cicatriz

hi all!

i just set up my fish tank and it has been treated and cycled... the water now seems cloudy after a day of having fish in it - is this just dust settling or is there a bacterial bloom - how can i tell and how can i treat it?

also, some of my fish were picking on my snail before i went to bed yesterday and now he is pretty much staying in his shell, he moves a lil bit (darts in and out of his shell) but hasnt changed places for hours. is he sleeping? is he scared? is he dieing?

any tips would be fantastic - thanks

cicatriz

AngelSta

I've found that whenever i vacuum my fishtank the water goes cloudy for a while i think it might be the water conditioner and other stuff you put in the tank, don't worry about for now and wait a couple of days. About the snail, snails don't live very long and you might be surprised to here that fish usually eat the snails, i wouldn't worry about the snail because in the next few day u might find he opens up a bit. I don't buy snails any more as they're pretty expensive fish food!!! :P

Hope everything turns out well !!!!
AngelSta

schiz

The only times I have noticed my water being cloudy is at the end of the cycle with a bacteria bloom, or a mini-cycle, or if I add too many fish at one time and overload the bioload on the tank. If it is a bacteria bloom it will clear up and be crystal clear, when mine happened it was cleared in about 24 hours. AngelSta is right some fish will eat snails especially if the snails are very small or if the fish are large. I have three snails in my 55g with my largest fish being my 4 inch Guorami. The only fish of mine I have seen show any interest in them are my mollies but then anything that gets put into the tank it is there job to try to get it into their mouths. And they quit after about a day. I rarely even see my snails, maybe once every two days, but I can tell the difference in the cleanliness of the tank. So I guess they are like little underwater cleaning elves, but I was giving myself an ulcer worrying over them. Simply let them be and they will generally be fine. As far as snails being an expensive fish food here is what I did. In our local Petsmart the live plants usually have snails in with them as them or their eggs hijacked a ride. I simply said, "Hey you want to get rid of some of those snails?" He had a bag ready in about 1 second and told me I could have as many as I want. So actually free tank cleaners.

AngelSta

Also if you're worried about the snails getting eaten and the main reason you want them is for tank cleanliness then you can try some catfish like plecos or corys, they last longer, prettier addition to your tank, and wont get eaten!!!
AngelSta

Butterfly

How long has the tank been set up and how did you cycle it. What are your water test readings(ammonia,nitrite,nitrates).
Thanks
Carol

cicatriz

well i changed about 20% of the water and the tank really cleared up (and the smell of ammonia is gone). on top of that the fish became a lot more active.

i figured that the tank was really out of wack with such a strong odor (maybe because of the pet store water that i put in with the fish?)

next time i am gonna do a better job of getting the fish use to the water then simply transfer them in via net rather than foul the water with the waste filled bag water.

thanks for the tips

jenniwren

smell of ammonia? how did you "cycle" your tank.. it usually takes a month or more...
there should never be any kind of smell from your aquarium or water.
hope everything works out. Oh and what type/ how many fish/and gallons are your tank?

cicatriz

i cycled my tank with chemical treatment - three dif bottles (one for tapwater)

the lady at the pet store said it was instant. i waited a day before i got fish.

jenniwren

hey again, have you read all of the beginner articles on this site? No chemical,product, thing you get from the fish store can instantly cycle your tank. the closest thing you can do to "instantly cylce" your tank is seed it with gravel,filter media from an established tank. this will only shorten your cycleing time not eliminate it. please post back with how many fish and how many gallons so more people can help you suceed in your new hobby!

JMatt1983

there is only one true instant cycle product and thats bio spira, basically live bacteria in a bag, put it in, wait a day, tanks cycled, add fish, there are things you can do to speed up the cycle process, I cycled my 20G with filter media from my 10G, took roughly 10 days to do it, with chemicals, probably a little longer, but since youhave fish in there now, and sounds like your cycle isn't complete, it could take months for it finish