Is This A Bacterial Bloom?

[wulfie]

I've had my betta mini bow 2.5 gallon tank for about 2 weeks, just added 3 guppies last week and my water is very cloudy, can anyone tell me if this is a bacterial bloom? And if so, what can I do? I've been doing partial water changes daily, using poland spring water. I have a Marina i25 filter in the tank, the water level is a little low so that the waterfall off the filter adds a small splash to oxygenate the water, I also have a hydro heater and my water temps are right in the middle of the green section of my floating thermometer. My guppies seem fine, they're active and eating. Any help/advice in this problem would be greatly appreciated

 

[big_sw2000]

Yep with out a doubt.

Leave it, it will clear in a cople of days on its own, week at the most.

Steve

 

[wulfie]

Yep with out a doubt.

Leave it, it will clear in a cople of days on its own, week at the most.

Steve

should I continue with my daily partial water changes eventhough I'm using spring water?

 

[big_sw2000]

Yep with out a doubt.

Leave it, it will clear in a cople of days on its own, week at the most.

Steve

should I continue with my daily partial water changes eventhough I'm using spring water?

Ive read somewhere, that spring water is not good, but i cant rember for the life of me why.

Keep doing your normal water changes, but i would used treated tap water, some of your decorations might get a fluff like growing on them, this will also disapear in a few days.

Steve

 

[wulfie]

Yep with out a doubt.

Leave it, it will clear in a cople of days on its own, week at the most.

Steve

should I continue with my daily partial water changes eventhough I'm using spring water?

Ive read somewhere, that spring water is not good, but i cant rember for the life of me why.

Keep doing your normal water changes, but i would used treated tap water, some of your decorations might get a fluff like growing on them, this will also disapear in a few days.

Steve

So I should just leave it as it is, do weekly partial water changes but use treated tap water? Or should I do a 100% water change using treated tap water? Btw, I really appreciate the help

 

[big_sw2000]

I think others might have a diffrent view to me, but i would do a partial water change, and leave it a week. It will clear over a few days.



Have a read

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/246850-bacterial-blooms-explained/

Steve

 

[wulfie]

partial water change was done this morning, lowered the water level so I get a bit of splash off the filter to increase aeration, I'll leave it be for a while, will take a water sample to my LPS to check levels and possibly get a live plant to keep my nitrates in check

 

[Prime Ordeal]

If you've only had the tank for two weeks and fish in for one it's unlikely to be cycled yet, unless you've used some mature filter media as a starter. But the bacterial bloom almost always accompanies excessive ammonia in the water.

You really need to get a test done as soon as possible, or better still buy yourself a test kit like the API master freshwater test kit.

Certainly frequent water changes are in order until you know what the water parameters really are.

 

[wulfie]

I don't see how I could have that much excessive ammonia in the water if I've only been using poland spring water and daily partial water changes of 30%-40%. The tank had run for a week with no fish and was crystal clear, but only got cloudy on the 2nd day of adding my 3 tiny guppies, but nonetheless I'm going to get my water checked tomorrow as I only have test strips here and I've read that they're very unreliable

 

[Prime Ordeal]

I don't see how I could have that much excessive ammonia in the water if I've only been using poland spring water and daily partial water changes of 30%-40%. The tank had run for a week with no fish and was crystal clear, but only got cloudy on the 2nd day of adding my 3 tiny guppies, but nonetheless I'm going to get my water checked tomorrow as I only have test strips here and I've read that they're very unreliable

By excessive I mean anything higher than zero on a proper test kit, the strips are next to useless.

You've got the guppies constantly producing ammonia and some spring water contains ammonia!

The clue is that the bloom only happened just after you added the guppies, i.e. when ammonia is being added to the tank.

You really need your own test kit.

 

[big_sw2000]

Yep its amazing how much Ammaonia 2 guppies can make lol.

BUt like above, your bloom will only happen after ammonia is in the water, having a little think whilest bored in work, i agree Prime Ordeal, and regular water changes need doing, to keep the levels down.

