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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Newbie
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Cloudy Tank
I just got a 40 gallon tank to put my Oscar fish in. When I set up the tank the water was clear and now 1 week later it is cloudy. I know Oscars are messy but should the tank get cloudy so fast.
I did notice today that I have a air stone right near my filter intake. Could the air be going into the filter making it not work right? I am willing to here any suggestions to help clear up the tank.
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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Did you cycle your tank before you put the fish in?
If you didn't, it's most likely an algae bloom and the tank is still cycling.
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Newbie
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I was planning to let the tank cycle for a while. I tested PH, Ammonia,and Nitrite and all tested fine. I went to Petsmart to get a couple of small fish to put in the tank to cycle it. The sales person there said if the water tested okay there was no need to cycle it so I put my Oscar in. Will the water clear up or did I mess up??
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Master
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Welcome to fishlore!!!!
You have whats called "new tank cloudyness" aka bacteria bloom, and im sure you are not cycled after a week..so heres what you gotta do now that your fishies are in there...
what test kit are you using ? and what do you meant tests are "fine"?
DAILY water changes of at least 50% a day and treat the tap water with some conditioner if you have city water..alot of us love prime, but certainly you can use whatever you like...you have to do this until your cycle is complete which no one knows how long it will take...I have two oscars in a 75 gallon and it took me 9 weeks...so hopefully yours wont be that long...
heres a link for the nitrogen cycle, which is what your tank is going thru now http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm goodluck! |
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Newbie
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I just tested my tank water:PH 7.2, Nitrite .5, and Ammonia .5. Also I turned off my airstone and my tank started clearing up. Still a little cloudy but the airstone has only been off 30 minutes or so. Are my water readings okay??
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Master
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no jd you should have 0 ammonia and nitrites and under 20 for nitrates...so you are still cycleing..so do as above, with daily changes, until your tank is cycled...goodluck!
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Newbie
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I will do the water changes but should I turn my airstone back on? Do you think the air is getting into my filter and messing it up? This is the first time I am using a canister filter and I am not sure what to expect from it.
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Master
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keep the air on ...the cloudyness is from a bacteria bloom from starting up a new tank...the airstone helps circulate the water and the fishies love that  |
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June 27th, 2008
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Master Of Fish Poo!
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Welcome to Fishlore. 
I would recommend moving the airstone to the opposite side of the tank as the filter and leaving it on.
They lied to you (as they tend to do to most customers) about cycling and EVERY tank has to cycle. Since you have fish now, you'll want to use Prime to condition your water. Prime helps lock the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates for about 24 hours to protect the fish. Do about 40-50% daily water changes and test the water before water changes to track your progress on cycling the tank. I'd recommend the API master freshwater test kit if you don't have it. |
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June 27th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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JD Oscar: Don't panic, there's a huge team in fishlore ready to help you.
How big is your Oscar? I don't want to sound hostile in any way, but you will need a bigger tank for an Oscar. 55gal minimun if he/she will be the only one there. Don't worry about it now, just keep it in mind for later.
IMO you have a few options:
a) If your Oscar is still young (less than 9") I suggest you take it back to the LFS while you go for fishless cycling (make sure the Oscar gets acclimated by being there while it's done, these guys lied to you in order to make a sale). They should hold it for you for a couple of weeks (purchase some large cichlid pellets and leave it at the LFS, visit daily if possible, even tip an employee). Young Oscars may not be as hardy as adult ones with water parameters (I'm no expert, just heard that info recently, and haven't confirmmed it yet).
b) Keep the Oscar in your tank, but get Prime to lock-up toxic ammonia, and add it daily as you do 50% daily water changes as Shawnie clearly says. Do not clean the filter media. Test for water parameters at least daily (I would do that twice, before and after water changes) with a liquid reagents based test kit (most use API master test kit, but there are other good brands too, like Tetra Laborett -this one does not measures nitrates but has GH and KH reagents), do not use stripe tests, those lack the accuracy you need.
c) Get the Oscar to the LFS for a couple of days (again, be sure of acclimation), put Bio-Spira in your tank, and bring the Oscar back after at least 24hrs of adding the Bio-Spira. The water may look bad, but your fish will be fine. I have never used Bio-Spira, but have read a lot of posts about it, in situations like yours, Bio-Spira really works great (if not frozen), it may save your Oscar. If you go for Bio-Spira you may not need to add Prime (not sure but the veterans will know, for sure).
Good luck. We are with you in this emergency.
Pepe
Santo Domingo
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June 28th, 2008
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Fish Master
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I dont think our LFS will let us keep fish there like yours does pepe ...I know none around my area will ...not to mention the ones around here, arent the best in fish keeping
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June 28th, 2008
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Fish Newbie
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I have had the Oscar since February. I had him/her in a 10 gallon tank(stupid me). I know 40g may not be big enough but that is all I can fit in my house right now. I only have the one Oscar and do not plan on getting any more fish. He/She is about 7 inches from tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. I have some stuff from Hagen called "Cycle". Do you think that will help? I also have "AmQuel" and a sample of "Stress Zyme". I do not want to use too many chemicals at the same time. I do not want to kill my Oscar in the process of Cycling.
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June 28th, 2008
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Fish Master
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Hi jd..dont use cycle..just daily water changes ...treat the tap water every time you change it with the amquel...if you start using cycle, you will have to continue to use it thru the life of the tank...hows the boy doing today?
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June 29th, 2008
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Master Of Fish Poo!
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Cycle is a product that will keep your tank from really cycling and require a never ending supply of Cycle. 
Amquel+ is a good product. I didn't find it works as well as Prime, but it is a similiar product. I haven't used Stress Zyme, but I think the main thing is daily water changes and using the Amquel+ for now to help with what water toxins are in the tank.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JD OSCAR
I have had the Oscar since February. I had him/her in a 10 gallon tank(stupid me). I know 40g may not be big enough but that is all I can fit in my house right now. I only have the one Oscar and do not plan on getting any more fish. He/She is about 7 inches from tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. I have some stuff from Hagen called "Cycle". Do you think that will help? I also have "AmQuel" and a sample of "Stress Zyme". I do not want to use too many chemicals at the same time. I do not want to kill my Oscar in the process of Cycling.
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June 30th, 2008
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Fish Newbie
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Okay Guys don't laugh but I have a question for you. Everyone says feed you fish no more then they can eat in 2 minutes and remove unfinished food. I don't know about you guys but after I put food in the tank there is no way I can remove the leftovers. Also my Oscar tends to put a ton of food in his mouth and spit it back out. So on top of trying to Cycle the tank I have food left in the tank that is not helping any. Any suggestions?
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June 30th, 2008
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Fish Keeper
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I would try either netting the leftover food out, siphoning it out or using a turkey baster to get it out.
Until I got a feel for how much my fish would eat, I put very little food in the tank. If they ate it all quickly, I put a little more in the tank. It's better to let them go a little bit hungry than to over-feed them
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June 30th, 2008
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Master Of Fish Poo!
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With our Angels, we do feed them a bit of their meal at a time so that they end up eating most or all of the food.
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July 2nd, 2008
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Fish Helper
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your overfeeding thats why your tank is getting cloudy make sure you feed them correctly and dont overfeed. it also could be that your tank is new but that should of gone away soon. my best guess is your overfeeding
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