Why is my fish tank so cloudy?

Really a fish in a bowl should be cleaned daily if you want to keep the water even close to healthy conditions. But good for you for upgrading.

-If the tank was only recently set up, you could be seeing a bacterial bloom which is a normal part of the cycling process.

-Replenishing water due to evaporation does NOT take the place of weekly partial water changes! You should be performing a weekly partial water change of about 25% using a gravel siphon to vacuum debris from the substrate. Otherwise nitrates are building up which is unhealthy in high levels for the fish and will cause cloudy water.

*Bettas should be kept singly. Males should not be kept with other bettas whether they be male or female. Females may be kept in groups of at least 4 so long as they tank is large enough to support them.

~The woman was incorrect. The female bettas should be returned.

White or Grayish Water

Gravel Residue - If the water is cloudy immediately, or within an hour or two of filling the tank, it's probably due to insufficiently washed gravel. Drain the tank and rinse the gravel until the water runs clear. That should resolve the problem.

Dissolved Constituents - If washing the gravel doesn't solve the problem, the next most likely cause of cloudy water in a newly filled tank is a high level of dissolved constituents such as phosphates, silicates, or heavy metals. If you test the water, you'll no doubt find the pH is high (alkaline). In these cases, treating the water with conditioners will often resolve the problem.

Another option, that has many benefits beyond resolving cloudy water, is to use RO (Reverse Osmosis) water. Your local fish shop may sell it, or sell units capable of making RO water.

Bacterial Blossom - Often cloudy water doesn't appear the instant an aquarium is set up. Instead it appears days, weeks, or even months later. In these cases the cause is usually due to bacterial bloom. As the new aquarium goes through the initial break in cycle, it is not unusual for the water to become cloudy, or at least a little hazy. It will take several weeks to several months to establish bacterial colonies that are able to clear wastes from the water. Over time that cloudiness will resolve itself.

Decaying plants or excess food that remains uneaten can also cause the milky water seen in bacterial bloom. Regardless of the cause, don't panic over bacterial blooms. Keeping the aquarium very clean by removing debris such as decaying plants and uneaten food, vacuuming the gravel regularly, and performing partial water changes, will quickly resolve most cases of bacterial bloom. Cut back feeding to every second or third day, which will cut down on excess food decay.

If there are particles of debris in the water that you are unable to remove via water changes and vacuuming, a flocculent may be used to clear them away. Flocculates cause particles of debris to clump together so they can easily be removed by the filter (be sure to clean your filter so it's working at peak efficiency). Flocculates are generally marketed as water clarifiers, and may be found at your fish shop.

The woman at the pet store was a total idiot. Forget anything and everything she told you.

IMMEDIATELY REMOVE the 3 females from the tank. Keep them in there and you'll end up with dead fish very soon. Unless you have a separate tank for each of them, I would take them back to the store tomorrow.

How large is this tank? If it's 5+ gallons, you'll need to change about 25-30% of the water weekly. If it's smaller, you'd have to do water changes twice weekly. Yes, you must change the water, even with a filter. The filter cartridge itself doesn't need to be replaced unless it's destroyed; you just need to rinse it in old tank water every week so it doesn't become clogged. (Filter companies will tell you to replace it, but it's only because they want your money.)

You also need a water conditioner to use in your tap water. Fish cannot live in untreated tap water, the chemicals in it will kill them.

Please, do some research on fishkeeping. Taking advice from a PetsMart employee was the worst possible thing you could have done.

Well, for one thing you should NEVER put in more than one Beta fish in one tanks. Beta fish are SUPER aggressive and fight each other to the death. Also, sometimes the water gets cloudy because the fish are stressed, I suggest that you remove the other Betas at least. Then maybe use filtered water instead of tap. Hope this helps! :D

first beta fish are also called fighting fish, your only supposed to have 1 male in any given tank. reason being is males kill males. the cloudy water should clear up after a while. it could be a bacterial bloom, which heals by itself with time.

you'll be over feeding. Left over nutrients reasons risky micro organism that consumes oxygen. Oder is likewise led to via micro organism. (to no longer be perplexed with effective micro organism) subsequently pass that chemical. strengthen your clear out length. Feeder fish nor any fish are had to start algae. mild is (the greater mild the greater & quicker algae growth). you in addition to mght might have presented to many fish to rapidly in the event that they're gold fish feeders as they have a tendency to be "grimy" via nature. additionally popular rule a million" of fish in keeping with gal. of water. I take you advise DE-CHLORINATOR no longer chlorine chemical ingredients as chlorine kills fish. If the water have been left as long as you stated chlorine remover does not be needed. Chlorine could deplete interior of 40 8 hours at popular room temperature. In new tanks because of the fact no effective bacterial have yet progressed a unexpected intro of that many fish could relatively initiate clouding with little filtration. The aeration is help finished save it going. Given approximately 5days with much less nutrients the tank could clean up. you should use a chemical like "clean" that reasons "airborne dirt and mud" molecules to bond and be filtered out greater relatively or sink to the backside, besides the indisputable fact that it is going to clean without it. decrease lower back to a million or 2 pinches an afternoon and determine they devour it in decrease than 5 minutes. positioned your cash right into a greater effective clear out and purchase chemical ingredients basically while nessary. do no longer clean the tank & clear out on the comparable time. in case you do your eliminating all the effective micro organism at as quickly as and you will might desire to start the technique over as quickly as greater. clean one or the different wait 5-7days and then clean the different. you will no longer might desire to purchase starter em-zines. Do use declorinator while doing water adjustments or addind fish till now 40 8 hrs. till you have properly water.

you need to start putting bottled water and clean more often!

over feeding

because the fish have been crapping in it.