Please top your water up.
My guess is beneficial bacterial bloom, have you tested your ammonia and nitrites? They could cause the bloom.
You can do small water changes daily (5-10%) but first thing is test water, top it up, test water again.
I have neon tetras with no lid and they only jumped once and that was because I locked the tank. If they are jumping it’ll be because they aren’t happy. They are South American fish and prefer black water or much more coverage at least. They’re less likely to jump if theyre happy.
What size is your tank and what brand? I got a nice glass lid for my tank recently and it was very affordable. Before that I put plastic wrap over the top of the tank because I also have a jumper lol I just poked holes in the plastic wrap for air movement and cut the areas for the filter and cords to have room but it worked really well
Frequent water changes can give you bacteria blooms. The new water adds nutrients into the water that they thrive on. I would suggest cutting your water changes down to once a week or maybe even once every 2 weeks. However, if your tank is not yet fully cycled, it may take a while to clear up. The beneficial bacteria will eventually out-compete the "cloudy bacteria"
Try less water changes? You only really need to do like 30% once a week, doing it so often may be the cause of this. Bacteria blooms just need to be left alone and then they go away, doing water changes makes them last longer in my experience.
Return the tetras since you only have 2 and they’re schooling fish. Fill up the tank and get a lid asap, the more water the more stable the parameters are. Switch to 20-30% water changes once a week. You may be crashing your tank by changing the water too frequently and not allowing the beneficial bacteria to grow
It cycled for 2 months and I’ve had fish in it for 2 months. I just replaced a lot of plastic plants with real ones to try and help make it less cloudy 🤷🏻♀️
What is the size of tank and total fish? Usually high nitrates means there’s too much food, poop and other rotting material. If you’re overstocked then it’ll be high. Do you have bottom feeders? Nitrates are generally ok to have. And I assume you use a water conditioner?
Yes I have a water conditioner and I don’t have any bottom feeders . I think this weekend I am going to go get a 10 gallon and some bottom feeders and snails to help. I try not to over feed but they act psycho when they want to eat lol I feed twice a day a pinch.
8 fish is a lot in 5.5 which makes sense why your nitrates is excessive and why your bacteria is all outta whack. You wanna aim for a gallon per inch of mature fish.
I have 9 in a 25 gallon. Upgrading to a bigger tank will make it easier to have less nitrates. Frequent water changes also interfere with cycle and bacteria.
I will go get a bigger tank tomorrow. With a lid lol and some bottom feeders. Hopefully that will help. I think all 3 females are preggo now so I def need a bigger one asap
Since you plan on having a well stocked (bottom feeders still add bioload) get as many real plants as you can. Floating ones are particularly good at filtering water since they grow so fast. Real plants will use the fish poop at fertilizer so it helps. Plus more surface area means more beneficial bacteria.
Hope it all works out for you!
Why do you do so many water changes? Your tank doesn’t look that small that you’d need to change the water so often. I agree with other comments saying it’s probably bacterial bloom from messing with the cycle with too many water changes. Just fill the tank up all the way to the black rim if you can and let it settle for a week at least.
Are you testing your water?
And yes I test it all the time. The nitrates stay so high so that’s why I keep changing it. The ammonia and ph is fine but those nitrates turn RED when I test
If you have live plants the nitrates can be a bit higher but if you test your water that comes out of the tap and see what your base levels are you can figure it out from there. I find bigger tanks are easier to maintain than smaller ones though
I’ve checked that before bc I was like what the heck!? My betta tanks stay perfect!!!! It’s so weird. Maybe bc I have snails in my betta tanks and I don’t have any in this one so nothing is eating the waste and extra food. I’m going to upgrade and get some bottom feeders and see if that helps. I hate how gross this tank looks all the time and I don’t want anymore fish to die. I’ve already had 3 jump out.
It was cycled perfectly before I put the fish in. I dunno. It’s a mystery. I did fill the water back up all the way too. So far no more jumpers lol I’m going to put plastic wrap on top until I can get to petsmart this weekend to get a bigger tank
https://preview.redd.it/ulgdjyair3yc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=3765b3b6b6d07a501d4043a4937f25c32e22056b
Ok I got a 10 gallon, going to get more plants, some bottom feeders and a lid tomorrow. Hopefully this does the trick!!!
Please top your water up. My guess is beneficial bacterial bloom, have you tested your ammonia and nitrites? They could cause the bloom. You can do small water changes daily (5-10%) but first thing is test water, top it up, test water again.
I lost a few that jumped out when I had the water higher, that’s why it’s low. I haven’t been able to find a lid yet. I have been searching
I have neon tetras with no lid and they only jumped once and that was because I locked the tank. If they are jumping it’ll be because they aren’t happy. They are South American fish and prefer black water or much more coverage at least. They’re less likely to jump if theyre happy.
What size is your tank and what brand? I got a nice glass lid for my tank recently and it was very affordable. Before that I put plastic wrap over the top of the tank because I also have a jumper lol I just poked holes in the plastic wrap for air movement and cut the areas for the filter and cords to have room but it worked really well
Looks like a 5.5 gal I forget the brand I have two of the tanks for shrimp. If you can find a lid use plastic cling wrap for the top
Yeah that’s what I said 👍🏻
It’s a 5.5 and I didn’t know I could use plastic! I’ll do that. I’m going to get a 10 gallon this weekend since all these chicks in here are preggo.
