The plant I have is called Cabomaba Carolina, has anyone got experience planting this?

Recently my fishes became very interested on the plants, they just non-stop eating it, and I noticed my tank is getting much more cloudy as usual. I have done a water change once i noticed the problem, and the water has became clear just for half a day after the change, then turned back to cloudy again! So, I done another 1/3 water change again yesterday (just 2 days after my last change), but the water condition still have nothing improve. <_<

Will my fish be over-eating, which produces too much waste and resulted in the water cloudiness? Shall I get out the plants?

p.s. because of the cloudiness, I have reduced the feeding to once a day and only few flakes for each baby.

Hi Gloomy,

Do you mean Cabomba Carolina? I've used that plant before. They grow very fast in the right condition and the little fan shaped bits can break off easily.

Are your plants planted straight into the gravel? I suppose it is possible that the fish are overeating and thus generating more ammonia and then nitrIte and nitrAte and you are seeing a minor bacteria/algal bloom because of a surge in their levels. Have you tested nitrIte or nitrAte levels?

I have never done those water test, the staff of the Aquarium advises me that I just have to change my water more often, then everything will be fine!! He said people just do the water change after the tests, so, no point spending money on those....mm...

Shall I take out the plants in order to minimise the waste the fishes produce? and do small water change everyday? any advise?

Well, I suppose if you suspect that the snacking on the plants is the problem then you can certainly try removing them to see if that helps. I've used them before and they never gave me cloudy water so I can't comment directly.

As to "why bother with test kits". I'm honestly shocked by their comments. It is a bit like a doctor who can only say "take two aspirins and call me in the morning if you are still alive".

High ammonia is very toxic and will cause chemical burns and damage to their gills and red blood cells resulting in death.

High nitrIte is slightly less toxic but will cause brown blood disease and some deaths.

High nitrAte is real source of fish stress and chronic illness.

You will be scratching your head over a dead fish if you believe that "all you need to do is change water". Of course changing water is an integral part of tank maintenance but to solely rely on that is also silly. It is a bit like the saying "what you don't know can't hurt you."

you are very true! I also doubt about that staff's comment after I read everyone talking about the tests. I will get my test kits as soon as possible.


You mentioned about the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels, do you mean there will be special treatment for the water if their level is too high? I am adding Stress coat and Stress Zymn and salt everytime I do the water change.

Meanwhile, I will just take out the plants and i will try to do another small water change tomorrow. From your experience, what will be the mainly reason of the cloudy water?

Many thanks..

Oh yes, there are quite a number of things you can do.

With ammonia, the use of ammonia binders like amquel or ammolock are typical first aid. Massive water change is another.

For nitrIte, 0.1% salt will protect the fish from brown blood disease.

For nitrAte, plants and water change are common fixes.

Charting the value of pH over time will allow to predict a pH crash or to stablise the pH at the level which is best for your fish and workable within the chemistry of your water source.

If the cloudiness is white then it is likely to be an bacteria bloom. If it is green then it is an algal bloom. In both cases, nitrAte level plays a key role.

With a lot of things in a closed system like an aquarium, the cause and effects are will documented and predictable. Over feeding will increase ammonia which in turns increases nitrIte and finally nitrAte. So if you have a mature biofilter, you can predict a spike in nitrIte and then a spike in nitrAte once you pick up a surge in ammonia with testing. That is why it is important to get test kits. They allow you to head off problems before they become problems and to chart the well being of your tank. Nothing just go "ding" in the night and kill every fish in sight. There is a root cause somewhere. If you can find it, you'd have saved yourself a lot of grieve.

Thank you very much for your details advise, Captk! I think they are very helful, I will definitely get a test kids as soon as I can.

The cloudiness is white in my tank....oh my god...a Bacteria Bloom!! any advise? But luckily, both of my fishes are still active and non-stop eating.

How long has the tank been set up? A bacteria bloom is a natural part of a tank cycling and usually shows up in the first month or so, then goes away. It shoudln't harm your fish, it just looks bad for a few days.

But you DO need to have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tests to make sure everything is A-OK. Water changes will usually fix just about anything, but you won't know what the problem is unless you test for it, so you don't know how much to change, and at what point it is safe for the fish.

Myaj is right. If your tank is new or if the filter had a hiccup it can bring on the cloudy water. Another thing is overstocking. I forgot to ask you how many fish in what size tank.

If you are not overstocked and there are no obviously reason for a sick filter then you just have to be patient. A few small partial water changes will help but don't over do it either. Stability is very important as well.