Murky water not going away, fish getting stressed & going to surface- help!

[Caesar]

Not much left to be said, everyone has summarized the situation nicely.

The petshop hasn't set you up for success, selling you inappropriately sized fish, too many fish, and too quickly. I think with this situation you should do a little Google sleuthing on species you like while finishing establishing your cycle and essentially restart.

And to expand on what was said about live plants, pothos vine grown emersed will do a phenomenal job helping to consume ammonia.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

And to expand on what was said about live plants, pothos vine grown emersed will do a phenomenal job helping to consume ammonia.

May I ask about this since you mentioned it? Sorry OP for taking it off topic, but I have a peace lily and a pothos (potted, not in a tank yet) and I love the idea of an open top tank, with wood that reaches well above the surface, air plants on the wood perhaps, and would like to try growing some pothos and peace lily out of the tank, emersed. But how do you attach it to the tank wall? Tie it to a suction cup perhaps? And I wonder about dust! One tank is near to a window (although not in direct sunlight), and I wonder what people with open top tanks do about that. Does the surface get gross at all? Need to skim it or use paper towels? I have amazon frogbit too though.

Maybe I should make this into it's own thread... I just wanted to ask since you mentioned it, so I'm guessing you have a tank like that

 

[Rocky998]

Every just said what I had in my head ...

@Tiggerpal1989, dont be hard on yourself... We've all made some pretty severe mistakes... You just happened to really over stock the tank in one go... I guess you learned, like most, to research before buying... You will someday have a very good aquarium! It just takes time!

 

[Byron]

And to expand on what was said about live plants, pothos vine grown emersed will do a phenomenal job helping to consume ammonia.

This needs clarifying. Terrestrial plants like pothos use nitrate as their form of nitrogen, and they take this up via the roots. Aquatic plants are very different; they use ammonia/ammonium as their nitrogen, and they take this up via the leaves. The benefit of aquatic plants is they can assimilate an incredible level of ammonia/ammonium, and unlike tyhe bacteria, nitrite is not a by-product, and nitrate is therefore not a secondary by-product.

Terrestrial plants having their roots in the water will not take up ammonia/ammonium. These plants are useful when the nitrate level is high.

 

[Caesar]

This needs clarifying. Terrestrial plants like pothos use nitrate as their form of nitrogen, and they take this up via the roots. Aquatic plants are very different; they use ammonia/ammonium as their nitrogen, and they take this up via the leaves. The benefit of aquatic plants is they can assimilate an incredible level of ammonia/ammonium, and unlike tyhe bacteria, nitrite is not a by-product, and nitrate is therefore not a secondary by-product.

Terrestrial plants having their roots in the water will not take up ammonia/ammonium. These plants are useful when the nitrate level is high.

Terrestrial plants still utilize ammonia/ammonium. They aren't as effective at storing ammonium versus nitrate, as in excess it can cause cell damage; however pothos can generally utilize it efficiently enough to avoid this, unless the concentration is high enough to kill the aquatic inhabitants. It's also a concern to balance the amount of ammonium and nitrate in terrestrial plant fertilizers to ensure the substrate pH isn't drastically altered by the change in ions as the roots uptake the different forms of nitrogen.

 

[Caesar]

May I ask about this since you mentioned it? Sorry OP for taking it off topic, but I have a peace lily and a pothos (potted, not in a tank yet) and I love the idea of an open top tank, with wood that reaches well above the surface, air plants on the wood perhaps, and would like to try growing some pothos and peace lily out of the tank, emersed. But how do you attach it to the tank wall? Tie it to a suction cup perhaps? And I wonder about dust! One tank is near to a window (although not in direct sunlight), and I wonder what people with open top tanks do about that. Does the surface get gross at all? Need to skim it or use paper towels? I have amazon frogbit too though.

Maybe I should make this into it's own thread... I just wanted to ask since you mentioned it, so I'm guessing you have a tank like that

All my tanks are open top, as long as you have sufficient surface agitation you won't develop a biofilm. There are specific riparium planters you can buy, but you can use hang on back filters, breeder boxes, or any other container - you could also just let the roots hang into the water column if your fish permit. I have a monstera growing out of a tank with its roots taking over the scape, but the betta still has room to cruise around.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

All my tanks are open top, as long as you have sufficient surface agitation you won't develop a biofilm. There are specific riparium planters you can buy, but you can use hang on back filters, breeder boxes, or any other container - you could also just let the roots hang into the water column if your fish permit. I have a monstera growing out of a tank with its roots taking over the scape, but the betta still has room to cruise around.

Wow! I'd love to see them. To avoid hijacking this thread and taking it too off topic, would you mind if I tag you and pick your brain in another thread please? Two of my tanks are second hand and have mismatched hoods that don't fit, and I hate it. Going open top appeals!

 

[Caesar]

Wow! I'd love to see them. To avoid hijacking this thread and taking it too off topic, would you mind if I tag you and pick your brain in another thread please? Two of my tanks are second hand and have mismatched hoods that don't fit, and I hate it. Going open top appeals!

Feel free!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Feel free!

I did start typing it up, but it's late and it's long, so I'll finish it tomorrow. I'll tag you in to it when it's finished and posted, thank you!

 

[FishGuyBri]

I am not going to add anything to this conversation really other than I love seeing the great advice, and even more so, it is refreshing to see you all care so much not only about the fish, but the new fish keeper! It's these types of interactions that keep me coming back. @Tiggerpal1989 - despite all of my research when I first got into keeping fish years ago, I made ALL the same mistakes as most/many of us have - stick with it - make your goal "fish happiness" and safety and commit to adjustments and changes. Lastly, don't ever be afraid to post questions as this group is amazing! Case in point: I researched yesterday, excessively, on a specific fish. 3 very reputable people gave me 3 very different recommendations, so it's a minefield out there. Don't let mistakes stop you in this hobby!