The water in my beta's container is always cloudy???

Question

We have a few beta fish at work, each in their own little container (which is approx. 1 gallon) with the same plant in each. We clean out the water and containers at least once a week, but one only one is always cloudy, no matter what we do. Any drops or anything that we can add to the container? The plants are all above water, with the roots in the water for the fish to hide in. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Milky white cloudiness is caused by a nitrifying bacterial bloom which is not harmful to the betta and when the bacteria settle into the gravel, the water will clear up on it's own.  Green or yellow cloudiness is called green water and is caused by algae growth and excess light.  Cutting back on the light will control green water.  Again, it is not unhealthy for the betta, just unsightly.  If the cloudiness is not from a bacterial bloom or green water, then it is the result of overfeeding.  Try a tropical fish food like Tetramin color food.  It is easier to control by feeding a few flakes at each meal.  If your betta has a poor appetite, place a mirror outside his tank where he will be able to see his reflection.  This will give him exercise and entertainment.  No matter how excited he gets, he will not be able to hurt himself and he will stop when he gets tired so you don't have to remove the mirror to give him a rest.  

By the way, I disagree with several comments made by Mr. X.  He says that changing the water every week will keep the bowl from cycling but this is incorrect.  It may slow down the establishment of a sizeable colony of nitrifying bacteria but eventually there will be plenty.  One cubic inch of gravel can hold 10 million nitrifying bacteria and you will never see any of them.  As long as you don't replace the gravel your gravel will increase the nitrifying bacteria population.  Cleaning the bowls every week may wash some of the bacteria away but there are plenty left hiding in the pores of the gravel.  Chlorine in tap water or medications can kill some of the good bacteria but not all.  

Bettas are one species of fish with a labyrinth organ that acts like a lung.  Bettas also have gills so they can breathe in oxygen both from the water as well as the atmosphere.  They are slow moving fish and can adapt to a wide temperature range.  They are able to thrive in small fish bowls without mechanical filteration or aeration.  I have raised bettas in jars with only a cup of water per betta.  Betta breeders would go crazy if they had to have 3 gallon tanks with heaters and filters for every single betta.

Answer 2

feed your betta less and try a 20% water change every week.

Answer 3

It seem's like none of these are able to go through a cycle. Is that one near some sunlight or a heat source that could be causing some bacterial growth? In a one gallon tank these guys aren't going to thrive. In addition to the fact that the tanks can never cycle as you are changing water every week. However, if you stop this with no filatration these guys will probably die fairly rapidly, from toxic level of ammonia. There is some super clear medication you can use which may work. Try moving it if it is in sunlight or near a heat source, and worst to worst upgrade to some 2.5 with filters.

Edit: Contrary to popular belief an unfiltered tank, with little water movement CANNOT cycle. The nitrifying bacteria are in need of a lot of oxygen to grow. In these tanks they live on the top surface of the gravel. Most people don't use conditioner and some, especially in these types of city complexes, not only have chlorine, but chloramine which hangs around for a lot longer. Changing the water COMPLETELY each time will kill any bacteria that are living in the tank anywhere. The bottom layers of gravel have water and sludge they cannot support bacteria.

If the conditions stated below were true then a bowl should have an almost equal survival rate and ammonia levels as a cycled filtered tank. However, if you test the ammonia on a bowl you will notice that it never drops to zero, meaning fish are always under burning gill stress.

In addition betta breeders don't use a 3 gal per tank for their fish. They have a much larger tank and put opaque dividers between the fish in the tank. In this way they have a larger filtered tank that allows for many betta's to be put in a large enough environment to feel safe to breed. If you think that betta breeder's are going around and breeding their fish in cups, you're insane.

Answer 4

I would buy the type of food that NEVER clouds the water.

Answer 5

get a 2 gallon tank and a filter if you dont have one. its maybe because it poops alot and clouds the water. if thats the case, feed it a little less