QT with cloudy water and bubbles. Is it dangerous?

cybrook1421 · Jun 11, 2022

Hello, I have 3 fish (2 clowns and 1 cardinalfish) in a 20gal QT after an outbreak of brook. I never QTd them with meds initially so I am basically starting over and doing it right. I am using Copper Power and Metroplex in it currently. Copper Power will be at 1.75 by the end of the day today. Metroplex has nother 5-7 days, dosing every 48 hours.

I have a Tidal 35 HOB on the tank as well as an airstone on full power to help oxygenate. It has no substrate and pvc pipes. The HOB has a sponge and cycled seachem matrix.

I have noticed that as I have been increasing the copper levels, the airstone is creating more bubbles that stay on the surface of the water. The bubbles almost cover half of the surface of the water. The water is also slightly cloudy and white.

Fish seem fine. No changes in behavior from when copper was started and now. No heavy breathing, twitching, other movements or decreased appetite.

Is this just a bacterial bloom? I don't mind the look of it as long as it is not harming my fish. Thoughts?

Jay Hemdal · Jun 11, 2022

cybrook1421 said:
Hello, I have 3 fish (2 clowns and 1 cardinalfish) in a 20gal QT after an outbreak of brook. I never QTd them with meds initially so I am basically starting over and doing it right. I am using Copper Power and Metroplex in it currently. Copper Power will be at 1.75 by the end of the day today. Metroplex has nother 5-7 days, dosing every 48 hours.

I have a Tidal 35 HOB on the tank as well as an airstone on full power to help oxygenate. It has no substrate and pvc pipes. The HOB has a sponge and cycled seachem matrix.

I have noticed that as I have been increasing the copper levels, the airstone is creating more bubbles that stay on the surface of the water. The bubbles almost cover half of the surface of the water. The water is also slightly cloudy and white.

Fish seem fine. No changes in behavior from when copper was started and now. No heavy breathing, twitching, other movements or decreased appetite.

Is this just a bacterial bloom? I don't mind the look of it as long as it is not harming my fish. Thoughts?

Copper should not cause foaming. I'm not sure, but I wouldn't expect the metro to do that either. Typically, cloudy, foamy water is a sign of a bacterial bloom. I've seen that after dosing with Prazipro, or from overfeeding. Be sure to monitor your ammonia levels. If it gets really bad, you might consider better mechanical filtration, and water changes (redosing the chems as needed if you do that).

Jay

Spare time · Jun 11, 2022

You can put copper power at full dose no issue. However, I am not sure how well metroplex works for brook. It didn't work when I treated fish with brook, but paraguard did. maybe #fishmedic can answer that.

If the water is cloudy (not from bubbles), try cleaning the sponge in the hob. Alternitevly, add a small filter pad first so that you can easily rinse that out without letting stuff decay in it.

I have no clue what is happening with the airstone though, that is bizzare

cybrook1421 · Jun 11, 2022

@Jay Hemdal @Spare time

Thanks for responding!

I have been doing water changes every 2-3 days as needed. Last one I did was Thursday and was 50%. Is there anything I should put in there to fix it? Can I just leave it alone if I am not seeing any issues?

Something else I just thought about was the food. I feed LRS with a drop each of second, vitachem and garlic guard. Let that thaw and then feed. Could this be causing the issues?

Jay Hemdal · Jun 11, 2022

cybrook1421 said:
@Jay Hemdal @Spare time

Thanks for responding!

I have been doing water changes every 2-3 days as needed. Last one I did was Thursday and was 50%. Is there anything I should put in there to fix it? Can I just leave it alone if I am not seeing any issues?

Something else I just thought about was the food. I feed LRS with a drop each of second, vitachem and garlic guard. Let that thaw and then feed. Could this be causing the issues?

Just avoid uneaten food left in the tank, and be sure that the ammonia level is kept below 0.25 ppm. Soaking food in organic material/vitamins can also cause this - it rinses off just about as fast as it soaks in to the food!

Jay.

miyags · Jun 11, 2022

Not sure if the food soak will help, I know garlic can be harmful. A cloudy tank could be a bacterial bloom. On the most part bacterial blooms don't seem to harm fish or coral.they just look bad. you can clear it up in 3 days with a uv sterilizer.

vetteguy53081 · Jun 11, 2022

Can you post a pic or two under white lighting to see how cloudy youre describing?

cybrook1421 · Jun 11, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
Can you post a pic or two under white lighting to see how cloudy youre describing?

I don't have a light on the QT tank so here it is just with the room lights on. It's not as bubbly as before since I just fed them and popped all the bubbles with my finger. Please forgive the water marks on the glass.

I'll end up doing another water change tomorrow just to get rid of the leftover food from yesterday and today. Probably will stop with the food additives to see if that fixes it.

doubleshot00 · Jun 11, 2022

When tried to QT new fish my tank did the same thing. Watch out for ammonia.

vetteguy53081 · Jun 11, 2022

cybrook1421 said:
I don't have a light on the QT tank so here it is just with the room lights on. It's not as bubbly as before since I just fed them and popped all the bubbles with my finger. Please forgive the water marks on the glass.

I'll end up doing another water change tomorrow just to get rid of the leftover food from yesterday and today. Probably will stop with the food additives to see if that fixes it.

What youre seeing is due to:
Lack of water flow as your power filter is your only source of water movement
Lack of biological filtration.

What steps can you take?
- add another filter OR Sponge filter and seed with liquid bacteria
- add a Nano power head
- monitor water with reliable test kit and change water as needed
- add air stone to break up water surface for oxygen exchange

cybrook1421 · Jun 11, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
What youre seeing is due to:
Lack of water flow as your power filter is your only source of water movement
Lack of biological filtration.

Thanks for the suggestions. I currently have both the HOB and an airstone going on full power. I'm worried that adding a nano powerhead would end up being too much flow for the fish, even if it's aimed at the surface.

doubleshot00 said:
When tried to QT new fish my tank did the same thing. Watch out for ammonia.

I usually do a 50% water change every 2-3 days so I will continue doing that just to be safe.

I can't take anything from my DT right now as it's fallow for brook/others. I'll probably pick up some bio-spira and add that with some more seachem matrix to help.

Thanks for all the help everyone!