Steve

 

[wulfie]

I don't see how I could have that much excessive ammonia in the water if I've only been using poland spring water and daily partial water changes of 30%-40%. The tank had run for a week with no fish and was crystal clear, but only got cloudy on the 2nd day of adding my 3 tiny guppies, but nonetheless I'm going to get my water checked tomorrow as I only have test strips here and I've read that they're very unreliable

By excessive I mean anything higher than zero on a proper test kit, the strips are next to useless.

You've got the guppies constantly producing ammonia and some spring water contains ammonia!

The clue is that the bloom only happened just after you added the guppies, i.e. when ammonia is being added to the tank.

You really need your own test kit.

so other than daily partial water changes to keep the ammonia level down, what can be done? I'm going to assume that the ammonia won't be a problem once the tank has cycled

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

As people above are saying, your tank isn't cycled, so yes, the water changes are a must if you want to keep the fish alive.

Here is what's happening from my understanding. Your water was clear before you added fish...this is normal, it is clean water in a clean bowl. When you added fish, they started to produce some waste. That waste is a great meal for some very fast growing bacterias who will turn that into ammonia. These are the bacterias that cause the bloom. Which is why bacterial blooms almost always mean ammonia in the tank!

You are doing the right thing by lowering the water level so more oxygen gets in the water, it will help. Water changes won't help for the bloom but will for ammonia and nitrite. Eventually, it will clear up, but there is nothing you can do about it now.

The link posted above about bacterial blooms explains all of this in details and is really worth a read.

Good luck!

Edit : Water changes are the only thing you can do to help the fish survive your cycle. The only other thing you can do (and you should if you can) is find a used filter media from a friend or a LFS and squeeze it into your filter. This will make the whole process 4x faster! Could even be an almost instant cycle since your tank is so small.

Edit #2 : Small meals every 2nd day (instead of everyday) will also help clear the bloom faster.

 

[4seasons]

I don't see how I could have that much excessive ammonia in the water if I've only been using poland spring water and daily partial water changes of 30%-40%. The tank had run for a week with no fish and was crystal clear, but only got cloudy on the 2nd day of adding my 3 tiny guppies, but nonetheless I'm going to get my water checked tomorrow as I only have test strips here and I've read that they're very unreliable

I second the uselessness of test strips. You NEED a liquid test kit (most of us use the API freshwater master kit.) Some of the fish store test are just as useless as the test strips. I took some water to PetSmart to get it checked before I new any better and the guy there pulled out a couple of test strips and said "Yep everything checks out fine." Two dead bettas later I found this site and learned about cycling and how to actually keep fish. There are some good fish stores out there that will help you and give good advice but most of what I have seen is either wrong, misinformed, useless advice and sometime outright lies just to hook you into spending your money there.
First you need to find the beginner resource section and read up on the nitrogen cycle.

Second your fish produce ammonia and until you get your tank cycled ammonia levels will continue to climb until it kills your fish. So be prepared to do daily 50%+ water changes or your fish are as good as dead.

Third 3 guppies in a 2.5 gallon tank is overstocked anyway. A 2.5 gallon tank is tiny and smaller tanks are harder to keep water conditions stable anyway.

Forth you don't need bottled water unless you tap water is horrible. Get a test kit and check your tap water. Chances are all you need to add to it is some dechlorinator and it will be just as good if not better for your fish than the spring water you have been using.

Fifth you are in the same boat that most of us were in when we started too. Welcome to the forum and read up. Lots of good info here and good people that can answer your questions.

 

[CezzaXV]

If I were you, I'd invest in a liquid test kit and test daily. You're doing 30-40% daily water changes which is great, but say the ammonia was 1ppm, a 40% change would still leave you with 0.6ppm. Testing would enable you to keep it as close to 0 as possible.

Btw, using spring water really isn't necessary. Treated tap water will be fine.