cloudy water... all the fish are swimming at the top

Question
HI, we set up our 20 gallon tank about 3 days ago.  We went out this afternoon to buy the fish and when we came back the water was cloudy.  We put our fish, 3 white skirt tetras, a sword tail and a molly, in the tank anyways. Now they are all swimming up at the top of the water.  

Answer
Hi ShayLa;

Cloudiness is very common in new tanks from the instability of the new filtering system. It has to get through the break-in period before it will become clear and stay that way. You will probably see a lot of that for the enxt six weeks. If cloudiness happens before the fish are added it could mean that there was dirt or dust on the rocks, gravel and other decorations. They can be very difficult to rinse completely. It could simply be microscopic bubbles or gasses from your tap water too. Add a good water conditioner to the tank to eliminate the possibility of gasses and toxins such as chlorine/chloramine. The fish are probably in shock and just need time. It can happen when fish are moved. With the water conditioner in there they should 'snap out of it' by the second day.

There are quite a few fish in there to get it started through the break-in period safely. You may have to make a 25% water change twice or even three times a week until it finishes. Too many fish at the beginning leads to too much waste toxin for the system to process so soon. Here is a link to my article on new tanks to help you through it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins