Not good. Lost 75% of my tank. Need some help.

[jrogulski]

I came home on Friday to 6 dead fish. Tested water, textbook perfect. PH at 7.2, no nitrates, no ammonia, etc. I haven't lost a fish (other than eating another) in 4 years. Some fish started to show signs of an ICH like substance, but not all fish and this was not detected when I went to bed the night before. Did a partial water change, stress coat and MelaFix. Lost 8 more on Saturday, 5 more on Sunday. Lost my 8" tinfoil barb I have had for 4 years. The only thing that I can think of is the 3 petco fish that I had purchased a week prior. One survived. What could this be? I have lost 21 fish and have 5 left. If i lose them all, it will stink. How do I clean the tank so when I populate it again I won't have the same problem? I don't want to lose the biological filter if I don't have to. Does this mean that I have to replace the wheels in my penguin too?

Any ideas?

 

[jrogulski]

Also, should I run the tank hot? I am currently at 70 degrees...

 

[peterp]

70 sounds a bit low for a tropical tank, maybe raise it to 78-80.
68-70 is better for goldfish which like cooler water.

What size is your tank? And which penguin are you using?

If your water is testing as good, I would suspect something nasty introduced with the new "petco" brand fish.
If this is the case, and you loose all the fish, I'd be sterilizing the whole setup before beginning again.
(note: I am not a fan of the petco/petsmart/wallmart varity of suppliers they are there for profit only and don't care what they sell so long as it sells)

I'd also recommend getting a small tank to QT new arrivals for a couple of weeks before adding to the main tank. It is a hastle to do but saves the community tank.

 

[jrogulski]

I know it is a little cold. In the past, I seemed to get more diseases in the warmer waters. What is the best way to sterilize the tank? I have had this tank for 10 + years and never come across this before. Some say bleach, some say just leave it in the sun. The thing is that if I use bleach, what is the best way to be sure I don't contaminate the tank chemically?

 

[peterp]

I've never used bleach but I'd think a lot of rinsing out with clean water will clear it.

I clean my FW tank's when needed by rubbing down the inside with a large pile of salt and a damp sponge. Then rinse out and let it get some sun(hard to do in the winter). Also probably not a good idea for an acrylic tank, the salt rub would scratch it up.

I don't know if doing it this way is actually any good but it does seem to work for me.

 

[Terry]

I am really sorry to here about your loses, it sounds to me as though something has been introduced to the tank. i would raise the temperature to 86 degress and that might kill of anything that is in the water. i would also put some carbon in your tank to take out anything that shouldn't be there, but that will also take out your medications so it is like a catch 22 situation. If you have something that shouldn't be there then the carbon should remove it. but if you want to carry on medicating then you cant use the carbon.
If you do deside to start again, i use baby sterilizing tablets to clean out aquariums and it works good, Or you can use bleach but remember what ever you use to give it a good rince out afterwards.

 

[Allivymar]

Welcome to Aquariumadvice jrogulski

Wow. That sucks. Sorry about your losses

My guess is the new guys brought disease along with them. You'll find most of us here use the QT as peterp mentioned; never know whats floating around a lfs tank.

I also use bleach to sterilize my tanks. Best thing to do is wash it out with a bleach solution (I use 1/10, some use 1/19 bleach/water) and then rinse it over n over. When you think its rinsed enough, use a double amount of dechlor, put it in some rinse water and rinse it out with that.

Out of curiosity, what will you do with the survivors while you are sterilizing the tank?

 

[ghettorigged]

What a horrible thing to have happen. I am very sorry to hear of your troubles.

I can't agree with using bleach unless you use extreme changes in temps each time you rinse in order to break up the chemical bond of the bleach (very very hot then very very cold and then repeat). Bleach is a chemical that leaves residue in almost anything it touches and is poisoness to everything known to man.

One of my friends suggested using white vinegar to do a thorough cleaning.

Whatever the result, I wish you the best of luck.

 

[shawmutt]

jrogulski, I know how you feel. I was thinking I was being really successful keeping my cardinals, I had them for about eight months. This was before the petsmart hatchets. I didn't QT, which will be the last time I don't QT, and the hatchets introduced ich to my tank. The cardinals never had a chance. After all but one died, I moved the survivors (a few cories and those :censor: hatchets) to a 10 gallon tank and cleaned out my 30 for something else. I scrubbed and then emptied out my tank. I used a mixture of 3/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon water, I poured it in the tank and let the bottom soak for two minutes, then turned it on each side so that each glass panel soaked for two minutes. I then poured the water into a bucket and soaked my HOB filter and thermometer. I rinsed the tank and equipment until I no longer smelled bleach, and used a double dose of declorinator when I filled the tank. Overkill? Probably, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Oh yeah, and I got my 5 1/2 gallon tank ready for a QT tank next time I needed it.

HTH!

 

[angelstiger]

Sorry to hear about your losses. As many of us have learned the hard way also, "A quaretine tank is an absolute must." Even the most reputable dealers have disease outbreaks. And the Petco's etc. are the worst. If the disease is definately ich the higher the temperature the shorter the diseases life cycle. A good rule is 78-80 degrees for tropicals and 85 if you have sick fish. You mentioned a water change and stress coat and melafix, All of them great, But none of them will cure ich. There are a lot of good ich treatments out there. Use one. I prefer Cupramine. It will mess up your biofilter, but you can re-establish it after.