How Do I Clean Out A Diseased Tank?

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bubbles10

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
33
Location
North Carolina
I have had a 10 gallon tank for about 6 months now. I had 4 fancy goldfish in it (I know it was overstocked, but the fish were doing very well), 2 moss balls, a moneywort plant, and some decorations.

Yesterday morning I woke up and all four of my fish had white spots on the edges of their fins and some of the fish had fuzzy white stuff (which I presume to be a fungus) on their fins as well, where their side fins attached to their body. They were still swimming around and didn't seem too terribly bothered. I tested my water and everything was in the normal ranges except for the ammonia which is always high.

I went to a local fish store and they gave me "Lifeguard" medication because they told me it sounded like a parasite, a fungus, and something bacterial? I came home and put the first days worth of treatment in. By the time I went to bed, two of the fish had died and the other two fish seemed to be on their way out. Their fins were falling apart, their eyes were clouding up, and they had red streaks throughout their fins and under-body. They also kept getting stuck on the filter because they were having difficulty swimming and they were starting to turn on their side. This morning when I woke up, the remaining two fish were dead.

I gather there was some type of disease that overtook my tank since they were fine one day and dying the next. There were no signs that they were getting sick. The only thing I can think of is that I added the 2nd moss ball and moneywort plant a few days prior to this and maybe the plants were carrying a disease.. ?

My question is what should I do now? I want to eventually restock my tank with no more than two goldfish. I want to clean my tank really well so that there are no traces of disease left in the tank but I'm not sure how. This is my first experience with fish disease! Some people say use bleach, some people say don't. What is the best way to clean the tank, gravel, and plants in my tank? Please help! :(
 
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