Very Cloudy Water

[silver_shark90]

hi all, 
Im fairly new to keeping tropical fish, ive had goldfish in the past  
 
So i have a 160 litre aquarium with 3 silver sharks, 2 angel fish, 2 dwarf cichlids, 5 tetra's and a bristlenose catfish. All pretty small at the moment, and i know i will need a bigger tank when they start growing. 
I  recently cleaned my filter out using normal tap water and after some searching on this site i now realise that was a bad move as my water is now very cloudy and smells pretty bad too. The ammonia is off the charts so ive added ammo lock and im doing 20% daily water changes, so my question is, will my fish be ok in the tank? they are still eating but seem to all now be at the top of the tank, whereas before they would use the whole tank. 
im pretty worried that they are stressing out I also add stress coat + when i do the water changes.
Hope that makes sense to you all i tend to ramble a bit 
Thanks
 

 

[KrazyKuhli]

Cleaning the filter will have killed nearly if not all of the bacteria in it....I would raise the water changes to 50% and add an airstone if possible.

 

[silver_shark90]

yeah that's what i read  
i have an air stone in there too, and i just checked on my fish and 3 of my tetra's have died i cant find the fourth as the water is so bad ill do a 50% change right away, thanks.

 

[Dmbandstef]

You basically sent your tank into a mini cycle by cleaning the filter with tap water. It killed all the beneficial bacteria so now theres hardly anything in the tank to eat the ammonia. You maybe could try stress zyme which contains bacteria, but some may argue that its ineffective. Theres also this other stuff i think its called microbe lift. It smells like rotten egg farts but works amazingly. Thats what I used when I did the same thing that you did and it cleared the water up and it worked with only one bottle. I also think that the cloudy water is due to the bacteria multiplying so rapidly.

 

[Ninjouzata]

 to TFF! Hope you enjoy it here.
 
What are your exact water parameters? (ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) Are you using a liquid kit or test strips?
 
I know you said you know you'll need a bigger tank, but are you aware of how big?
The silver sharks get over a foot, prefer a group of 6+, and are VERY active. This leads to the minimum recommendation being a 8ft long tank. HERE is some more info on them.
 
Can you post a pic of your dwarf cichlids and tetras so someone can ID them for you? To post a picture you can go to 'More Reply Options' and upload file at the bottom.
If this doesn't work you can go to a photo sharing website such as photo bucket and link the image(s) here.
 
I recommend taking back the silver sharks. It'd also be good IMO to take back the other fish and do a fish-less cycle following THIS article.
 
I'm sorry for your losses! 

 

[silver_shark90]

thanks guys, i bought some 'Pure Aquarium' off ebay and im using that now, it comes in little slimy balls. Doesnt seem to be doing a lot tho. 
P.h is at 7.2, ammonia is off the charts. and nitrite is between 0.25 and 0.50, im using the API master test kit. 
Yeah i know how big they get but the only problem is the pet store i got my fish from doesnt accept returns on any fish, which kinda sucks  
ive already done a 20% water change today so would it be ok to do a 50% change now too?
I dont have any pictures as i got a new phone and accidently wiped my old phone before taking the pics off. 
thanks for all your help

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm not familiar with that stuff.
 
Ah..perhaps a different pet store? Or you can possibly re-home using classifieds. I know it's difficult though

Just would be best in the long run IMO.
 
It'll be fine to do a 50%

Make sure to temperature match and dechlorinate.
 
Can you give a description of the cichlids and tetras? May be able to guess from that.

 

[silver_shark90]

yeah i think i will have to re home them  
the tetras were neons and the cichlids are a golden orange colour with silver splashed through too, very pretty fish  
i feel really bad now

 

[Ninjouzata]

Ah okay, you didn't specify them so I thought you didn't know Hmm golden orange. Rams maybe? Or apistos?
 
Don't feel bad! A lot of people have done the same thing. You're doing the right thing by coming here and getting help for your fish.

 

[silver_shark90]

Ok so just updating you guys, I did a 50% water change last night and today it seems to be clearing up, I can see all the ornaments in the tank now
Still pretty upset that my tetras passed away