kahramand

All my guppies died tonight. I blame for myself for not doing the research and finding out about the recycling. Now i have to start over. This time i am hoping to do it the right way. I realized couple of the guppies were sick to begin with. They had white dots all over them and they were bleeding. I have couple of questions in my mind and they are;

1) Should i just empty out the tank, clean it and start over with a clean tank? I would do the recycling without any fish this time.

2) Should i replace the filter since fish were sick?

3) should i get a new net etc? I am scared they might be carrying the disease and will harm my future fish.

Dozey

The white spots were most likely ICH. And the bleeding very well could have been from the the fish scratching themselves because of the ich. Ich can be delt with by raising the temperature of your tank to 84°F for two weeks. And as an added bonus the high temperature will help speed up the cycle.

Sorry you lost all your fish.

Nick G

I'd agree with dozey 100% there. Do what he suggested and you should be fine.

Alessa

Hello and welcome!

Like you said, since your fish were sick, I think the best would be to get a new filter pad and clean the whole tank. (dont use soaps, instead use vinagear or hydrogen peroxide),

After you set it up again, you can cycle with fish food or ammonia.

Lucy

Oh, I'm really sorry you've lost your fish. That really stinks.
If the white dots looked like salt it would be ich. Were they actually bleeding or were they red streaks?

I don't think you need to start completely over. Raise the temp to 84F like dozey said. That'll kill the ich spores.

Are there any fish left? If not, leave the temp elevated and increase aeration until the cycle is finished. Here's a link on how to cycle using ammonia:
Fishless cycling with ammonia

Oh, I would sterilize the net.

Good luck.

kahramand

Thank you for the info. I decided i am going to start from scratch, get a new filter etc. How one does sterilize the net?

inuyasha_lover_21

You can probably boil it for a few minutes. Be sure to lift it out every few seconds so it dont get soft and rip. Other people might have a better opinion.

kahramand

thanks!

GouramiGirl1221

I'm so sorry about your fish! Ich is nasty stuff...I'm STILL trying to get rid of it in my 55 gallon, but I'm almost there.

I wouldn't get a whole new filter if I were in that situation. If you want to be on the safe side, buy new media for it and clean the rest with vinagear or hydrogen peroxide as Alessa mentioned above. No need to spend more money than necessary. Since you're going to be re-cycling, I'd go ahead and clean your gravel in whatever you're going to clean everything else with. Ich spores can settle/live there as well as in your filter media. Good luck...I know it stinks, but hang in there!

navyscuba

Sorry about the fish. About the net boil water and put the net and then take it out for a few seconds and back in for a few more and repeat a few times. That would kill any bacteria or virus. Hope it works better next time. Good Luck.

inuyasha_lover_21

Your welcome and I am sorry about the loss. We had ich in our 120 gallon tank. We lost quite a few expensive fish.