Fish - Why is the water in my aquarium all of the sudden foaming?

Question

My fish are in a bowl right now. I just got them a few days ago. I just got all of the stuff to go into a small 2 and a half gallon starter aquarium that has been in the closet for a while. I washed off the dust with just warm water and paper towels. The directions on the bag of gravel said to run the aquarium for 24 hours before putting the fish in the tank. I started it last night, and the water was still clear when I looked at it this afternoon. But all of the sudden I looked again a few minutes later and their was foam at the top. The foam is still there now (a few minutes past midnight). There is also a decorative rock that I washed under very warm running water with just my hands to get the dirt off. I used distilled spring water that I bought at the store and added a little of the water that the fish came home in according to instructions so the fish would not be shocked in their new environment. Is it safe to add the fish to the tank while there is foam at the top?

Answer 1

it means that you need to add more water to the tank

Answer 2

firstly 2.5 gallons is too small for anything except snails, bettas and shrimp

bettas need a heated tank

secondly you need to cycle (run) the tank for like 1 month minimum do some reaserch on this

goldfish need 20-50 gallons depending on species

please say what type of fish you are getting

also do not use pet shop water it is very likely to contain deisese

float the bag for 20 minutes then add one cup of your aquarium water into the bag (to slowly adjust it to your water conditions) wait a further 10 minutes and net your fish into you tank

discard the bag water

all the other answers so far are not very good

wow 2 thumbs down i wonder why.

the other people who answered probably did it

there just jealous that my answer is so good

as for the foam

did you have soapy hands when you decorated your tank

mars 4192s answer is also good. she is correct about the shorter lives

1 betta and 2 danios will survive if it is heated but danios like to school in groups of 6 or more but they should survive with only 2 good luck danios are my favorite fish.

watch out for fin nipping

i mean sometimes danios nip fins of other fish

Answer 3

I have just set up a 3foot tank and had the exact same problem. Firstly don't worry about it, ive got 2 silver sharks 2 plecs and four tetras all bought on the same day. All I did was bought a small bottle of water fresh which costs £1.50 from your local pet store you simply add 5ml of liquid to every 10 litres of water and hey presto problem solved. You will also notice your fish take to the final water conditions.

Answer 4

change the water

Answer 5

Probably Over Fed them lol!! well when u feed them alot of times!

Answer 6

Are you sure it's not the betta making a bubble nest?

That can sort of look like foam.

Answer 7

I wont nag u about your tank because i know it is annoying, your fish wont necessarily die from a small amount of water they will just have a shorter life. As for the foam this happens to me a lot and i have never had a fish die from it. If you have a filter or air pump they may cause they foam, its just bubbles. But if there is foam & oil [a thin layer floating at the top] this could be a problem. If you don't have an air pump or filter it could be from the bubbles that were on the side of the tank[they typically gather when filling an aquarium that has been completely empty for a while] but i dont think it is a problem at all 8D

Answer 8

It could possibly be agitation sometimes when water moves or whatever moves it it causes foam ya i think its safe don't worry about it it'll  be just fine it sounds like your doing everything perfect I GOT IT  i just figured it out my tank did that too its because when you run it it has this one thing that moves the motor type thing and because it causes it to foam because of agitation  DO NOT worry all tanks do this its not a problem!