fin rot causes wits end

I have a 10 gallon which had 2 small ryukin in it and some other small fish. The have a heater which is set at the lowest setting for the goldfish but because its summer my tank is aroun 78 F.

I had a couple of problems going on. Drastic water change and new fish from Petco that brought fin rot back into my tank.

These two things combines caused a huge out break in my tank that killed one of my ryukin over night but did not touch any of my other fish. Just the Ryukin.

I went to Petco imediately with my dead fish in a ziplock bag and complained for all I could that they needed to medicate their tanks before they sold more fish infecting other people's tanks. I doubt they did anything. I next went to my local FLS with about 20years experience specializing only in fish and had my water tested.

They recomended Formalin 3*1 and Pimafix along with 2 gallon water changes for the first two days to bring the ph of my water closer to neutral. They told me to have my water tested again in a week.

I treated this for 1.5 weeks following the instructions on the medicine along with the first two water changes of 2 gallons. I went back in had my water tested and they told me that my tank water was almost neutral now but my tap water was hard. I don't know how my tank water was soft to begin with when all I've been using is hard tap water with Prime for months. Well since December.

They recommended that I continue to do my water changes twice a week at 2 gallons per change for my 10 gallon tank. I changed out part of the water and put a new carbon filter back in.

Everything was fine for about a week and when I went to do a water change I stirred up a lot of my gravel which issued this huge amount of green nastiness. With in 2-3 days my ryukin started to show signs of fin rot again. I did not treat the tank that night. BIG MISTAKE! by the next mornning my goldfish was covered with white on all the edges of every fin. It had not touched any of the smaller fish at all. I immediately took my carbon out and threw it away. I changed part of my water and then treated the tank with both Formalin and Pimafix. Because the fin rot was attacking the goldfish so badly I decided to do a dip with the formalin following the instructions on the bottle. It recommended doing the dip for no more than 50 minutes so I decided to do it for about half of the time. I dipped my goldfish in Formalin in a separate 5 gallon bucket that I use to do water changes for about 25 minutes and replaced him in the tank with the medicated water. Most of the fin rot had "disolved" off of him after the dip. I continued to medicate the water for another day. By the 3rd mornning of medication my goldfish was completely covered in white on every possible surface and dead at the bottom of the tank.

All of this to ask how do I get rid of this stuff!!! Its in my gravel I know for a fact now and I don't know how to vacuum enough to get rid of it. Its obviously developed an immunity to the meds and I really love goldfish. My husband who is kind of turned off by the hobby because of other fish that have died in the past is completely devestated as am I. The goldfish were by far the most spirited and our favorite. I would love to just poor bleach in my tank and clean everything but I do not know what to do with the small fish that are already in the tank. Even if I put them in a 5 gallon bucket while I clean my entire setup and start from scratch I will be putting possibly infected fish back into my clean tank. Not to mention I will have no cycle left if I start from scratch.

I really feel at my wits end. Any help and or advice....

~Sarah

 

HI sarah..first off, finrot is NOT contagious so it might not be what your fish have...second, that tank is so small for your goldies and that more water changes and good gravel vacs are a must...more water changes will not cause finrot either..its the recommended cure for 90% of fin rot issues.....goldies need 20 gals for one fish and prefered 10 gals for each extra..they are HUGE HUGE waste producers hence what you saw in the gravel.... it could have been some other infection but it sounds also allot like what ammonia will do to a fish also.....if you have other fish in the tank with the goldies, its severely overcrowded and its going to be very hard to keep the parimeters in check..ph is the least of the worries as most fish will acclimate to all kinds of different ph's as long as they are stable....do a check of craigslist for a much larger tank if you can..that will solve all your problems before they get bad again in the meantime, I would find some prime water conditioner and continue doing 2-3 small water changes a week to keep the fish safe...goodluck!

 

I'm already doing 2 2gl changes a week which is almost half of the water. I'm only feeding once a day so I know that it is not from waste because I check the ammonia lvl. Its good to know that fin rot is not contagious because when I took my last goldy out this mornning half of his fins fell off into the tank and I could not get the little pieces out so they're floating around in the water. They're not getting filted because I took my filter out for the meds. Whatever I stirred up from my gravel was just tons and tons of what reminded me of algae. Just tons of dark green particles. My gravel seemed clean on the surface but once I stirred it there was stuff every where. I changed the water and figured my filter would get the rest of what was floating in the water until it settled again. I'm just tired I guess. I did everything my FLS recommended and it was fine but came back after the gravel issue like a week later. Now both of my goldfish are dead...

 

I'm so sorry for your losses rip goldies!! the filter is always needed even with meds....just take out the media if you are worried about the meds getting filtered out....fish need that clean water .....the green could be from overfeeding and also the rotten food and waste combined to cause algae...especially with out filtration .....what test kit are you using and what are the exact readings for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? without a filter and the fish you have, I cannot imagine that you have no ammonia ...I'm wondering if there is something wrong with your test kit that's giving you a false negative ?