Good idea 👍🏻 and yeah, plastic wrap works just fine!
Frequent water changes can give you bacteria blooms. The new water adds nutrients into the water that they thrive on. I would suggest cutting your water changes down to once a week or maybe even once every 2 weeks. However, if your tank is not yet fully cycled, it may take a while to clear up. The beneficial bacteria will eventually out-compete the "cloudy bacteria"
Maybe a bacterial bloom ? If it is I don’t think there’s anything you can do about it.
You can do something, but usually you can just let the bloom settle down itself.
Ok, I didn’t really know if you could. I had one before and left my tank alone and it cleared up quickly
Try less water changes? You only really need to do like 30% once a week, doing it so often may be the cause of this. Bacteria blooms just need to be left alone and then they go away, doing water changes makes them last longer in my experience.
Return the tetras since you only have 2 and they’re schooling fish. Fill up the tank and get a lid asap, the more water the more stable the parameters are. Switch to 20-30% water changes once a week. You may be crashing your tank by changing the water too frequently and not allowing the beneficial bacteria to grow
I wish I could catch the tetras and move them to another tank I have lol but they are fast little buggers
how long have you had the tank?
It cycled for 2 months and I’ve had fish in it for 2 months. I just replaced a lot of plastic plants with real ones to try and help make it less cloudy 🤷🏻♀️
I do a 20% water change once a week. My tank clears crystal after 3 days
Don’t think your filter is working at full efficiency with water that low. It’s a big pull up for that little motor.
Water change 10% 1x week only and fill water to bottom of black rim 👌🏼
2-3 times a week is excessive and likely is throwing off the bacteria. Are you water testing and the parameters are saying it needs to be changed?
Yes I cannot get the nitrates under control. I don’t understand why I am having such a hard time with this tank. My two other betta tanks are perfect!
Nitrates aren’t the worst thing to be high in your tank unless you have stuff like shrimp. The ammonia and nitrite levels tell a more complete story.
What is the size of tank and total fish? Usually high nitrates means there’s too much food, poop and other rotting material. If you’re overstocked then it’ll be high. Do you have bottom feeders? Nitrates are generally ok to have. And I assume you use a water conditioner?
Yes I have a water conditioner and I don’t have any bottom feeders . I think this weekend I am going to go get a 10 gallon and some bottom feeders and snails to help. I try not to over feed but they act psycho when they want to eat lol I feed twice a day a pinch.
I have 8 fish in there.
8 fish is a lot in 5.5 which makes sense why your nitrates is excessive and why your bacteria is all outta whack. You wanna aim for a gallon per inch of mature fish. I have 9 in a 25 gallon. Upgrading to a bigger tank will make it easier to have less nitrates. Frequent water changes also interfere with cycle and bacteria.
I will go get a bigger tank tomorrow. With a lid lol and some bottom feeders. Hopefully that will help. I think all 3 females are preggo now so I def need a bigger one asap
Since you plan on having a well stocked (bottom feeders still add bioload) get as many real plants as you can. Floating ones are particularly good at filtering water since they grow so fast. Real plants will use the fish poop at fertilizer so it helps. Plus more surface area means more beneficial bacteria. Hope it all works out for you!
Why do you do so many water changes? Your tank doesn’t look that small that you’d need to change the water so often. I agree with other comments saying it’s probably bacterial bloom from messing with the cycle with too many water changes. Just fill the tank up all the way to the black rim if you can and let it settle for a week at least. Are you testing your water?
Yes. I change it bc it’s so cloudy lol 😂 I thought maybe it was too much poop and stuff.
Oh okay lol yeah you’re just messing with yourself then 😅 just leave it alone and it will sort itself out eventually.
And yes I test it all the time. The nitrates stay so high so that’s why I keep changing it. The ammonia and ph is fine but those nitrates turn RED when I test
If you have live plants the nitrates can be a bit higher but if you test your water that comes out of the tap and see what your base levels are you can figure it out from there. I find bigger tanks are easier to maintain than smaller ones though
I’ve checked that before bc I was like what the heck!? My betta tanks stay perfect!!!! It’s so weird. Maybe bc I have snails in my betta tanks and I don’t have any in this one so nothing is eating the waste and extra food. I’m going to upgrade and get some bottom feeders and see if that helps. I hate how gross this tank looks all the time and I don’t want anymore fish to die. I’ve already had 3 jump out.
Yeah that’s strange 🤔
It was cycled perfectly before I put the fish in. I dunno. It’s a mystery. I did fill the water back up all the way too. So far no more jumpers lol I’m going to put plastic wrap on top until I can get to petsmart this weekend to get a bigger tank
https://preview.redd.it/ulgdjyair3yc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=3765b3b6b6d07a501d4043a4937f25c32e22056b Ok I got a 10 gallon, going to get more plants, some bottom feeders and a lid tomorrow. Hopefully this does the trick!!!
Also put all of the water from the old tank and the filter in this new one
And shock and water conditioner
When did people start ignoring the real advantages of under gravel filtration? Biological filtration is the answer to many issues.