My fish tank has gone cloudy

Question
Hi there! We recently bought a Aqua Start 320! We set it all up with everything in, water pump, air pump etc! We left it 4 5days before added sum fish! We put 7 babies in then 2 days later we got 2 cat fish and 4 Guppies ( babies). 2 days later and our fish tank is cloudy! What should we do!

Answer
Hi Allison,
Your aquarium being cloudy is part of the "establishing stage" it has to go through which can take 4-6 weeks. When fish are added, the waste from the fish overwhelms the system and the water clouds with bacteria until they can settle and get established.

During that time it helps tremendously to do water changes a lot during this time period. Ammonia is dangerous to fish and until the bacteria can get established, its best if you can test your water for ammonia to make sure your fish are safe. You can use a simple and easy test kit from your local petstore to test your water with. It will let you know when a water change is needed and if your tank is established yet or not.

For now, I'd do a 50% water change and you may have to repeat these for a few days. Always making sure to treat all new water with a water conditioner and make sure the temp is close to or just a tad bit warmer than your aquarium's.

Eventually the tank will clear. But be patient and try to stay on top of monitoring your water quality. :)

Karen~