Goldfish experts - help !!! Cloudy water all the time !!!

[scatterbrain]

Hi there,

Just need a bit of advice please from you experienced goldfish keepers !!!

We got two canary goldfish in October for dd - and you guys gave me some brilliant help in cycling the tank etc.

Well - all has been well - but had a couple of problems !!

Bought them a real plant - and they ate the whoel thing in 4 days ! So back to plastic plant for now although I would like to get another real one !

But the water in the tank is clouding really quickly recently - even straight after a clean out it looks a bit murky.

So - this is what I do !! Using a siphon thingie I hoover out all the poo from the gravel - and empty maybe 70% of the old water out. I then wipe the inside of the tank with kitchen roll to get the slime off ! I also rinse the filter sponge in the dirty water and wipe the filter/pump all over with kitchen roll.

I then fill the bucket with fresh water - add the water conditioner, some stress zyme and some ammonia lock. Stir it up and then add gently by jug to the tank.

I also remove the decorative plant and frog (!) and scrub them in clean hot water to remove slime !

So - what am I doing wrong ???

[LieselVentouse]

Do you have a plug in filter?
They are v. good. Also dont feed them too much

[scatterbrain]

Ummmm - yes filter and pump thing is all-in-one and plugs in ! Is that what you mean ?

I am new to this fish keeping and easily confused !!

It's going cloudy straight after cleaning and before feeding though - so shouldn't be about the food. And we have those flakes that are meant to be less messy.

I think it's something to do with the stuff I'm adding to water ! Might try cleaning them again and only use the conditioner this time !

[LieselVentouse]

After cleaning ours sometimes goes cloudy but thats just cause we take the stones/grit out and wash and then put back in so it goes cloudy until settled.

[ComeOVeneer]

I boil the stones every so often when I clean the tank out (recommended by guy in shop) to get rid of something that accumulates in them (can't remember what he said it was)that made the water cloudy, pwrhaps that is the problem.

[scatterbrain]

Do you ?? I was wondering if I should take everything out and give it all a good scrub - but doesn't that put you back to square one on the cycling front ?

Am very confused now !

[LieselVentouse]

Yeah wouldnt worry about it

[tokentotty]

Honestly - they really don't need to be fed as much as you think. Was constantly being told this by an uncle who was really into keeping fish, as that's what causes cloudiness often apparently

[Gingerbear]

Don't scrub.
Could be a couple of things

1. additives, esp ammo lock. Try next change without.
2. over zealous hoovering of the gravel - I usually do half the gravel one water change, the other half the next time.
3. An algae 'bloom' - usually happens in new tanks though, but could be - should settle with time.

70% water change is an awful lot each time. Also, too vigourous cleaning can deplete the good bacteria - it is on the gravel and decor as well as the filter sponge.

try reducing water change to 30-40% and get an algae magnet to keep the glass clear.

Real plants do help keep the water clear - try java fern, hornwort and anubias - goldies tend not to like the taste and hornwort is a good consumer of nitrate and can grow floating in the tank (grows v fast too)

[Gingerbear]

oh and java fern and anubias need to be tied to rocks or ornaments instead of planted in the gravel.

try Greenline plants - much cheaper and better quality than pet shops for plants.

[Kbear]

I was told not to feed more than once a day and skip a day in 7.

I empty the whole tank, rinse the gravel then fill it up, a few drops of that anti-chlorine stuff and after an hour of cloudiness it clears.

I have one real plant in there - they've never eaten it. Get one with big long leaves (don't know name) rather than the ferny looking plants.

I have a filter pump going all the time, make sure it ripples the surface of the water so you know it was working all the time.

[scatterbrain]

Excellent - Thanks everyone !!

Have ordered the plants - thanks for that link Gingerbear, and I am now off to do a small water change without ammo lock !

Now - where do you get Algae magnets ??

Am actually rather amazed that fish are still here after 4.5 mths - I expected to kill them by my incompetence after a few weeks !!

[scatterbrain]

Ho ho - turns out I've got one !!! Haven't been using it as I found it a bit scratchy on the plastic !

Silly me - I was envisaging something you left in the tank to atract the algae - not a cleaning implement !!! Derrrr !

[scatterbrain]

Gingerbear - I just wanted to come back and thank you !!! you certainly know your stuff !!!

So - I did everything you said - plants arrived superfast from Greenline - so many thanks for the link - put them in the tank on Thursday evening - by Friday lunchtime the tank was transformed !!! Now sparkly clear water !!

Fish say thank you too !!!

I would have been due to clean them again today - but it doesn't look like it needs it yet ! Might do another 30% one though to be sure !

THANK YOU !!!

[Gingerbear]

Oh, just spotted your reply - glad to be of help!
I hope you test the water regularly - if the filter is established, ammonia and nitrites should be zero, and the nitrates will build up over time. We have a tap water nitrate reading of 20ppm, I test at weekly intervals. Once the nitrate level goes above 80-100ppm, then I do a water change.
If you have a PetsatHome near you, look for API Master Freshwater test kit - about £18 but I have had mine for over a year (otherwise, you can buy from ebay)