Quick question...I currently have a 2ft tank 3 x BN;s 2m1f 9-10cm. Any way I put some zuchini in the other day and due to work commitments was not able to change it for a couple of days the water has now gone cloudy with what I am guessing this is infusia (I wondered how to make it) anyway how harmfull is this for the fish, it does smell a bit, I have done a 50% water change but wondering if I should do a complete waterchange or wait and do another 50% in few hours or tomorrow. Any advise appreciated.
Kj
Basically there were more nutrients in the water than the bacteria living on your filter sponge (sticky ones) could eat. This excess 'food' mean the water column bacteria (floaty ones) were able to rapidly increase in number.
The key thing is to look after the colonys in your sponge.
The worst thing you can do now is clean the filter too heavily.
Once the nutrient level in the water drops or filter bacteria population increase enuf to handle the load.
The cloudy water bacteria bloom will die off.
SO reduce feeding, and be gentle with the filter.
CLoudy water is very common in new tanks or ones where people cleaned the filter under the tap.
Normal sticky filter bacteria hates the cloudy water bacteria.
releases toxins to slow it down, as they both fight over the same food.
There is one time when it can be serious and that is when a bloom is large enough to remove all the oxygen from the water.
For this reason I always increase aeration in cloudy tanks as a precaution.
But really it's no problem, time heals it well.
I doubt it's an 'infusia' altho that isn't really an organism.
Rather it's a nickname given to tiny life that makes water cloudy and milky.
Easily grown with a bit of straw and a bucket.....
but to use it for food it needs to be a lot bigger than bacteria!!
next time pull the vege out before it breaks down too much
or feed less in each go.
Feeding fresh polutes the water more than algae disks but hey it's cheaper.
Thanks alot for the info, much appreciated
kj