fishingman001

i woke up this morning and almost all my fish are dead.

the only living fish are 2 cherry barbs, the pleco, and a cory.

i did water testing and the ammonia was at 0 (finally), pH-6.8, nitrate- ~11 ,nitrite-0

i have no idea why they are dead. i though all i had was ICH. the dead fish did not have any weird marks on them or colors.

should i continue treating the ich? what should i do with the other living fish? thanks.

Lucy

Wow, I'm really sorry about your fish.
How are you treating the ich?
If temps are raised, is the aeration increased also?
When you say the dead fish didn't have any marks, do you mean other than ich?
Could be they were really weakened by your ammonia spike (it was extremely high) and
Ich. It can be in the gills and effect their ability to breathe.

It's just so unusual to have a massive loss of fish like that. Did you add dechlorinator with your last water change? Any soap residue or lotions on your hands or arms?
Any sprays used in the room that could have gotten into the tank?

Again, I'm so sorry, that's a rough deal.

fishingman001

the temp was at 86 since last sunday. i did water changes everyday for the ich and ammonia. i put prime into my water and waited 24 hrs before changing the water. i increased aeration.

i did not have soap reside on my hands before putting my hand in the tank. i don't use any sprays in my room.

should i just empty the tank and start over? how should i clean the tank after that?

Lucy

I'm not sure what I'd do in your situation. If you move your remaining fish to another tank, you'd also be moving some of the ich and you'd have 2 infected tanks.
If you sterilized your tank, you'd lose the cycle.
Guess I would continue to treat the ich with raised temps and water changes.
Let see what others have to say.

iloveengl

Jeeze, I'm so sorry. That's awful to hear.

Shawnie

im so sorry for the losses of your fish babies
sounds like the fish succumbed to the process of the cycle combined with ich...ammonia is deadly as we all know, and even if they dont die right away, the lasting effects can kill them eventually...and if ich showed up during that process, then turning up the temps to 86 on top of that, probably did them in even if its recommended for the higher temps, an already stressed fish (going through the cycle) really is hard..ich can be warded off at 84F not that the extra 2 degrees did it by any means..but no need to go higher when its not necessary...


at this point, i would turn the temps down to 84F and keep up with the daily changes for the 2 week period...then after that, see where the fish babies are and go from there..I wouldnt break it all down and start over

fishingman001

thanks for the responses.

i will do that Shawnie. thanks.

aquarist48

Hello fishingman. Sorry to hear about your losses. I agree with Shawnie. I wouldn't start over but continue on.
Best of luck.
Ken

TedsTank

Yes, go forward with your tank. I did notice where you stated that amonia was at 0.."finally". Your fish were likely stressed while waiting for it to get to Zero more than you were.. Anyway if your tank is now cycled don't start it all over again!!!

Sorry about your fish loses and good luck, everyday with an aquarium is a learning process.

Meenu

Hi, how are they today? *fingers crossed that the survivors are doing well*

fishingman001

yes the barbs, pleco, and cory are doing just fine. thanks for asking. i want to add some more fish. how long should i wait. if i quarantine the new fish for a couple weeks and then add will it be ok for the fish already in the main tank? i don't want to cause anymore stress to the fish.