Roxy01

Hi, I purchased a 33 gallon freshwater tank about 10 months ago. After it had cycled I put 15 feeder goldfish in it. 6 months later I added 8 neon tetras, 2 black skirted tetras, 4 guppies and 6 mollys and gave away my goldfish. Within 2 weeks my water got really really cloudy and I lost quite a few fish. I reduced the amount of food I was feeding them and tried doing a 25% water change every 3 days. The bacterial level decreased but it has not disappeared. What am I doing wrong or am I doing everything wrong?

susitna-flower

Hi Roxy01, WELCOME to FISHLORE!

Can you describe more about your tank? What are your water parameters?

ammonia?
nitrite?
nitrate?
Temperature?

Most here recommend you use the API Master test kit to keep track of your water chemistry.....VERY important to keeping a healthy tank.

The water changes are good, keep them up until you can get the readings, then you will know which of the above elements are out of the excepted limits for healthy fish. Using Prime can also help to protect your fish from the toxic effects if Ammonia or Nitrite are too high. After you get the test results, we can suggest a routine that will work to get your tank back to health.

You don't have to worry about that bacteria, if it is what is making the water cloudy. That just means your tank is in a mini cycle for some reason. Any super cleaning going on, of filter, decorations or the like?
This is good, in a way, the bacteria are trying to catch up to the heavy waste production of an overcrowded tank, I just wonder if this tank had that many goldfish in a 33 gal, why it can't handle the fish you now have......The rule of thumb is 1" of expected adult fish size / gallon of tank.....The fish you describe in the tank now total about 42 inches....they need a tank about 55 gallons. Especially with mollies in the mix, as they are great waste producers, and where you have 6 mollies, there are surely babies!!!

The bacteria you DO have to worry about are the ones that will infect your fish when they are stressed because of overcrowding, and bad water conditions. High nitrates, though not as toxic as ammonia and nitrite, can still leave your fish susceptible to opportunistic infections of parasites, fungus or bacteria.
I wish you the best of luck with your tank, keep us posted!