56 litre fish aquarium, water cloudy after 5 days

lifeandtimes

Hi everyone,

I have a 56 litre fish tank with 6 goldfish in it.

I set up the tank,have the filter going and also put in goldfish conditioner however the water has got cloudy.

I did a water cycle after 2 days after reading online where I took 15 percent of water out and put in fresh water.

Something I read online says it takes the filter 5-6 weeks to work correctly and for the bacteria to find am equalibrium so I'm not sure if that's it.

Does anyone know if this normal?

Now it's not super cloudy but enough to notice it.

The fish seem fine and not stressed so that's a plus

Sleepy

You're going to have 6 dead goldfish pretty soon I'm afraid. A 56 litre tank isn't nearly big enough for one goldfish, nevermind 6 of them.

Unfortunately, the meme of the "goldfish bowl" still hasn't died out, they're incredibly dirty fish that require ponds (or massive tanks) to live healthy lives.

There's a good sticky on cycling your tank at the top of this forum which would be worth a read. It takes at least 3/4 weeks to cycle a tank and it should be done without any fish in the tank. The cloudiness you're seeing is a bacteria bloom as the bacteria react to the high levels of ammonia being produced by your livestock.

Bring the fish back to the shop you bought them from and demand a refund. Finish out the cycle of your tank and figure out what you can healthily stock in a 56l tank. You're probably going to need a heater as the only cold-water fish I can think of that would suit your tank size would be 5/6 White Cloud Mountain Minnows. Look at the websites of Seahorse Aquariums, Newlands Garden Centre or the like to see what stock is available in Ireland and use http://www.aqadvisor.com/ to determine what stocking levels your tank can sustain.

Greentree_uk

you have a lot of reading to do, as above the cycling stage can be difficult, adding six fish at once is unwise as it disrupts the balance ecosystem too much. as above read up on cycling a tank it takes time but atlas your fish won't die in the meantime! there are some hardy fish out there, that you could put in but again not advised! your tank will go through a good few stages before it is settled. my top tip is ensure your tank is away from daylight! having a tank in direct sunlight causes a load of problems. as for a refund, you can try, demanding one is a bit harsh, those fish could be lucky to survive if they've been in that water long. do a lot of reading is my advice and you'll get a lot more pleasure out of your tank.

CruelCoin

Yup, you'll be lucky to have live fish in a week or two.

Fish poop out ammonia. This is poisonous to them and will kill them.

Filter in your bacteria break this down into Nitrite.
Different bacteria break that down into Nitrate which is fine in lower quantities.
But you need to allow the filter time to extablish these bacteria! It's not instant.

The cloudiness is normal, and happens to most cycling tanks.

Polo_Mint

This wont end well.

You are going to get a quick build up of Ammonia in that tank.

Watch for Fin and Tail burning, jagged edges or becoming transparent.
You will also notice the gills turning very red.

When you see this you are in trouble.