Fish have all died - What did I do wrong?

[jmll007]

I had an old aquarium that I retrieved from my dads house, and set it up yesterday... I know how to set up a tank and am usually familiar with caring for freshwater fish. However, after the fish were put in the tank yesterday to start the cycling process, less than 5 hours, they were lying on the bottom of the tank, all dead.

I've never quite seen a reaction to a new tank this quick. It seems like the fish were not only shocked, but extremely stressed. The only thing I can think of is that someone, with good intentions, but not familiar with fish tanks, cleaned out the tank with chemicals, probably didnt realize the harmful effects and used something horrible like Windex or 409. Plus, they stored the tank in their garage for a month or two prior to me picking it up. Therefore, after the water levels were checked and all was running properly, I still unknowingly poisoned all of those fish

Is there any way I can restore the tank to a healthy water balance, and eliminate any harsh abrasive chemicals so the next batch of fish will be happy and healthy? Will rinsing the tank, gravel, etc in boiling water do it? I am at a loss, not sure how to neutralize the aquarium. I was thinking of emptying it out, rinsing the gravel (or getting new gravel), rinsing the glass with boiling water, maybe vinegar...? maybe let sink water run into it for 1/2 hour or so? I'm not sure...

 

[BigJim]

Welcome to AA!

I'd empty the tank, clean the tank really well with vinegar and bleach if needed, and replace the gravel. I'll agree with you that the tank has probably been contaminated.

Since you're back to square one anyways, look up fishless cycling here on AA. It's an alternative way to establish your aquarium without having to stress out fish.

 

[jmll007]

thanks... should i soak the decorations in vinegar too? I dont want to over-do it, but I want to be certain all the abrasive cleaners are gone from the tank. It was kind of traumatizing, watching those little guys die so quickly.

I am also going to try fishless cycling. I've never had a problem with cycling with fish before though, so bizarre.

 

[BigJim]

What kind of decorations are you dealing with? I think I'd toss anything porous, just to be sure there's nothing hiding deep inside something. Now's your chance to do it right. "Can't use that, it's contaminated. Looks like I'm going to have to buy some new stuff."

Fishless cycling rocks. I won't go all PETA on you, but it's actually less work. Fewer water changes, less water parameter testing, and no stress over keeping your fish alive.

 

[BlackMagic]

whats the size of a tank? if its a 10 i would just buy a new one.

 

[gil]

I have bought tanks in garage sales where they were probably used for keeping reptiles or who knows what, I take them in the back of the house and just hose the heck out of it and using a soft sponge I just scrub inside all over, no chemicals just water, and rinse some more, then I fill it with water to the top and after a couple of days I check it for ammonia. Another culprit could be something else that was added to the tank like decorations, the filter and its media, old carbon, filter pads etc

 

[maxima423]

take everything out of that aquarium and replace it, if you use windex and didnt wash properly, it would prob be still in your gravel

if its under 30g, i would just buy a new one, they are cheap anyway... read up on the fishless cycle on the "getting started" section and do that, its shorter and easier to do than doing it with fish

glgl

 

[BillD]

Tanks small enough to fit, I run through the dishwasher, using dishwasher detergent. If that concerns you run an extra cycle with water. Ditto for decorations and all hard filter parts. The gravel should also be cleanable. Cleaning products tend to be easily removable, as they are designed to be removed from the surfaces they are used on.
Generally, I bleach everything, and use vinegar to remove any mineral deposits. Gravel, I bleach also. Of course, we don't know whether cleaning products are even an issue here, so suggesting the purchase of new equipment, is being cavalier with someone else's money.

 

[jsoong]

I agree with BillD. Try washing everything very well. I would bleach everything non-porous, then rinse the heck out of it with a garden hose. Finally rinse with a 4-5x overdose of a dechlorinator ... that will take care of any residue bleach, heavy metals & the like.

Fishless cycling is one way to ensure the tank is now safe. If you can establish a bacterial colony, there is very low likelihood that there is enough contaminant left to kill fish.