Ok my fish tank got Ick and my goldfish died, how can i sterilize the tank before adding new fish?

Question

the fish began losing scales and as if they wouldnt take in air from the surface

there were 6 golfish, with a filter going, all fancy goldfish, the temp was at 20 degrees and the tank was a 15 gallon, they didn't get sick until i added a walmart fish, all six fish died within 72 hours.

Sorry my tank is at 70 degrees not 20, 20 was in celcious, and 70 fareinheight.

Answer 1

Ok, wow lots of different advice.
20 degrees!! Yikes your goldfish tank should never drop below 55. I am suprised they weren't a frozen block!

First defense is a good offense. SInce we cannot see the tank or how the fish actually looked, it could have been a few things. I honestly do not think it is ich, and draining the tank and cleaning it is not going to make ich go away since it is a free swimming parasite found in all non steralized water sources. (YEP even in your tap water) Yuck!

First of all, Best advice you will hear today, DO NOT BUY FISH AT WALMART! now with that said.

If your fish are losing scales for no apparent reason (such as breeding) then it is commonly found to be caused from Myxosporidiosis. The only treatment for this is to keep doing water changes and get rid of the parasites. Symptoms: Fish gasping, pale gills.

Your fish are air suckers, however they do not breath air they breath dissolved oxygen. The only way DO2 can get into the water is thru water movement. Bubblers airstones do NOTHING to put DO2 into the water. MOVEMENT only. 6 fish is actually too many for your tank as well. They could have been deprived of the DO2 they needed causing undue stress.

I don't think it is fish lice either. You could have seen them swimming. These parasitic crustaceans have eight feathery legs they use to swim with. They grab on to the fish and draw blood and body tissues from beneath the skin. There are about 200 species of fish lice (argulus) worldwide. Symptoms: Fish lice are disc-shaped parasites between 8 and 12 mm (0.3-0.5in) in diameter and vary in color from light green to brown. They can be seen attached to the fish's body and fins. Treatment: Fish lice are relatively large so they can be removed individually from the fish using tweezers. Using a strong salt solution as a dip to help dislodge them. There are medications at pet stores available to help with this situation also. Again you could have seen them.

More about ich. There are differnt kinds of ich and treated differently.

Is it white spot disease or is it Ich? You need to know the difference between the two since they are treated differently.

Cryptocaryoniasis, White Spot Disease or Marine Ich is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Cryptocaryon irritans. Although Cryptocaryon becomes a parasitic organism at one stage in its life cycle like Oodinium and Brooklynella do, and it progesses less rapidly than these other ich diseases, in a closed aquarium system it can reach overwhelming and disasterous numbers just the same if it is not diagnosed and treated upon recognition.

Unlike Oodinium and Brooklynella that typically attack the gills first, which allows these ich diseases to advance into life-threatening levels quickly as they go unnoticed, Cryptocaryon usually appears at the onset as salt-sized white spots visible on the body and fins of a host fish, and when the organisms become parasitic, it is then that they move inwards to the gills. Because crypto is more easily recognized in its beginning stage, this makes it much easier to treat and cure before it gets out of control.

Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as tomonts, mucus, and tissue debris clogs the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches as the trophonts destroy the pigment cells, and secondary bacterial infections invade the lesions caused by the trophonts.

Although copper is very effective on Oodinium, and it works well to eliminate crypto organisms in their free-swimming tomite stage, it is not as effective on the Cryptocaryon trophonts that burrow deeply into the tissues of fish. A combination of freshwater and formalin treatments adminstered by means of dips, baths, and prolonged treatment over a period of time in a QT is recommended

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if Cryptocaryon is not eradicated from the main aquarium, which can be accomplished by keeping the tank devoid of any fish for at least 4 weeks. For fish-only aquariums hyposalinity can be applied, and to speed up the life cycle of the organisms, elevate the tank temperature to 85 degrees for 10 days to 12 days. For treating reef tanks, FishVet No-Ich Marine, Ruby Reef Kick-Ich, and Chem-Marin Stop Parasites are Cryptocaryon specific remedies that are said to be "reef safe". Several days prior to returning fish to the main aquarium, clean all filtering equipment, change any filtering materials, and do a water change.

