Water Cloudy After Removing Decorations.

[DanielKeepsFish]

Last night i decided to make my aquarium a little but more open for my gourami. I put too many plastic plants inside and he wasn't able to swim around very well. (my red tail shark, who is no more than an inch long is perfectly happy swimming through all the little crevices) I took out a large background plant and all of a sudden there was a bunch of stuff falling off of it. It made the water cloudy instantly, and hasn't cleared up since. (this happened last night).  My theory is that it could be the tetra safestart i put in. It said that the bacteria stick to objects in the tank so maybe it stuck to that plant and fell off when i removed it from the water.

 

[Byron]

Bacteria is sticky and adheres to all surfaces under water, in what are termed biofilms.  But you won't easily remove bacteria, certainly not by lifting out or even shaking the decor/plants.  Vacuuming the substrate does not dislodge the bacteria, it is very sticky.
 
Detritus will settle on surfaces and this could be what you saw.  Cloudiness the day after could be from this or a bacterial bloom.  If there are particles on the substrate that you can stir up, I would do a partial water change.  I normally do re-arranging or re-planting during a water change so that I can vacuum out the debris.
 
By the way, most gourami like lots of plants to swim around, not open water generally.  Many of these species occur in swamps that are thick with vegetation.  No problem having some open space, but it is not something to fuss over with gourami.  These are cruisers, not swimmers.
 
Byron.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

ok thanks. Basically half the aquarium is fake plants, and the other side is open water. 

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

How long should it take to clear up? 

 

[Byron]

It depends.  By now the cloudiness resulting from stirring up microscopic particles would have settled, so presumably we are here dealing with a bacterial bloom.  This just has to work itself out.  Maintain normal water changes (once a week minimum, with 1/3 to 1/2 the tank volume) and vacuum the substrate at each.
 
Byron.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

ok my tank has cleared up, i just did a 30% water change and it looks to be crystal clear.