# will aquarium salt make the water cloudy?



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

night before last my fish got a nasty, sudden case of fin rot... I had just done a water change so I removed all the plants and part of the gravel till I could figure out what caused it... but in the mean time I added a dose of FW AQ salt.... all yesterday he and the water looked fine.... this morning I got up and the water was cloudy? it just has a sortof white-ish tint to it... like fog.... it wouldn't show up on camera.... is this the AQ salt or should I be looking for a cause? I'm changing the water just in case but I was curious and wanted to make sure nothing's amiss.... I did turn off the filter for about a day... it's a cycled 5 gallon.... heated to 78 F. was planted but I removed all the plants just a day ago as previously said.... thankyou....


add-in combo was Prime ( regular dose ) API stress coat conditioner ( regular or mild overdose, though this shouldn't have been the issue ) and 1 teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half of API FW AQ salt per gallon. these were all dosed as instructed by several various people on here though so I can't imagine any of that was the issue.... unless AQ salt does just change the color...


or is this an issue with the cycle dying?


----------



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Hmmmm...

I don't think AQ salt will do that. The only time I had cloudy water was from using anti parasite fizzie tabs. AQ salt or Epsom Salt never changed my water color.

I dont have cycled tanks though


----------



## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Salt will not cloud your tank. 
It could be because you moved the gravel and stirred things up.
When you turn off your filter the bacteria does not get oxygen and it dies off but I'm not sure it will cloud your water. 
You will probably need to start a new cycle.


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

@Tikibirds @vilmarisv thanks... 

@vilmarisv 
yeah, I read somewhere that dead bacteria supposedly makes the water cloudy... you think a charcoal filter would remove AQ salt and stress coat?... I've been told it will remove medicine so I thought it might do the same here.. that was the main reason I cut it off....


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Aquarium salt generally shouldn't cause any cloudiness to the water itself-most likely what is going on is a bacterial bloom and a water change or two should take care of that...

As posted by others-due to the limited dissolved oxygen once you turned off the filter the beneficial bacteria are limited and will start to die..when you removed the live plants, some of the gravel and turned the filter off...this upset the balance of the closed system....

The charcoal or the filtration itself will not remove the salt-the salt needs to be removed manually with water changes....

Also, when treating with aquarium salt or any product it is important to use therapeutic dosages for the right reason and duration-otherwise you can sometimes do more harm than good.

Its best to treat in a small bare container of some type that can be floated in a heated tank to maintain temp- as well as using premixed treatment water-this helps in several ways-observation, water changes, correct dosages and with some issues the small bare container can help rule out the environment as a cause-especially with fin issues....

How is your Betta doing.....can you post a pic....


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

yur, as mentioned the salt was for the sudden and quick finrot... it occurred over the course of an hour... with no warning or obvious cause... 
I removed the algae ball because I was wondering if it may be harboring bad bacteria... ( it tends to gather debris ) as for the anubias I though the salt might kill it off and I didn't want rotting plant mixed in. 
the gravel was also a bit on the thick side... so I thinned it out. 
I did an over 50% water change and it's mostly clear now. his fins aren't pretty but his behavior and stress signs are good. 
I will try to get a picture... 
there is new fin growth on the fin that got caught in the intake and he has had no further issues with it. the tail is very ragged, but none of his fins are clamped. I am watching for further rot and keeping the water clean. I have removed the salt and withheld adding more while I try to fix the cycle. he has a shiny silver speck on one gill as well, but it's been there quite awhile, it's metallic, and it does not appear to be a disease. 
his eyes don't appear to be bulged or cloudy. I'll see if I can get a closeup of his fin damage. he also never colored up from the pet store, even when at best health... but he hasn't gotten pale nor darker.


edit: the area on the torn fin still looks fine, but the area on the tail where the fin rot attacked is getting worse again. placing him in the cup with hopes that this will help :/ he's always had issues with his fins but never this aggressive.. the water is absolutely clean, I've done two or three massive water changes in a row....


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

I've got him in the cup he came home in... he's very stressed and unhappy but I hope he'll settle in... I'm waiting for the AQ salt to dissolve so I can slowly remove and replace water.... I did two teaspoons for the one gallon and I'll adjust him slowly... is this good? I used Prime and API stress coat too... regular doses... 
if he calms down I'll get a picture... one of the finrot damages in the tail is a rip all the way to his body :/ it's ONLY attacking the tail.... when it first started there was white stuff on it... bu it quickly disappeared when I added the salt and warm water... could this be a parasite of some sort?... it has done no damage to any other fins or the fish aside from the tail fin.... the white stuff is gone now....

also going to test the water... will do that once he's settled in.... not touching the tank water till I test it.... 
I swear I've been doing everything to PREVENT finrot though... I have no idea what's happening...


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

stress streak, white actually started showing on his fins, never seen him lose color from stress before.... think he's chilling out a little now... once I get this over with I'll definitely add photos and water test results... I want to get this taken care of first though... scared he's going to stress himself to death...


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

huge chunks of his tail are just falling off... I don't know if it's the thrashing or if it would be doing this even if he'd stand still...


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

ammonia- 0-0.25 ( no green tint at all, so closer to 0 )
nitrite- 0
nitrate-just a tad over 0 

there was still some AQ salt left if that effects anything. I don't see anything too alarming.... some ammonia, but maybe 0.1, not enough to do this.... 

still adjusting him, adding photos in a bit....


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

picture
video

you can see it best in the vid... he's acting fine and his other fins look okay, but his tail looks pretty bad...
*note: the top fin is where he got it caught in the filter intake; it has NOTHING to do with the fin rot*, and is actually REGROWING. :/ the tail's the only effected bit...


----------



## inkrealm (May 15, 2011)

have him in the cup, treated water two teaspoons to the gallon, API stress coat and Prime. floating in his heated tank, might get a bit chilly still, but not below 75 I think... maybe 74... taped to the side so it won't tip, because it usually does... how often should I change this water? once a day, twice a day? etc? last I checked he was sleeping... hope he might be still but maybe not since my dad is in his view... using a turkey baster to remove and add in new water... it's one specifically for his tank, no other uses, never been used for anything else.


----------

