Help cloudy betta tank with residue

Please help I have a 19 litre fluval chI with 1 half moon betta Malcolm and 1 Anubias I've been set up since January and apart from a few teething problems all was well a couple of days ago after a usual water change I awoke the next day and the tank was so cloudy I couldn't see Malcolm. I did another water change and it seemed to clear a little. I have been doing partials every day to try and clear it and this morning it is just as bad as it was and now there is a like a chalky residue covering everything even Malcolm. He doesn't seem effected and I think likes stalking in the gloom but I'm worried it might eventually hurt him and he has been through a lot. I need help I'm at my wits end could it be a monstrous bacterial bloom as we are having a heat wave or could our local water company done something to the water please help.

 

how long has the tank been up?
By the sound of it, it seems like you are cycling or going through a minI cycle if you had already cycled the tank. If that's the case it should clear out in a few days.
The water won't clear up till the cycle is complete no matter how many water changes you do. It generally takes 15-30 minutes before the bacteria start reproducing again.

However it sounds strange that Malcolm has it over him as well, the bacteria won't attached to your fish.

does your water seem clear out of the tap? if not than it definitely is something to do with the water company. It's always a good idea to contact them for what they've been treating the water supply with.

 

Hello thank you for responding. The tank was been up fully since January it was cycled before I put mal in. I have to be honest had nothing but trouble with the tank but thought my woes were over. When I first set it up and it first cycled my lfs gave me bad advise and I overstocked it and all the fish died so I started it again this was late December. Then I found another better lfs that gave me the correct advise and Malcolm was bought home to go in with my bronze cory Alduin rip al. He died of I'm not sure but a mystery thing took out three cory cats in two days this was months ago. Since then all has been well apart from ammonia issues that I corrected and am religious with water tests now but with this I'm at a complete loss. It looks like its a white coating of something on mal and is peeling off a little but it's all over the Anubias too and the water is now that cloudy you can't see the back of the tank to which mal is thoroughly enjoying he keeps appearing from the gloom waits for me to make eye contact and flares and then swims off I swear if he could giggle he would. I'll see if I can get anything from Severn Trent or the people who maintain my apartment complex. Do you the think the rise in temperature and sunlight may have something to do with it although mal has a heater and it is temperature sensitive, maybe the sunlight?

Sorry forgot to add about the water from the tap it seemed clear when I was poring it in but it wasn't something I thought to check I'm at work at the moment I'll ask my fiancé to check.

Just had my fiancé check the tap water and he says it is crystal clear so now I'm really stumped

 

Sunlight and increase in temperature shouldn't have such an effect even if it is algae bloom, i'm stumped at the fact that you'r fish seems to have coated with whatever it is as well.

I'm glad that Malcolm seems to be enjoying it.

I'd wait for a few more experienced members to come in and advise, meanwhile keep on top of your daily water changes 15-25%. That can't hurt.

 

Thank you I will thankfully Malcolm enjoys water changes too he's a mischievously weird little fish but I love him

 

Welcome to FishLore!

Take the top off the tank and look straight down. Is this cloudiness white or green? White usually indicates a bacteria bloom, green indicates an algae bloom.

But I do have to say that I'm a little baffeled about your fish being coated. Maybe it would be helpful if you posted a photo.

 

Hello, the water is milky white it's clears a little after a water change and then goes cloudy again I'm baffled too. I have just spoken to my fiancé and Malcolm is not being his usual swim around like a loony self so I think it is finally getting him down too. I have another tank that has just finished cycling ready for fish it's 23litre fluval edge do you think I should put Malcolm in there and gut the cloudy one only problem is I have no means to acclimatise mal as I have no fish bags or any bags would this prove too stressful for him? The tank is the same temperature and he is a hardy little one he has survived ammonia burns (months ago) and has regrown his tail that he lost half of so I know he is a fighter but I don't want to put him through too much stress but if he is getting stressed now I don't feel that I have much of a choice

Please help I really don't know what to do for malcolm

 

Mine was doing the EXACT same thing. I've had mine for over a year, and this just started up like in the last couple of weeks. It got nasty fast! Like within a few hours. Finally I just decided to place him in an extra tank. So far so good, good luck!

 

I would move Malcolm. Take a never-touched-by-soap container that is large enough to hold malcolm and enough water for him to be covered. Put him in with water from his current tank and add a little from the new tank. Gradually replace it with water from the new tank as means of acclimation.

When you did the water change, did you change your filter media? What media are you using?

N

 

Thank you for your reply I am goin to move Malcolm I've just got in from work so going to test the water again in the other tank and if all is still ok I'm going to move him and his Anubias too once I've cleaned it as it too is covered in white stuff as mal loves that plant. Hope he doesn't get too stressed he is rather laid back for a betta though when he's not being a looney

I rinsed the foam filter in aquarium water and used apI tap water conditioner as I had ran out of stress coat and it happened over night. I have bought some sandwich bags which I hope will do the trick it's going to be fun trying to catch him as I can't see him until he comes to the front I'm going to do my water test now

One malcolm caught and now in a bag acclimatising little bugger did not want to get in the net and didn't help I couldn't see him half the time but I think he will like his new home it's bigger at least just going to let him chill
For twenty minutes and then add some water from the new tank. I did the test and ammonia nitrate and nitrite all 0ppm and ph 6 so all good for Malcolm t fish. Thank you everyone for your advise I was at a complete loss a s despite having to start again with the chI and have to wait for new fish Malcolm is more than worth it. I'll let you all know how he settles in the new tank and hopefully the white stuff will come off him as the filter is better in the edge.

Mal is in the other tank now but he doesn't look happy at all he's just lieing on the tank floor maybe he is sulking I'm going to leave the light off for about half an hour and then give him his supper. He's had a stressful day maybe he's tired out fingers crossed he will be ok

 

It would not surprize me to find that he is just exhausted and stressed over being in a new tank. Hopefully he'll be back to his old self in no time.

I used to use Stress Coat back before I relized my tap water contained nitrates (so I switched to Amquel+). But I seen to remember that the Stress Coat tended to leave a white build up around the waterline in the tank and around the heater etc. Nothing anywhere near as bad as what you are experiancing, but I wonder if you had gotten a bad bottle or something. You didn't severly overdose with it or anything? I assume not, but it was just a thought.

Good luck!

 

I hope that Malcolm perked up after supper. Keep us posted.

 

Thank you I used apI tap water conditioner when this all began because I had ran out of stress coat and then after it turned into the gloom I had to borrow some money to get some stress coat because I initially thought it was the water conditioner and after another water change using stress coat it was just the same. I got a water analysis from my water provider and all te parameters are normal for tap water so I'm not sure why it went bad.

Hello he won't eat most of the white stuff has come off him though which is good he just swims around a bit and then lies on the bottom or has been lieing under the heater at the back. I've tried feeding him again this morning but no joy he didn't even get excited like he used to he looks really unhappy. I hope it is just temporary and he will get back to his old self soon I'm quite worried about him unless he is just getting over the shock of the new tank it is a big change for him maybe he misses his old tank. I'm going to cycle that one again might even consider putting him back in his old one once it is ready for fish unless he settles in the new one.

 

Malcolm has finally had something to eat woo hoo and has been swimming around a bit too so I'm finally relaxin a little I'm still going to keep an extra vigilant eye on him and am going to treat him to some new plants as I don't think he likes the grass that is in there anything to make the little guy happy thank you again to all for all your help