# My 5 gallon betta tank water turned cloudy in less than 24 hours!



## jason123 (Mar 25, 2014)

Help - My tank water turned cloudy in less than 24 hours!!

I just got my first fish 3 days ago- a blue male crowntail betta.
He now lives alone in a 5 gallon tank with a heater, no filter. I feed him 4 pellets a day. He seems happy and swims all day. He has a cave etc and is very curious and adventurous!

I have not cycled my tank. (My fault, I did not research enough! I plan to do it soon)
I treated tap water with a conditioner which said it takes care of the chlorine and ammonia. 
Once in the tank, I ensured the water is at 78F using a thermometer and a tank heater.I also added a lot of gravel.
I do not have a filter yet,plan to get one today.(the store keeper said I dint need one as long as i change 25% water weekly, but I think my betta deserves better!)

Now coming to the problem - My tank water turned cloudy in less than 24 hours!! What is going on? 
It is not because of waste food - I ensure he has all his food(4 pellets a day)!
Is it because of the gravel? Or is it the tap water? 

(note - But my betta still seems to be happy and swims and explores his tank all day. )


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

If it wasn't cloudy when you first set it up and just turned cloudy overnight, it's something called a bacterial bloom. It's just a growth explosion of harmless bacteria - which are not the same bacteria you will want in the tank when you do get your filter and cycle it. It will clear up on its own. It *can* be caused by overfeeding or buildup of waste, but it also just happens naturally in many new tanks and it doesn't look like you are overfeeding. 

The only risk to fish during a bacterial bloom is that it can leach some of the oxygen out of the water, but as bettas can also breathe air, your fish will be fine.


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## mart (Dec 18, 2013)

Unless you have some bad decor in there causing it.


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## jason123 (Mar 25, 2014)

I got gravel and a cave from the same store i got the fish 3 days ago. So it might be the case that the decor is contaminated.
How do I now clean up the gravel and cave? just hot water? and should I do a 100% change of water once i clean the gravel?


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## kevonnn (Feb 5, 2014)

Did you clean the gravel before you setup the tank?


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## jason123 (Mar 25, 2014)

I rinsed it a bit, using just hot water.

Also could you suggest a specific filter product that I could get for my betta(5 gallon tank).
I see a lot of people having issues with a powerful filter.


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## Aconyte (Jun 2, 2013)

Does your tank have a canopy? If it doesn't there's a good chance it's just dust.


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## jason123 (Mar 25, 2014)

my tank does have a glass top. So i dont think its dust!


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## bettafishfins (Apr 19, 2013)

Filter?


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