# Water cloudy but water test are fine?



## MrDreamBig (Jul 9, 2012)

Brown knife
4 danios
6 buenos aires tetra
2 Pictus catfish
Lobster
2 Bala shark
Red tail shark
3 clown loaches
1 puffer
Leaf fish

I have a 55 gallon and I'm having to do water changes like twice a week cause water gets so cloudy. Fish are doing great tho but I think my problem is too many fish. Some will be moved to another tank but is this why water is cloudy?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

That is a lot of fish and cloudiness from bacteria eating the excess nutrients in the water is the most likely cause. But there are other possibilities. Substrate (clouds up when you disturb it), food (clouds up after feeding), Additives/water chemistry (clouds up after water change or after adding a chem)


----------



## MrDreamBig (Jul 9, 2012)

how many fish should I take out? I feed them bloodworms, mosquito larvae, flakes and shrimp pellets.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

What filter are you running on that tank. If the filter is too small for the tank that could also contribute to the cloudiness of the water. But yeah, thats loads of fish.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Look up the max size and recommended aquarium size and tankmates for each fish. Then decide what you priorities are. You can have a lot of tetra and danios for the same "bioload" (roughly the amount of food they need) as one knife or lobster. Once you plan what be in the tank when everything is full grown, you can chose which fish to take out. The clown loaches should eventually have a bigger tank, but they are really slow growing. The bala shark can reach 14" which is also too big. 

Adding another filter (maybe a huge sponge with a powerhead) might improve the cloudiness by converting ammonia and nitrite to nitrate faster. However, you will still need the water changes to control nitrate (excess will feed algae on everything and green the water). 

If you don't see more or bigger tanks in your future, start by re-homing the fish that will get too big for it while they are still small enough to find homes for. 

I would probably move the lobster first. It has to be a big eater and may eventually snack on your fish. Depending on the size of the other fish and the filter, it might be enough to buy your months of cloud-free tank before you have to thin them again.


----------



## MrDreamBig (Jul 9, 2012)

I have a 50 gallon filter and a 30 gallon filter in the tank. I love my lobster so I hate to part ways wit it. Maybe he will catch some fish and cut my numbers down. Lol. Thanks for the help.


----------



## Guest (Jul 13, 2012)

I agree with that you have way too many fish. emc7 is correct, the clown loaches will get over 10 inches easily. They do get huge and they are nonaggressive fish, they can be in a community tank.

I have three clown loaches right now in a 55 gallon tank. I plan to upgrade to a bigger tank, like a 240 gallon or 300 gallon tank for them. I love clown loaches, they have a funny personality.


----------



## Guest (Jul 13, 2012)

For the filters, I would get bigger filters. I have a Top Fin 60 and AquaTech 30-60 on my 55 gallon, but I only have 5 fish in the tank. I have three clown loaches and two leopard plecostomuses. They are all very happy in the tank right now.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Consider upgrading your filter, even if you only plan to keep the lobster. "bioload" is really how much you feed and lobsters get fed more than fish the same length and get a lot more massive.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

yeah, I would get another 50rated filter to add to the filters you already have. But unless you have loads of plants you will still need to do many water changes. But at least the filter will help with the cloudiness


----------

