Question about contamination in tank.

[koax1]

dead fishes

My fishes died because of this bacterial infection call Flexibacter... in 48 hour all of my cichilds died except for one ..he survived, my mistake was overstocking and high temperature and elevated nitrite level. Have a question when can I buy some more fishes again after medicating the tank and doing water changes.. I heard that the tank may be still contaminated and that I would have to clean the tank completely and recycle it again is this true

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA!
In answer to your question, once your tank has been properly medicated for the recommended amount of time, you can add fresh carbon to your tank which will remove the rest of the meds from the water. I would not add more fish until after the course of treatment. Do you still have the one cichlid in the tank? What size tank is it? IMO you will not need to tear down the whole tank and start over but my concern would be keeping the cycle going with only one fish if the tank is large, the bioload may not be enough to keep things going. How long was the tank set up before the illness hit?

 

[koax1]

Thanks for the tip .. the tank is 30 Gal. had it for over 2 month that one cichild
is still alive and its been two weeks , did a 30 percent water change about a week ago.. this cichild is the baracuda shape one very strong fish he never got sick alway eating fine.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Columaris can kill quickly. Sorry to hear what it did to your fish. I'd treat the tank with a good antibiotic such as Maracyn 2, and add activated carbon to remove it. Keep an eye on your water parameters as well throughout treating.

Good luck.

 

[koax1]

I did use Maracyn .. and coppersafe it was really had to determine what was wrong the fishes and what medication to use any comment in how long treatment should continue.

 

[Zagz]

The directions for Maracyn will tell you the time frame. I can't remember the time frame sorry. With a 30 gal you will have to be very careful with cichlids. It is very easy to overcrowd cichlids in a tank that size. Do you have a pic of your cichlid? We have some very cichlid knowledgable people here at AA that could assist you with stocking options based on what that cichlid is. Glad to hear the one guy is still ok. Very sorry for the loss of the others.