Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I wondering if any one has ever used catfish in there tanks and then the water turned cloudy.

Yep, but maybe not your type - I have 10 eel-tailed catfish (Tandanus Tandanus) in an IBC along with 35 SP's (Silver Perch) - doing very nicely as well... Don't have anywhere near the amount of algae any more either - I think they graze on it.

Is the cloudiness forming a oily slick on the surface of the water? It may be a protien film.

Bellgroup.

I use channel catfish in my system, they grow great. I dont have cloudy water problems. My first hunch is the tank has been there a while and they are just truing up the silt at the bottom. You grow beds or filters should re-clear the water in a few days.



brian.

I got catfish (tandanus) from John at Glenwaters a couple of years ago and he was adamant that tandanus don't eat algae. I think it will be your silvers grazing on it as they turn more and more herbivore as they get older

Charlie
It does not seam to be oily. The entire tank was cloudy. I can not even see the bottom.

That's a bit weird - before I got them I had algae on the walls of the IBC and on the pump and air lines - I've watched the cats trolling along the air lines nibbling at the hanging algae. I've also seen them cruising the walls, mouth to the algae there.

If they're not eating it I have no idea where the algae has gone and I've never seen the SP's doing anything similar. They are only about 4 months old and still hit the pellets hard enough to fling them around.

I didn't know SP's went herbivore apart from (I think it was) Rupert saying he drops lettuce in the tank when the cold sends them off the food.