my waters always cloudy

[wuvmybetta]

Ok, my tanks been cycled for about a week or two, nitrites and ammonia at zero, unsure of the nitrates but they can't be too bad because I have tons of live plants but my waters only been clear like maybe once or twice.....and THAT was only for a day or two
I feed in the morning a combo of a sinking tab for my loaches (shrimp or algae ,alternated), flakes for the guppies tetras and balas and a few of my bettas pellets, fed one at a time so none of them sink on him, all the food disappears in less than two minutes with the exception of the sinkers, which everyone nibbles on after they eat the other stuff, then every other night I put in an algae tab or two for my plec & the snails, then maybe twice to 3 times a week they get something frozen like brine shrimp or beef hearts in the evening
But my water ALWAYS has this white misty look to it towards the top of the water....I have excellent filtration, a penguin 170 in a 30 gallon tank so it seems like that shouldn't be the problem.
Am I feeding too much? Should I skip a day or so? That will be hard since they all seem so excited when they see movement around the house in the morning, knowing foods on the way, and I've tried to not feed and that's when the killing begins, the loaches start trying to pry open the snails shells and the tetras start chasing shrimp so what do I do? I just break down and feed them everytime and I can't seem to cure my cloudy problem but at least they stop harassing the poor snails.
HELP!!! I was just given a 50 gallon, stand filter and all and I don't have the confidence to even set it up until I'm positive I can deal with the one that I have going already
I just did a 40 percent water change today, the largest change ever and it was clear for about 20 minutes then the mist came back......
any advice?

 

[clothahump]

Sounds like a protein haze due to overfeeding.
I would feed every other day for a week and see if it goes away, basically starve it out.

 

[wuvmybetta]

even after such a large water change?

 

[reg2k2]

Could also be a bacterial bloom, sometimes a product of cycling. I haven't cycled a tank since I set this one up, which was, well, a long time ago. But I'm sure there's someone on board familiar w/ it.

 

[clothahump]

New water = New Proteins.
Do you get any frothing at the surface of the water?
I still think starvation is the best way to deal with this.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I was thinking a bacterial bloom also, or an algae bloom
starvation sounds so drastic, and I don't know if I have the heart to "starve" them, unless it's good for them to go hungry , not good for the shrimp or snails though......so that kinda defeats the purpose of the whole thing, they'll end up eating anyway
maybe I can cut down to just an algae tab and hold out on the flakes for a few days........?

 

[William]

Yep sounds to me like an algal bloom - how long have you had your tank set up? Just cut down on the feeding drastically, what you say should be enough. It may take a week or two for the cloudiness to disappear.

 

[CFC]

All fish benefit from being starved for a couple of days every now and again,i make my fish miss one day out every week,gives the filter a chance to catch up with the load and makes the fish search the tank for anything edible like snails or escaped live food.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Ok, I'm going to go with the algal bloom diagnosis , it's better than starving them, but I will cut back on the food
The tank's been set up for about 3 months now, but we did (do) have new tank syndrome I believe
I know a couple of days, or at least one day without food may be beneficial to the tank ,I tried today to not feed and by mid afternoon the fish were noticably irritable and they didn't look content at all, so I threw a block of frozen brine in for them and it was obviously appreciated, I give in to easy
But I just keep thinking that one day I'll wake up to a clear tank and that all of this is just the grand finale of my waaaaay overdue cycling process

 

[clothahump]

I tried today to not feed and by mid afternoon the fish were noticably irritable and they didn't look content at all, so I threw a block of frozen brine in for them and it was obviously appreciated, I give in to easy

You sound just like my Sister, she will not listen to advice.
If you do not drastically cut back on your feeding regime you are going to have big trouble.
The haze is caused by excess proteins in the water not Algae.
How does one tell their fish are noticably irritable.???
I personally give up with this one.

 

[reg2k2]

An algae bloom sh. have a greenish tint to it. Bacterial sh. be a grey/wht haze.

It's the bacteria you're starving; don't consider it starving the fish. Adult fish can go a few days (and often do in the wild) w/out food. I once had an adult tetra and dwarf pleco go a week, on accident of course. I also try to do the once-a-wk fast.

I think one tab/cube ev other day is fine, as long as you see that it all gets eaten. If not, you may wanna halve it.
As someone else once put it, whoever didn't get none this time around, will be sure to get theirs the next time.
Remember...they won't starve!! They'll be fine.

clothahump, might protein haze=bacterial bloom?

 

[clothahump]

clothahump, might protein haze=bacterial bloom?

Same thing Reg, just different terminology.
The bacterial bloom is due to excess proteins in the water hence Protein haze/bacterial bloom.

 

[cichlidmaster]

Just in case you need another opinion (to make you feel better) about skipping one day a week on feeding.......my fish miss a day a week as well.

Not only does it give the filters a break....it helps the fish to clean out their systems!! Great way to avoid any type of digestive tract problems!!

CM

 

[wuvmybetta]

clothahump, thanks for giving up so easily, good to know your there to coach the people who aren't as knowledged in the fish dept as you are through trial & error
And I will make them go a day without, and thank you guys for making me feel better about missing a day because I'm sure they'll live to tell about it ,your right
I know my tetras went two weeks without taking a bite of food when they were 1st put in the tank during cycling, their choice of course, and now they're fine, they all survived my many many mistakes (including salt,YIKES!) same with my plec, he wouldn't eat when 1st introduced but now he comes out every night waiting for his food , he'll get over it too
Its just my maternal instinct to feed ,I guess
But it is a whitish haze, if you stare really closely at the water you can see itty bitty white specks swirling so.your all right and thanks!