Remember to remove all filters media and turn off protein skimmers when treating for any types of Ich.

Although many over-the-counter remedies contain the general name Ich or Ick, carefully read the product information to be sure it is designed to specifically target and treat "Cryptocaryon"

Brooklynella hostilis - these protozoa reproduce asexually by means of simple binary fission through conjugation, which is why they are able to multiply so much more rapidly than Cryptocaryon (White Spot), and Oodinium (Velvet Ich), and why it can kill fish within a few days and even hours upon recognition

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.

Suggestions range from copper, malachite green and other remedies, with some recommended being used in conjunction with formaldehyde. However the general consensus is these types of medications are either largely ineffective or do not work at all, and that the best and most effective treatment for Brooklynella is formaldehyde alone. Typically a standard 37% formalin solution (shop & compare prices) is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container, initially all fish are given a quick dip or a prolonged bath, followed by continued treatment and care in a QT. Of course the longer fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this "disease". Whether to administer a dip or a bath to start with is something you will have to determine yourself, but there's a very simple way to do this.

Since these are Free swimming parasites which are in watersources, come attached to our fish etc. The only way to ensure NO ICH is to get a UV Sterilizer and addit to the tank. The UV Sterilizer kills the free swimming forms of various ich and other parasites.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

I am not sure how many...if any...other fish are in the tank. Was it only the goldfish or are any others infected? Ick usually takes some time to clear. A good medication to try is Ick Guard by Jungle Labs. Be careful though if you have any catfish or weak fish in the tank because the Ick Guard may kill them. Ick Guard 2 is recommended for smaller fish. The tank must be treated every 24 hours and may take up to a week to clear. Once the signs of ick are no longer visible on the fish, the tank may still be infected because the ick parasites fall from the fish to the bottom. You will want to continue treating the water with the Ick Guard. It is also important to do a 25% water change before every new dose so the fish do not overdose. The water changes will also help to get rid of the parasites that may be lurking in the tank. Ick is a really difficult fish disease to cure. I hope this helps!

edit: Now that I know you no longer have any fish left...I agree with Audrey....you may just want to start over.

Answer 3

First, if it was ich, you don't need to do anything to the tank except let it run for a month with no fish in it. Ich cannot live without a host and, thus, it will die all on its own with no fish in the tank. Next, fish don't lose scales with ich, but ich seems to be the default disease for everything, even when it isnt' ich. If it was some other type of disease, you would need to clean the tank. Don't use soap, don't use bleach, don't use any chemicals. Replace the filter, rinse the gravel, rinse all the plants and decorations, wipe down the tank and get the water recycling again. Do not put in anymore fish until the water is fully cycled and all your tests come back at the proper levels. When your water is cycled, you can only add 1 small fancy goldfish in that tank. No more. Also, when you say the temperature was at 20 degrees, I hope, and am going to assume you meant Centigrade. Even at that, you could warm it up a couple of degrees. A good average temperature is 70 degrees fahrenheit. Now, your fish may have brought something with them from Wal-Mart, but if the tank had been properly cycled and they hadn't been overcrowded, you would have had plenty of time to successfully treat for ich, assuming that's what they had. So, please do some research on proper tank sizes for the amount of goldfish you want to keep, proper cycling, proper filtration, water changes and tank cleaning, water testing, learning to identify and treat diseases, etc. The more you know before you get the fish, the healthier and happier they will be and you won't have to worry about any of them dying again. Good luck and sorry about your fish.

