must you throw everything out in your aquarium after you have had an epidemic in it?

Question

I bought a catfish at a pet shop that had what I believe had ich. later that night it died after a long effort to save it. 24 hours later an oscar that I had for several years got it I tried everything to cure it but the medicine simply did not work. He passed away last night. Do i have to throw everthing away and start fresh do the fish in the future do not get it or can I just wash and reuse?

Answer 1

No, you don't have to through out everything Wash out the filter and change all the water. You can also wash any decorations you have in the tank. When you change the water clean the gravel as best as possible with your gravel vac and then refill the tank. Add 2 tablespoons of salt per 5 gallons and heat the tank to about 95 for a day or two and let it cool back to normal and do a 50% water change. Don't add any additional salt after this water change because you had so much in there already. Your tank will now be safe to add more fish and should still have some of it's cycle. Add fish slowly though, only 1 in the first two weeks and only 2-3 each 2 weeks after that, just to be sure they are safe.

MM

Answer 2

First off: Please forgive Eric he doesn't know any better. There is no reason to call anyone here an idiot. So far it seems as though you have the worst advice. Everyone here is trying to help with this womans problem and you are just making things worse.

with that said, You do not have to remove or drain your tank. As a few had stated here, Ich first of all will not survive without a host. (after about 3 days) Also, bleach does not kill ich. It is present in your tap water anyway (the free swimming form).

As DanielleZ said, when you understand how ich works, you are now armed to deal with it.

Your medicine did not work because you used the wrong kind. You need one that actually states it will kill a certain type of ich.

Keep your tank together and keep it running. After a week you can add fish. Also raising the temperature to 82 degrees also will not kill ich. It does not die until water temps reach 90 or better which is more difficult for living fish. Salt as well, you would have to have a specific gravety of 1.02 (brackish water ) to actually kill fresh water ich. (salt water still get's ich! a different form not killed by salt) most tropical fish cannot live with these conditions for long periods of time.

If you choose to tear down your tank (not needed) you will have to start your cycle all over again. Now you still have the free swimming form of ich parasite still in your tank with your new water. Don't be fooled by bottled water. it isn't pure either.

Answer 3

Ick can survive drying. You can use a little bleach but rince it out very well, fill it 5 or 6 times after to rince. Or you can put the tank out side in the sun for a few days and that will kill anything left. Change petstores you get these fish from. Its takes 2 weeks for ick to appear so its comming from the petstrore. Ick doesn't like warm water. Keep heat in the tank. (77) 83 degree water will kill it. Ick likes cooler water like 72 and below. That's why this time of year there is a lot of ick outbreak. Did you know a 2 week 3% salt solution in the tank will kill ick? To get 3% you simply put in 3 teaspoons per gallon. I'd break it up into 3 separate doses. Combine the salt with 83 degrees and you will no longer have a problem with ick. The problem with that medicine is you only use it for 3 days. Ick has a 2 week life cycle and the meds can't kill the ick living in the fish so many people get reinfested. Everytime you medicate you are destroying filter bacteria too so when your done the water goes bad. That's why I would avoid meds in the tank. 3% salt bath works well on about 80% of all fish ailments and its how people have kept fish in the distant past. The pet store doesn't want to tell you this and never will they would go out of business if everyone used salt and actually cured their fish insted of killing them. Remember buyer beware, you will have to learn to keep fish on your own basically. Most people who work at petsmart, petco and walmart are clueless, they have been told what to say and what to sell. These companies do not have the best interests of the pets they sell at heart. Its so evident in the petco commercial where a clerk is holding a tiny bowl with 2 goldfish in it. They should know there is no such thing as a goldfish bowl, and that is cruel and misleading. You're better off with a good aquarium how to book. Those places have more product on their shelves that out right kill fish than they have product for keeping fish alive! Meds, ornaments, rocks even the most of the food is crap. A better source for info is to call a local tank cleaner in your area, you can look them up in a phone book, they have no reason to misinform you and will likely be more than happy to help.

Answer 4

Hi, first of all empty the tank out wash everything in plain tap water then re-set up the tank. In the future i reccommend a partial water change twice a week, leave your fish in the tank and take no more than half the water out (quarter is better), add the required chemicals (detailed below) to the new water only. as for chemicals, the water is different everywhere but basically you probably want to be using a chlorine and chloramine neutraliser(chlorine and chloromine basically burn the fish) and depending on the hardness of your tap water also a mineral salt. These chemicals are really easy to use and important for your fish's health. Aim for a water hardness of 120ppm a Neutral PH reading and no ammonia! Only put a Betta in the tank as it is too small to house most other fish types. Oh and another thing be careful not to over feed! fish only need a portion of food the size of their eye anymore will tend to quickly pollute the water causing unwanted ammonia spikes. good luck :)

Answer 5

Most tap water is treated with chlorines yet the ich parasite still manages to survive in our public water systems. Ich is also present on all fish. Ich will attack a fish when it has become stressed or ill. The ich in your tank cannot survive without a host to attack. Letting your tank run fishless for 7 days will rid your tank of the ich parasite. There is no reason to start your tank over for this reason.

They are correct. You have used the wrong medicine. One must read the labels and understand what form of ich is attacking the fish. Buy the appropriate medicine for that type of ich.

I must also add, Leemucko has a point. There is no reason to insult other participants who are trying to help.

Answer 6

I use to raise fish for several small pet shops back in the 70's and If I ever had a problem with the Ich; I would sterilize everything and reuse it. The only time I really had any problems was when I was trying to introduce a new male (for color variation) into a breeding tank. Clorox will kill the bacteria; just make sure to get all of it washed out really good.

Answer 7

The tank is empty now? I'd clean it and start over. Hot water and a mild (2 oz per gallon) bleach solution should be fine for everything. Be sure to rinse well after the bleach. Toss out the filter media and put a new one in the filter.

Answer 8

The one thing missed is anytime and I mean every time a new fish plant etc is brought into the home it NEEDS ( in Shouting terms) to be in a sepate querentine(sp) tank for at least a month before introducing in to the community tank..I always have a 10 gallon off in the basement for this....I wish you the best as it is always sad to loose a fish..Just lost a koi 15yrs old..Nothing obvious..

Answer 9

You should be able to wash everything in bleach. Just be sure that before putting everything back in the tank, you thoroughly wash them, so that no bleach residue, or even smell remains.

Answer 10

practically everything, filter elements, sand & gravel, plants, & other items that cannot be boiled in hot water, washed the tank with strong antiseptic, rinsed with salt water & let it dry in the sun for a few days, that should effectively get rid of all the bacteria & parasites