New Freshwater Aquarium

Question
I recently got a new 36 gallon tank, i got it all set up and let it run for a day then i put in 2 guppies. these guppies died after about 6 hours and then the water got very cloudy and has been like that for the past 2 days. (i removed one guppy but could not find the other one) why is my water  cloudy? i have read that when setting up a new tank the beneficial bacteria needs to build up, is that what this is? and how long will it last? and if not, what should i do to fix it?

i currently have no fish in there, but my main reason for getting it was for my angel, who has outgrown his 10 gallon. he is all alone because he eats any other fish. i have read that angelfish are very peaceful, will he stop eating other fish when i put him into the larger tank where he has more space?

My idea was to get another angelfish as a friend for him (will this work?) and put them as well as a few platys, mollies, danios, and/or cory cats in the new tank. but the person at my petstore said angels could only be kept with other semi-agressive fish, which was very disappointing to me because it seems like they are all dull colors. would my combination of fish be compatible?

Answer
Hi Bethany,

It sounds like you've had a bacterial outbreak, probably caused by nitrates and ammonia rising in the tank, because of a missing, dead guppy and a non-cycled aquarium.

Drain all the water.  Be certain to put water back in which is treated for chlorine and chloramine (use a dechlorinator or use distilled or Reverse Osmosis water instead of tap water - Tap water contains a lot of bad stuff!) and fill the tank again.

Clean all filters thoroughly.

Start it back up and then go to your local pet store and buy BIOZYME.  Biozyme contains a lot of beneficial bacteria that you can add to a new tank to start the cycle and to help make it go faster.

Use that, and then in every weekend, change out 25% of the water and it will be cycled in about 2 weeks to a month.  After a couple weeks, you can add fish, because the gravel in it now was already started at one time, so some bacteria has possibly grown already.

Far as the filter goes, what kind of filter are you using?  What brand, make and model?

The angelfish will always be aggressive.  They are a cichlid.  They aren't aggressive to tankmates, unless they are a size where they can be eaten.  My angelfish got around 10" from top fin to bottom, and so you want to stock the tank with fish that are not goingto be smaller than twice the size of what fits in an angelfish's mouth.

I'd go with tiger barbs, perhapse a red tailed shark, some rosey barbs (small but can outrun them), maybe a couple panda cory cats, albino corys, there are some very colorful fish who will work.

If you can't figure out who will go with the angelfish, then please seek help choosing. Tell the person you don't want anyone who is plain colored.  If that store doesn't sell them, then another will.  It's worth shopping to make your aquarium experience fun and beautiful.:)

I would get him a friend.  They are very school-oriented.

I hope this helps, and if you need to ask a followup question, please do.  I'd certainly like to know the filtration answers.  Let's be sure you bought a filter that is sufficient, as this can be another reason the guppies died, and that the tank got cloudy.

Renee