Please help, water gets cloudy after just one day(fish beginner)?

J

Johnny

New member
So, I'm using the petco 6.6 gallon tank. I've had my water tested yesterday before I bought six small fishes: two black molly, two silver molly and two other colorful fish(I don't know wt kind they are). I guess I overfed them yesterday as I pour too much of the flakes.
So this morning the water looks pretty cloudy to me and I check the filter, there isn't much of the wastes and dirt in it.
Should I wait for a week to change the water(I just put the fishes in yesterday) or change it now?
how do I know if my filter is working properly?
Thanks a lot!!!!!!
 
You should change the water right now. Then tomorrow. Keep doing water changes because your fish could die if you don't. You should get a tester for ammonia.

You have added much to many fish at once and the tank is going to build up toxins faster then it can cycle. Also you are overfeeding which makes things worse. There is nothing you can do that would be more important right now then a water change of about 1/3.

I highly recommend returning all of your fish except two mollys.

I also recommend never buying fish if you don't know what they are. How do you even know how big they are? Or what they like to have in the tank?v Or if they even get along with the molly's? 6.6 gallons is a very small tank, and the types of fish you can keep are very limited, so don't choose fish in ignorance - learn about them first.

When you feed your fish you don't just dump in flakes. You feed the fish, not the tank. Feed enough that each fish gets a couple of flakes. Do this twice per day and this is all the food they need to keep healthy. If you feed properly there will be no rotting food in the tank at any point.

If the filter is running then it is working. The problem here is that it sounds like you have jumped into fish keeping without a clue. Read a book, browse the internet. Beginners tend to kill a lot of fish, but they wouldn't if they just learned a bit.

You should know what the 'cycle' is. If you don't, this should be your first trip to google.
 
Break your question down by sections ...

"I've had my water tested yesterday before I bought six small fishes"..
Setting up an aquarium needs an understanding ot the nitrification cycle http://www.theoscarspot.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2091 . You can set an aquarium up for months but if you don't do something to cycle the tank,and keep the necessary bacteria fed in the meantime,you will always show "ready for fish" and won't actually start cycling until fish are in the tank.

"I'm using the petco 6.6 gallon tank" and "two black molly, two silver molly and two other colorful fish(I don't know wt kind they are)"...
Too many fish at once,too many fish at once to that small of volume, and buying unknown fish... also adding fish to an uncycled tank..

"I guess I overfed them yesterday as I pour too much of the flakes."...
Fish usually don't require feeding the first day ... it is better to let them "settle in" first as they are more likely to eat,and eat more.Never "pour" food ... more likely to overfeed (or have a mishap)... feed only measured amounts.

"So this morning the water looks pretty cloudy to me and I check the filter, there isn't much of the wastes and dirt in it. " ....
"Cloudy" goes to being not fully cycled,too many fish at once and in a small volume ... it is a combination of dissolved food and a bacterial bloom as bacteria are feeding on waste in the water column.
Mechanical filtration (catching solid waste particles) is only a small part of what a filter does ... its main job is catching waste you DON'T see and converting it to less toxic compounds/elements like nitrate.It is home to over 90% of the beneficial bacteria in an aquarium.

"Should I wait for a week to change the water(I just put the fishes in yesterday) or change it now?"...
Yes... and around 25% daily until you are through this.This won't affect the cycling process because of the amount of waste being produced in such a small volume.

"how do I know if my filter is working properly?"....
Simplest is home testing of your water quality using a Drop-style test kit (more accurate).As long as you see a steady change (while cycling) from ammonia to nitrite readings,it is working ... and later of nitrite to nitrate (still working)... to eventually NO ammonia/nitrite and only nitrate (working fine).
Be aware though that if you are still getting ammonia readings when you ARE getting nitrate readings that the filter is still doing its job but is probably undersized for the fish load versus the tank volume.The presence of ammonia with a nitrate reading is usually always either overfeeding,overstocking,or underfiltration ... and appropriate steps have to be taken with each issue to make the tank "work out" to have great water quality with simple water changes on a routine schedule.
 
Johnny if you do anything today follow the above instructions from Ghapy, unless you want to loose fish, the answer is wright all the way through
 
First of all, your tank is overpopulated. You should do a 25% water change asap today. With that many fish in your 6.6 gallon tank, it would be a good idea to do 25% changes every day until the ammonia levels come down. Then I would suggest, getting yourself a test kit and testing your water at least once every day and do changes as needed. You should probably replace the filter at least once a week. If you keep up on it the water will clear up. Do not overfeed them. A pinch once or twice a day is sufficient depending on how much of the food they are actually eating.
 
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