really cloudy water!?!

ok my water is REALLY cloudy, it looks like my fish are swimming through fog. last night it was fine. my fish are eating and swimming as normal, but the fog seems kind of ominous to me.
please help!

It sounds like you may have accidentally fed the fish too much or the wrong thing. That's usually the cause of quick onset cloudy water. Did you feed the fish anything unusual, or did somebody (not you) dump in a bunch of food because the fish looked hungry? In any case, I would first try a 20 or 30 percent water change several days in a row. Some people may recommend larger water changes, but if you change too much water at once, you could shock the fish. If you decide the first water change should be a large one, you could always add the new water slowly.

Other than bad food or too much food, a change in aquarium water can be caused by the addition of new plants, fish, conditioners, decorations, etc. Also be sure to check basic water parameters to verify they are all within the good range. It's especially important to check for ammonia.

I hope some of this helps. If you post more information on water parameters, forum members can make more suggestions. Good luck, and keep us posted.

thank you so much! i know the problem now. my little sister always sneaks in my bedroom. she probly fed them because they 'looked' hungry. how do i tell how much ammonia is in the water, isn't called nitrites? and how do i lower ammonia/nitrites?

John gave you some great advice..so I can't really add anything..but I would go get yourself a test kit.
One that checks for ammonia, nitrites & nitrAtes. And..yep..they are three different things.
You want your ammonia & nitrites to always remain at ZERO. Your nitrAtes should stay around 20 or below.
In order to control this...like JohnA said..do w/c's. Usually 25% is enough..and if need be..daily... until you get things balanced. And then keep a good routine with them..weekly.
Has this tank been set up recently? Sometimes cloudy water also is from a tank that has not been fully "cycled".

my tank is definitely cycled, but what is the difference between nitrites and nitrAtes anyway? oh yeah, i have a funny story. my mom recently found a kitten, and after a week of begging, she let me keep it! great for me, not so much for my betta. betta's in a ten gallon tank. betta vs. kitty, who won? BETTA! kitty fell in! i came in to see a very wet kitty and a fishtank full of cathair. please write your funny aquarium stories. i luve reading them!

If you want to read some great information regarding nitrites & nitrates..so you will know the difference...
Check out these links...

What are NITRITES...

http://www.bestfish.com/tips/120299.html

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What are NITRATES...

http://www.bestfish.com/tips/012998.html
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The kitten incident would be really cute if you'd have caught it on a video recorder.

About all those chemicals: if memory serves me -- and it seldom does -- nitrite is nitrogen with three oxygen atoms, nitrate has four oxygen atoms, and ammonia is a combination of nitrogen and hydrogen. All three things are are reactive and are the result of fish digestive byproducts and plant decay. Most are, in turn, converted by bacteria into plant food. That's why a planted aquarium tends to be more stable than a non planted one. All those little cooties work happily together until they get overwhelmed by too much pet poo, plant decay, fish food, and bad cooties. Antibiotics will also kill the good cooties.

All that is just the long way of saying your aquarium will become a dangerous chemical soup if you over feed, over crowd or over medicate. Partial water changes just trade filthy water for good water. An extra air stone may also help.

What's this? You don't believe in cooties? Shame on you! I know they exist, because all the kids in grade school kept telling me I had them.

Gouramigirl wrote:

my tank is definitely cycled, but what is the difference between nitrites and nitrAtes anyway? !

Gouramigirl... when you say this tank is certainly "cycled"...how long has it been established? Strange that you have cloudy water is all. How often are you doing water changes? Do you vacum the gravel too? It is very rare to see an established tank showing any level of ammonia or nitrites...so if those are not at ZERO...you are still in the cycle process.
You definitely have a bacterial bloom going on in this tank. What has caused it is only a guess. Could be excess food ( we are talking a BUNCH to of caused this "milky fog" )...but "whatever" the cause is/was.. 25% daily water changes need to be done...with adding a good conditioner such as Prime or Amquel plus.
Like mentioned too...a test kit is essential..so you can test your parameters.
If your gourami is showing signs of illness ( bloating)..then you need to get this under control ASAP.
Like JohnA said..an aquarium has the GOOD cooties..and the BAD. Too much food..too much poo..and too little of w/c's..and a person is asking for problems. Your water parameters (nitrates) rise..causing stress & disease.
Please keep us updated..OK?

my tank has been here for about 5 months now. iv'e been doing water changes every week instead of every day,25%of 55 gallons is alot of water, i have to stand on a chair to dump freshwater back in. the water is starting to clear up, and my other gouramis seem fine.
i will get some test strips soon, but i will do some smaller water changes every day for now.

The water changes are much easier if you have a Python or similar cleaning system. It hooks up to a water tap and lets you drain or fill an aquarium through the same connection. After the water clears up, you can go back to the weekly partial water changes. Please keep us posted, and send a picture if you can get access to a digital camera.