Search Results for: blog cloudy aquarium water

Dealing with Aquarium Surface Scum

Keeping aquarium pets is a lot more work than some people expect. There’s a lot of cleaning that goes into keeping your tank-dwellers happy and healthy! So what happens if you start to get a weird scum on the surface of your tank water? Before you can fix the problem, it helps to know the cause. An oily film on the surface of the water could come from: Oily fish food. Some frozen fish foods are very oily, and can leave a residue on the water’s surface. Changing fish food brands may make a big difference! Oily people food. If … Continue reading →

How to Do a Partial Water Change

Aquarium cleaning can be a messy chore — despite all the water involved! A partial water change is a good way to clear the water in your tank without destroying all the good bacteria that keep your fish healthy and happy. When doing a partial water change, you only want to remove twenty-five to thirty percent of the water. This leaves enough good bacteria behind to help repopulate the tank and keep harmful chemicals out of the water. Take too much water away and you run the risk of having to start the nitrogen cycle all over again. There’s no … Continue reading →

DIY Aquarium Leak Fixes

Has your glass aquarium sprung a leak? All is not lost yet… here’s a relatively easy way to fix a small leak in your tank. Most leaks happen at the joints — where two panes of glass meet. If your glass aquarium is leaking from a crack in the glass itself, you might have an easier time just getting a new aquarium! Here’s what you’ll need: A felt tip marker, like a Sharpie. Razor blades (the kind without a handle). Paper towels or a soft cloth. A residue remover like acetone. A tube of 100 silicone sealant. Conditioned/prepared water to … Continue reading →

More Tropical Aquarium Tips

Keeping an aquarium can be a rewarding hobby — but it isn’t easy! These tips can help your fish stay happy and healthy in your tank. Caring for your fish starts BEFORE they enter the tank. You need to acclimate your fish before they enter your aquarium. Place the fish and the water from the bag into an empty and clean five gallon bucket. Add one cup of water from your aquarium every ten minutes for an hour. After an hour or so, the fish will be acclimated to your tank water and ready to move into the aquarium. Add … Continue reading →

Tropical Aquarium Tips

Here are some tips to help keep your aquarium running smoothly from start to finish. Starting an aquarium hobby isn’t easy — and it doesn’t happen quickly. You’ll need to take a few weeks to prepare the tank and water before you add any fish. Get the biggest tank you can afford — and the biggest tank that can fit in your space. A larger aquarium usually means the water parameters will be more stable. Water temperature also stays more stable in a bigger tank. Make sure you know and understand the nitrogen cycle. Always use your water test kit … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Oct 15-21

October’s speeding along at a frightfully fast pace. Before you know it Halloween will be here. If you’re having a heck of a time keeping up on everything, including the Pets Blog, let me be of some assistance with this week’s Week in Review. Here’s what Aimee and I covered on: Monday, October 15 Aimee’s been doing a good job covering all things fish this month. Today’s installment was More Common Freshwater Diseases. I reported on the dog days festival that Murph, Wayne, and I went to. Tuesday, October 16 Aimee explained that cloudy aquarium water is not normal and … Continue reading →

Cloudy Aquarium Water

If the water in your aquarium doesn’t look quite right, you may have something wrong! Your tank water isn’t supposed to be cloudy, white, green, or yellow. White or gray cloudy aquarium water could be caused by dust from gravel or sand. Always rinse your substrate thoroughly before adding it to your aquarium. With sand, this can be tricky! Give your tank a day or two for dust particles to settle. White or gray cloudy aquarium water could be caused by a bacterial bloom or by adding too many fish too soon (before the nitrogen cycle has finished). Give the … Continue reading →

Rare Pets: Axolotls

Usually in the Rare Pets column I cover animals that are uncommon pets, but still species of which most readers of heard. Today I’m going to look at a truly rare pet, one some of you might not have known existed until today: the axolotl. The axolotl is a type of salamander, native to Mexico, so in that it’s not an unheard-of pet. It certainly looks like a strange kind of salamander, however, which prompts its common nickname: water dragon. Despite its odd appearance and perhaps off-putting (or for some, encouraging) moniker, however, axolotls can make good pets. Here are … Continue reading →

What Does Your Gravel Say About You?

Most fish tanks have something on the bottom — often gravel in freshwater tanks, but sometimes sand or other materials. What substrate is best for your tank? Colored gravel is popular among casual fish keepers, but not often seen in a serious hobbyist’s tank. Why? If the fish should be the main focus of the tank, brightly colored gravel can be distracting from the living creatures. Colored gravel doesn’t look at all natural, and many serious hobbyists want their tanks to look like a little piece of nature. Light colored gravel can make fish nervous or anxious — the fish … Continue reading →

Filthy Fish

For an animal that lives in the water… fish sure are dirty! I might not have even realized this if not for my job at the cats only boarding facility. We have an aquarium and three fish for the kitties to watch during the day. It’s probably a fifteen or twenty gallon tank, I’d guess. Over the weekend, I decided to roll up my sleeves and clean the fish tank. That’s when I learned the dirty truth about our little fishy friends. Safety first! Always unplug all electrical equipment before doing anything to or in your aquarium. Ours has three … Continue reading →