper Power filter [actually made for a 20 gallon]

    How long has the new tank been set up completely (with fish) ?
    about 3 weeks

    Have you tested your water ? Ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte ?
    No I have not..me being about a year into fish..I have not thought about that and consider that could be a problem

    The one thing that really bothers me is how I lost only male fish and they all got picked off one by one after the fry arrived..I heard the female will eat them and yes I do provide cover for them but I was wondering if those males were killed off by the female while protecting the fry?

    I am thinking of changing half the water this weekend..but I will wait for advice
     
    Anonymous, Feb 13, 2009
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  4. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    is it a cycled tank?
     
    stevenrox, Feb 13, 2009
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  5. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Since you have not tested your water since adding fish, they have been in the water for 3 weeks exposed to ammonia and nitrite. That is a possible cause of death.

    The cloudy water could be a bacteria bloom.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
    #5
  6. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    With fish being in the tank for 3 week I would think it's cycled by now.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  7. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    lol oops didnt read the whole thing had to help mom hehe
     
    stevenrox, Feb 13, 2009
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  8. SyncereOne

    SyncereOne New Member

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    I doubt the tank has cycled....the filter sat and ran for a week with no waste to feed the BB, so it may have died off, or there was so little left, it was not enough to handle the wasteload put on it.

    Stay away from clarifying products. They serve little to no purpose.

    The solution is to get your hands on some established media from a friend of LFS. This should cycle the tank and eliminate the bacteria bloom.
     
    SyncereOne, Feb 14, 2009
    #8
  9. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    At this point the tank should be cycled... Not previously.
     
    Anthony, Feb 14, 2009
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  10. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    yea
     
    stevenrox, Feb 14, 2009
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  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Thread Starter Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    I guess what I did not understand was why it was cycling again seeing I kept the filter from the old gravel..that is I did not clean the filter,just took it out and did everything I wanted and put it back in a ran it.Everything was good for about 2 weeks then I notice a slight fog coming in..I am figuring with the new gravel it may have caused the uproar and forced a re cycle?.. here is a update

    I started off with 6 guppies..I am now down to 2 females and 4 fry..did I mention I originaly had 2 cory cats?..yeah I have wondered as peaceful as they are maybe they are assassins..lol as something was killing off the fish..

    I went out and bought a test kit..a master test kit yeah In know what took me so long?..anyways while I was shopping I had my water sampled..everything was good except ammonia..it was near 4..and it should be 0.I have replaced 20% water and added ammonia lock and hopefully it will get better..thanks for your help!
     
    Anonymous, Feb 14, 2009
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  12. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    i say do a 50% water change not a 20% ammonia is really deadly maybe whats in you filter wasnt engough to cycle you knew tank or a comple of you guppies died and your ammonia shot up (highly unlikely unless u have a small tank) right know you tank is like a radio active bomb for the fishes
     
    stevenrox, Feb 14, 2009
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  13. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    lucky you have guppies though :)
     
    stevenrox, Feb 14, 2009
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  14. Stellaluna

    Stellaluna New Member

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    You left the bacteria on its own with nothing to feed it for too long. Even though you did not mess with it, the fact that there were no fish there to provide food caused the bacteria to die off. Then you added the new fish, which by themselves probably would have cycled the tank just fine if it was just them in there, but then they had babies, and that was enough to create a mini cycle.

    You have to nurture and care for your precious bacterial colonies - they are alive just like the fish, and keep your fish safe and happy in return.

    Good advice above to obtain some filthy filter media from a trusted source. Be sure there is no possibility you are introducing disease into your tank. Another great reason to have multiple tanks! I just plop a rock or some filter media from another tank into a tank going through a mini cycle, and things clear right up.

    Also as above, test your water. Ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte are the big 3 to have on hand. Do not use ammonia removing products or clarifying products. The ammonia is required to feed the bacteria, so removing it will only delay the growth of colonies that you need.

    Good luck!
     
    Stellaluna, Feb 15, 2009
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  15. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Yes! That is one HUGE benefit to several tanks.... you can keep filters always running somewhere! :D
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 15, 2009
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  16. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Keep in mind Prime can be used white cycling a tank.
     
    Anthony, Feb 15, 2009
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  17. GOT MTS?

    GOT MTS? Member

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    Make sure your tank is in good shape before you replace any of the fish you lost. Then add fish slowly a few at a time over the period of a week or two. Also I believe you said it was a 10 gallon tank so I would recommend you do more frequent small water changes 10-15%.
     
    GOT MTS?, Feb 15, 2009
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  18. ira

    ira Member

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    Over feeding is cause of cloudy water most of the time.
     
    ira, Feb 15, 2009
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  19. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    MOD_Dawn, Mar 29, 2009
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