Answer 4

First of all Ick/Ich is generally caused because of fish stressing out and low temperatures. When you added the new fish it probably freaked out the existing community. Plus is sounds like your tank isn't warm enough. The temp in you tank should be between 78 - 82 degrees. I've read on the net somewhere it helps to have the tank warmer to prevent ick. Some suggestions to get your tank started again: try salt, seriously it prevents ick. I'll attach the website that suggested it. Also there are plenty of medication you can by from the pet store. The blue dye like medi works the best but it can stain your tank. There's a clear solution, but isn't as effective as the blue. Hope this helps. Good luck raising some happy healthy fish. http://www.nunnie.com/ick.html

Answer 5

1) Don't sterilize the tank, turn up the water temp to 80 and treat with an ick treatment. After 2 days or so the parasites will be gone. Wait another day or two, turn down the heat and reintroduce fish. Sterilizing the tank will kill your beneficial bacteria and you'll have recycle the tank from scratch again.
2) 6 gold fish in a 15 is to many, like 6 to many. Your fish will constantly be stressed. Get a bigger tank or put small community fish in the one you have.
3) I've NEVER seen a Walmart fish display in which at least half the fish weren't dying from ick. Walmart uses central filteration for their tanks, you get disease in one tank and it's in all of them. They treat the one with ick, meanwhile the tank below has fish getting sick. Don't buy fish from Walmart.

Answer 6

What you are describing does not sound like Ich. Ich is small white spots on the fish's fins and/or body that look like someone sprinkled salt on them. Scale loss can occur in very advanced cases of Ich, but its not really that common. Its more of a side effect of the fish rubbing itself against the substrate or decorations to rid itself of the parasite.

You didn't say what size tank these fish are in, or how many you have. Goldfish are incredibly messy fish, and produce a lot of waste. Too much ammonia can burn and cause the fish to loose its scales. A single goldfish, no matter what size it is when you buy it, needs a minimum of 30 gallons, and need regular water changes (25% each week) to maintain safe ammonia levels. This is another possibility to what killed your fish.

If it was Ich, rinse everything completely. Recycle the tank (google "fish tank nitrogen cycle" it takes between 4 and 6 weeks to complete), adding a little aqarium salt to the water, and only stock with fish that the tank can handle. Do not overstock.


Edit:

6 golfish in a 15 gallon tank is definately too many!!!! Like I said, even one goldfish is too much for that tank.

Answer 7

If it was Ich you dont have to touch nothing or clean it. Ich once in the free swim stage has 48hrs to find a host or it dies. I recently lost a tank of goldfish and common plec to Ich. Raise the water temp to above 80, this will speed up the remaining cycle. Add some white spot remover and salt to the tank and leave tank empty for at least 72 hours, providing the temp is well raised. Then do a 50% water change with a good gravel vacum, top up with water again and replace salt.

I did this then added 2 mollies to tank as I went tropical on that tank. No had no problem at all.

Answer 8

That does not sound like ick at all. That sounds like possibly fish lice or one of a few other parasites. The best thing for you to do is take the tank down and wash it out with hot salty water. Salt is the best thing to use as the salt will kill any parasites and bacteria as well as remove algae and other stuff from the tank without leaving any residue that could harm the fish or alter the water chemistry later. Wipe down the bottom and sides with a cloth covered in salt. There are a few bacterial diseases that could cause the problem as well, but they will die from this as well. Wash the filter gravel and anything else from the tank (except the thermometer) in very hot water as well. It doesn't have to boill or anything like that, just very hot. Wash the thermometer with warm water and salt like you did the tank.

Drain the tank completely and dry it before you refill it for the fish.
Your tank will now be safe to restart.

MM

Answer 9

Ich is almost always present in the water in aquarium tanks, it's just whether it's predominant enough to cause problems for your fish. One common and easy way to kill off ich in it's free swimming form (ie in tank water) is to add sea salt to the aquarium (approximately 1 tsp per gallon). However, if you are going to get fish that are highly sensitive to salt in water (we mostly have had ich with our molly who lived with our Endler's, neither which mind salt), you would need to do several water changes before adding the new fish.

Answer 10

That certainly isn't ick. When a fish starts losing scales, its usually a virus. Goldfish can get herpes, which is characterized by losing scales. they need 15 gallons per fish.

Answer 11

take the tank
and wash it with hot water
and wipe it down with paper towl
(i find clothes leave little liek peices of lint inside)
and keep doing it
maybe 2 or 3 times