Why Do Cory Cats Make My Tanks So Cloudy?

[AJE]

Why do my Cory cats make my tanks so cloudy? I had them in a 57g which was always cloudy, then I moved them to my 15g(which was crystal clear) and the 57g got cleared up, but the 15 gallon started to look like this
why do my Cory cats do this? What can I do to stop this? DoubleDutch

 

[JaksAquatics]

how many and what type?

 

[Platylover]

What substrate are you using and do you use any fertilisers?

 

[AJE]

Albinos, I use sand, no ferts, and I have 3 of them(I know I should have at least 6 but the nearest store that sells them is over an hour and a half away)

 

[DoubleDutch]

Uhmmm is this a Coryincidence maybe.
My tanks are quite clear. Even the albino ones.

 

[AJE]

Uhmmm is this a Coryincidence maybe.
My tanks are quite clear. Even the albino ones.

This is the second time I have tested to see if it is the Cory cats who are messing it up and both times as soon as they leave the big tank it clears up and the small tank get super cloudy

 

[Lh 90 gallon]

did you clean the sand extremely well before putting in tank, I would think its getting cloudy because they may be stirring/agitating the sand. to test this constantly run something over the sand in the tank they are not in and see if it clouds up.

 

[AJE]

did you clean the sand extremely well before putting in tank, I would think its getting cloudy because they may be stirring/agitating the sand. to test this constantly run something over the sand in the tank they are not in and see if it clouds up.

I cleaned it till the water ran clear out of the bucket, but it could still be unclean. That would make sense, what should I do about it?

 

[AJE]

I’m going to throw a pleco in there to see if it too kicks up that much sand

 

[DarkOne]

Cories sift sand and will stir up the substrate. The filter should clean the water eventually. Water changes will also fix it.

Plecos will dig to make caves under decorations so you'll have the same problem.

 

[AJE]

Cories sift sand and will stir up the substrate. The filter should clean the water eventually. Water changes will also fix it.

Plecos will dig to make caves under decorations so you'll have the same problem.

The filter was hasn’t been doing a great job at polishing it so do you think I should increase filtration?

 

[angelcraze]

My opinion, it has to be dusty still. I use Pool Filter Sand and it has to be rinsed like crazy. The grain is large enough not to get kicked up into the water or get caught in the filters.

Do you have floss media?

 

[bitseriously]

This is a substrate issue, not a cory issue. With a clean substrate, you'll never see this amount of cloudiness (or come even close).
If you are able, you might want to set up a temporary (second?) hob filter stuffed with filter floss only. Change the filter floss out daily until the water is clear to your liking. Polyester fill or pillow/cushion batting is a good alternative (basically the same thing) if you can't get filter floss. Just make sure it doesn't have any kind of antI mold or mildew treatment.

 

[DoubleDutch]

The filter was hasn’t been doing a great job at polishing it so do you think I should increase filtration?

Is it cycled AJE?

 

[AJE]

Is it cycled AJE?

Yes, stuffed with media, but not tons of flow, so not don’t know if that’s good enough polish wise

 

[DarkOne]

Since most of the detritus is being kicked up into the water column, water changes should take it out and eventually you'll have a clear tank again. Filter floss would make it quicker but I wouldn't throw money at the problem just yet. 50% water changes every other day for a week and then go from there.

 

[AJE]

Since most of the detritus is being kicked up into the water column, water changes should take it out and eventually you'll have a clear tank again. Filter floss would make it quicker but I wouldn't throw money at the problem just yet. 50% water changes every other day for a week and then go from there.

I did a 150% water changes yesterday and have been doing 50% water changes every week since January, it didn’t seem to do much, I’ll reintroduce the cory cats again and see if it still gets cloudy

 

[Brizburk]

how many and what type?

Agree. How many and what type? Any deaths?


Edited - oops you answered this

 

[mattgirl]

Like others I have to think the sand wasn't rinsed well enough. I have pool filter sand in my tanks. I also have bunches of corys. My water stays crystal clear. It took a LOT of rinsing to get it clean before I put it in my tank.

I can't even venture an educated guess as to how much water it took to get it clean. Fortunately I was able to do it outside with a water hose and could just pour the dirty water out on the ground.

You can accomplish the same thing if you could run a dedicated HOB filter filled with Poly-fill. Keep stirring the sand and replacing the poly-fill as needed. Eventually you will get most of the silt out of there. Or you could do lots and lots of water changes being sure to stir the sand while siphoning the water out.

 

[toeknee]

I also have corys with a sand substrate with no clouding issues. I use Aqua Quarts pool filter sand that I bought on Amazon. I have to agree with others that perhaps your substrate either wasn't cleaned enough, or is just not the right type of sand for an aquarium.

 

[AJE]

Half an hour after they went back in the 57g the water looked like this

 

[AJE]

I cut open a pillow and used the inside as filter floss, it’s amazing how well it works

 

[mattgirl]

I cut open a pillow and used the inside as filter floss, it’s amazing how well it works

yep, it is really good for polishing the water. You may be able to just rinse it out a couple of times and re-use but personally I think it is best to just replace it until it clears your water up. Since I don't depend on it for my bio-filtration I have no problem replacing it each week or even sooner if necessary.

 

[AJE]

yep, it is really good for polishing the water. You may be able to just rinse it out a couple of times and re-use but personally I think it is best to just replace it until it clears your water up. Since I don't depend on it for my bio-filtration I have no problem replacing it each week or even sooner if necessary.

I was planning on changing it every other day

 

[mattgirl]

I was planning on changing it every other day

Since you have so much silt in your water if I were you I would at least rinse it out every day. It should clear your water up fairly quick. You may want to stir the sand a time or two each day to stir up all the silt that has settled back down so the filter can pull all of it out of there. If you don't the corys will do it for you when you put them back in there.

 

[AJE]

Since you have so much silt in your water if I were you I would at least rinse it out every day. It should clear your water up fairly quick. You may want to stir the sand a time or two each day to stir up all the silt that has settled back down so the filter can pull all of it out of there. If you don't the corys will do it for you when you put them back in there.

Ok cool, I even put a pleco in there to stir it up

 

[Thor555]

Three corys don't cause that level of cloudiness. Overfeeding will. Unwashed gravel will. Biological blooms will ... but most I've seen don't cause even this much.

With sand ... in a 36 gallon tank and 25 corys, my tank is crystal clear. But I have one large canister filter (with a booster) on it and two AC70 HOB's.

I had this problem though long ago, back when I had only a few corys and I was overfeeding them.

 

[AJE]

Three corys don't cause that level of cloudiness. Overfeeding will. Unwashed gravel will. Biological blooms will ... but most I've seen don't cause even this much.

With sand ... in a 36 gallon tank and 25 corys, my tank is crystal clear. But I have one large canister filter (with a booster) on it and two AC70 HOB's.

I had this problem though long ago, back when I had only a few corys and I was overfeeding them.

Thanks, but I solved it

 

[H Farnsworth]

Is this natural sand? like from a pond?

 

[AJE]

Is this natural sand? like from a pond?

Yes

 

[H Farnsworth]

That's what I thought, any movement over the substrate will cause a massive cloud and its so soft your cories probably can't help but dig through it.

 

[AJE]

I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do this