Cleaning Tank After All Fish Dead From Ich.

HI everyone,

All my fish are dead from ich except for two out of eight. Expect them to go today. My question is how should I clean the tank to get it ready to start again? I don't ever want this to happen again. It is a 20 gal. If I need to I can start my 30 gal. Also should I boil all the decoration's in the tank? I did research and it said that if there aren't any fish in the tank that the ich problem will stop. Don't know if I believe that. Please help. Thanks

 

Better to be safe than sorry! I'd remove all the decor and gravel, rinse then thoroughly, then soak them in hot water for an hour or two. I wouldn't boil anything as it might strip the decor of its color. That happened to me! Then wash out the tank, scrub it down, and clean the rims so that it's empty and perfectly clean like a new tank. When you're ready, add the cleaned gravel and decor to the tank again and restart it as if it were completely new. So cycle it

 

Ich isn’t going to survive much if there is no host to infest. It will eventually die.

You don’t need to restart the entire cycling process. If the remaining two do die I would raise the temps to 86 degrees and do daily 25% water changes for at least a week. That should be enough time to remove them all out.

Now...With that said...Ich can happen again, it can happen to you again. It’s just a matter of resolving it before it gets worse. I’ve had 2-3 battles of it over 10 years+. It’s about getting on top of it.

How does this happen? New fish, they get stressed and their immunity system goes down and wham...Ich.

I rather much deal with Ich than something like columaris. That is a disease that everybody destroys the tank.

 

This may sound dumb but how do you raise the temp with a heater that is preset to 78 degrees.

Ich isn’t going to survive much if there is no host to infest. It will eventually die.

You don’t need to restart the entire cycling process. If the remaining two do die I would raise the temps to 86 degrees and do daily 25% water changes for at least a week. That should be enough time to remove them all out.

Now...With that said...Ich can happen again, it can happen to you again. It’s just a matter of resolving it before it gets worse. I’ve had 2-3 battles of it over 10 years+. It’s about getting on top of it.

How does this happen? New fish, they get stressed and their immunity system goes down and wham...Ich.

I rather much deal with Ich than something like columaris. That is a disease that everybody destroys the tank.

HI The other question. I think I caused the ich myself. Can adding to many fish at a time cause ich. I am thinking they got stressed

How do you up the temp? All the thermometers are preset at 78.

 

HI The other question. I think I caused the ich myself. Can adding to many fish at a time cause ich. I am thinking they got stressed

That could’ve caused it...although one time I had a neon tetra that gave ich to my entire tank, and once it was off her, she didn’t get it while everyone else was infected.

But yes often when adding new fish can cause stress in its own, and not quarantine them can also lead to a problem.

 

How do you up the temp? All the thermometers are preset at 78.

generic adjustable heaters can be bought on ebay 50-300watts for under 10$.

Ich is a common issue, but is generally easy to cure either with temp/salt/meds.

 

I started meds yesterday but we will see I have 4 left.