# 2 Q's: Why do fish eat food and spit it back out????



## FishRCool (Feb 7, 2008)

and my tank is in it's first week of cycling and the water is cloudy. Is this normal? How do I get it to go away or will it go away on its own?


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## crystalclear83 (Oct 13, 2007)

umm fish eat food and spit it back out i've seen for one reason they are unhappy seing that your tank is cloudy the tank is cycling and that means the fish are most like very uncomfortable. And have a hard time eating don't over feed them and add an air stone so they have oxygen. The excess ammonia in the water will keep them from getting oxygen from constricting their caperliaries. Usually if a fish doesn't like a food they won't even give it any interest so if they play with it but not eat it they are saying they they are unhappy DO SOMETHING!


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## fishhead (Feb 6, 2008)

Well, starting from the top...

-how many fish & what kind?
-do you have a test kit and have you tested the water; if so what are the results?
-if ammonia is high do at least a 25% water change

Occasionally my Rasboras will 'bite off more than they can chew' with a big flake, they'll spit out some but then take a smaller bite that they can handle. However if you've just been cycling a week you'll find you have an ammonia factory going on and stressed fish.

Depending on what kind of fish they may or may not be able to handle it.

Bio-Spira worked wonders for me in cycling my tank.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

If the fish has already eaten it's fill, some breeds can't resist the urge to strike at the food anyway, so they spit it back out. However, if your fish aren't eating at all, that's something to worry about.


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## thespiff (Nov 12, 2007)

Cloudy is normal. It will go away. It's a bacteria population explosion associated with the bio-load the fish are putting on the tank. It means your tank is cycling.

Please please buy ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits and learn how to use and interpret them. Buy the liquid testers, not the paper strips. You'll spend like $20 for a full set but they are a necessary tool for fish keeping and will last a long time.

I've seen your other post, you're nervous about fishkeeping and worried you might mess it up. That's cool. The best way not to mess it up is to buy the test kits and monitor water parameters during the cycle. If ammonia/nitrite/nitrate reach levels that are dangerous for your fish, do at least a 25% water change each day until they are down again. Your ammonia is probably high right now, which might kill some fish unless you diagnose and remedy the problem.

My fish bite and spit food all the time. They eat their fill and just play with the rest. Eventually it sinks to the bottom and my catfish get to eat. Kinda gross for the catfish, but it's what bottom feeders do.


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## FishRCool (Feb 7, 2008)

I bought the paper test kits. I don't think I've seen a liquid kind. Why is it important not to have the paper kind? When I did a 25% water change the cloudiness went away but my ammonia keeps going up and EVERYONE says to do something different. I am going to buy some Bio-Spira.

The fish definatly like to eat. I just notice that sometimes they spit it back out. I think it must be b/c they're full. 

2 african cichlids and 2 south american cichlids. I'm taking 2 of them to a lfs Monday b/c I found out you're not supposed to mix them.


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## crystalclear83 (Oct 13, 2007)

paper strips can give miss readings.


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## cedricb (Feb 15, 2008)

cause some of them are dirty eaters and there is nothing you can do about it.

the only thing I can think about is to try different kind of food like pellets or stuff like that to see if you get just the same amount of wastes.

cedric


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## cedricb (Feb 15, 2008)

if the tank is new and cycling that's normal.

The cloudiness is do to increasing number of bacteria in your tank.

in one week it should sediment and nidify in the background gravel filter ornaments etc....

during that time make a 10% water change.


if it doesn't sediment that could mean two things :

1: you have too many fishes in your tank
2: it is not bacteria but unicellular algea that you see in your tank. if you take a glass or less of water and let it dry, and that the dried thing you see is green, it is unicellular algea. Chemical exist to get rid of them.

cedric


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