HELP! Water turning black

[Spea9919]

A week ago I changed the water in my 2.5 gallon betta fish tank. At first it was clear but it progressively got cloudier and then all of the sudden the water turned black. I have river rocks and live plants that have all been washed correctly and cleaned. My fish was getting sick so I removed him to a quarantine tank until I can figure out what’s causing the water to look like it does. Any suggestions?

 

[Sunnyspots]

Any wood in there? Bog wood can leech tannins and make it dark. That's all I know though.

 

[Dajuyu]

2.5 gallon is really a small tank , I wonder if it can last a week for water change.

 

[EllRog]

What filter are you using? Chances are it has carbon in it which is leaching into the tank. Best thing would be to throw away the carbon and replace with sponge

 

[Spea9919]

The tank doesn’t have any wood in it. I’m moving my betta into a 10 gallon tank. (Don’t worry the fish is not in here)

 

[EllRog]

The tank doesn’t have any wood in it. I’m moving my betta into a 10 gallon tank. (Don’t worry the fish is not in here)

Read my comment above. Looks like a carbon leak from the filter

 

[Spea9919]

Read my comment above. Looks like a carbon leak from the filter

There’s no filter which is why I’m really confused. I’ve had bettas my entire life and I’ve never had this happen.

 

[Boundava]

Extreme greenwater blocking all the light making it look black? There is quite a bit of algae on the rock so this is what is making me think the greenwater. Does the tank have a black background? That could be adding to the illusion of blackwater when it is just very green from algae.

I would remove everything and do a deep clean on the rocks, getting as much algae off, also you need a filter since the tank doesn't have one.

 

[Colin_T]

Does it smell bad?
Is the water brown or black?
If it's black, its probably anaerobic.
If it smells bad, it's anaerobic (lacking oxygen).

The easiest way to fix anaerobic conditions is to wash the tank and everything out with tap water so it's clean. Then set the tank back up again and have some aeration/ surface turbulence in the tank.

 

[P J]

There’s no filter which is why I’m really confused. I’ve had bettas my entire life and I’ve never had this happen.

Please install a filter.