Cloudy Water!

[Jess]

I have one male betta in a 2 gal tank and over the last couple of days his water has gone VERY cloudy! There's no heat or filter though i change the water every 2-3 days and ive not had any problems in the 3 weeks or so that he's been in there.

Ive been doing everything the same, howver i did remove the plant that was in there about a week ago as it seemed to be causing a lot more algae... i dont know if this was the case but there was a lot less after i took it out...

Ive tested the water and it all seems fine - The same as it always has been and the fish doesnt look ill or stressed...

Does anyone have any idea what this could be or if its going to harm my betta?!
Should i just continue the water changes and hope it clears up?!

Thanks, Jess

 

[tstenback]

what are the readings for your tests? Do you vac the gravel in the tank? Do you overfeed? Just trying to narrow down the possibilities.

 

[DOLORES]

hello there , IMO (in my opinion) i think yo should had leave the plant in there, what plant did you had? as theres no filter , it helps a little bit (the plant) to keep up with the water, but again, it just helps a little bit, did you lighted the tank? main reasons for algae its becuz of too much light or almost any, or not light at all. i as tst said , do you vacumm de gravel? and keep up the water changes daily till it clears up, , wich food do you feed him ?

 

[Jess]

Ok... according to the cards i have with my test kit (i go by the colours!lol) The PH is 6.5, the ammonia is 0 ppm and the nitrite is 0 ppm. Those are ok right?!

I do vac the gravel when i do the water changes every couple of days and i clean it properly every 10 days or so when i scrub the tank out.

The tank is on my windowsill so in the daytime its sunlight through my blinds that lights it, and at night i have a desklamp. I keep the blinds closed slightly in the daytime as when i put them up, after a couple of hours the tank was thick with algae!! I havent had that problem since its had less light.

I feed him 2 small flakes of Aquarian tropical flakes each day and maybe once a week a couple of bloodworms.

As for the plant im not really sure what it was... It was just a little bushy thing that is now im my other tank. Would it be worth putting it back in?

Thanks!

Jess

 

[tstenback]

I think part of the problem is that the tank is on the window sill. even though the blinds are closed slightly the direct sun can cause an algae bloom which will cloud the water. Does the cloud look green/grey or white? I would try moving the tank to another location if that is possible. HTH

 

[DOLORES]

was the plant like a little ball? well i would recommend u to buy some "hikari bio gold pellet" for the betta they like that a lot, and its a really good brand. and i think the same as tstenback about the sunlight

Good Luck

 

[Jess]

Hey! I could move the tank but then it would have very little light as i couldnt really fit the desk lamp there. This could be difficult!!!lol

The water is kind of white... there's no algae in there now - i did a 50% water change last night. My betta seems to have perked up a bit - he's gone back to staring at me!!!lol

I will try and find some of those betta pellet things!!! And yeah, the plant was quite small and round! Do you guys suggest putting a plant back in?

I was tempted to put my betta back into my community tank for a couple of days until ive sorted his water out, though he may try and eat the other fish...lol Any ideas what to do with him?!?!

 

[LoveMyOscar]

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[Jess]

Hey! Thanks for all the replies!!

I had heard that it wasnt a great idea to change all the water but i couldnt see anyway of getting rid of all that algae!!! I shall continue with the small daily water changes and hope it clears up. I did a water change yesterday and today and it is looking a bit less cloudy!!!

The fish seems fine now by the way!!!

I dont actually have a nitrate test kit! would it be a good idea to get one?

Thanks!

Jess

 

[gixer]

I have my bettas in a 10 gallon tank with very slow running filter on it. Every betta I have had in an unfiltered tank has died.

Personally I think you are getting a bacteria bloom. I never change ALL of the water in mines tank cause that never allows for the good bacteria to build up. In short you are not allowing your tank to cycle. You tank can not get rid of the waste produced by the betta. (all fish produce waste and all fish need to be in a cycled tank) Have you checked for readings on nitrAtes?

If this is in fact the bacteria bloom you are getting you should just do small water changes until it clears.

cycle a tank with no filter? hmmmmmm

 

[heresmike]

cycle a tank with no filter? hmmmmmm

Is this a question.... or should we be assuming you don't agree it can be done?

Please clarify.

 

[LoveMyOscar]

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