 

I also have a question about Prime. You guys here on the forum highly recommend it but my local FLS said that they personally don't like it because its like a band aid and affects nitrite readings. I can kind of understand this since doesn't it bind the nitrite until it can be used by the bacteria in the tank. They recommend that I use API's Safestart + it has aloe or something in it and is a water conditioner.

 

they probably don't carry prime that's why they don't recommend it..prime detoxifies ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours and makes it safe for the fish until another water change 24 hours later while still keeping it available to cycle a tank........stress coat does NOT do that ......

 

Good morning cathrinetta.
I'm sorry about your fish but it seems you've been having problems since Jan.
I hope you come to see that these fish are not going to thrive in a 10 gallon tank. It's just too small. All the meds in the world isn't going to correct this.
Check Craig's list, look at yard sales...I just got a 55 and a 20 for $20.00. Deals are put there.
What fish do you have in the tank now and what are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
Are you vacuuming the gravel?

Wow, I typed slow, you guys had a whole conversation before I got my first post typed up. lol

 

well I took out my carbon filter because of the meds but I still have a small bio grid in that normally sits in front of my carbon. The green stuff was like 3 days before they gots sick when the carbon was still in. I only had one goldy left by that point. The other one dyeing is why I went to my FLS like 2 weeks prior.

There's not any leftover food in my tank to get wrotten. I only feed once a day at night and my goldfish gobles almost all of it. The small fish and the cory clean up anything that might be left.

For test kits I'm using API's individual kits. I was too cheap to buy the mast so I just bought individual kits for Nitrate and Nitrite. I have a seachem ammonia reader that sticks to the inside wall of my tank. I'm thinking I just need to throw it out and buy a separate kit to test my ammonia lvls. I'm not sure what my readings are for today. I didn't have time to do it this mornning but I will be tonight and I can post then. This mornning I just fished out my last goldy and put the recomended 1 ts of Formalin and Pimafix in.

I updated what fish are in my tank on my aquarium info and also what products I'm using. Now that both my goldies are dead guess my tank isn't overstocked anymore...

I would love to get rid of my tropicals and just keep the cory and purchase another goldy but I don't know what to do with them. I wouldn't want to give them to anyone knowing my tank is infected...

PS they do sell Prime which I think is funny.

 

I'm really sorry about your goldies, I know they're great fish.
When you updated your aquarium info, did you click save? It still shows the 2 goldies.
So you have 2 neons, a cory, 1 danio and a platy?

Please don't get another goldfish for your 10g.

 

id get prime asap !! ;Dwe make no money off giving you this advice and of course its your tank and fish so you have to do what you feel is best...but no goldy belongs in that size tank with or without other fish are the Ryukin Fancies still in there as you said the tank info was update? do you have an ammonI test kit? it wasn't listed so wasn't sure.....

 

I don't have an ammonia test kit I have a seachem reader that sticks to the inside of my tank. Apparently its not working so I'll have to get the API ammonia kit tonight. Everything is in there but the two goldies are gone. Its kind of like denial I guess that's why I left them on my info b/c I keep picturing them swimming around the tank. They're so graceful and playful...

I forgot to mention I do own a huge bottle of Prime. I was using it as my water conditioner for water changes until about 2 weeks ago when my FLS told me they didn't like it and to use the Safestart + or whatever its called.

 

Is this near you?

You could have 2 goldies in a 30 gallon (depends on the species)
The tropicals could stay in the 10g.

 

Thanks for the link. I can't check craigs list at work but I will look at it tonight.

To be honest the main reason I haven't set up something bigger is, well three main reasons. The 10 gallon was a gift from my husband and when I talked about getting a bigger tank he was really insulted because what he had gotten me wasn't good enough.

Two I have a one bedroom apartment and we don't even really have room for a couch let along a bigger tank. Again when I talked about getting a 33 gallon breeder tank from Craigs list my husband had a huge fit and wouldn't let me set it up.

Finally I'm kind of scared to set up a bigger tank. I'm having a hard time maintaning something small like a 10 gallon and the amount of money I've dumped into this hobby in 6 months is insane. I will admit the cost has tapered off slightly but its still kind of crazy for me as a beginner to spend hundreds of dollars on only a ten gallon tank. I know larger tanks are suppose to be easier to maintain but I'm not sure that argument is going to be good enough for my husband.

question. What happens if you don't put any gravel in your tank. Would there be enough surface area on plastic plants and fake rocks, plus my bio
grid for bacteria to live?


EDIT: PLEASE use the edit button for back to back post as it saves the forum from being cluttered up and saves on space ..thank you!

 

good luck with whatever you do..I certainly understand about lack of room ....but I will say this, believe it or not, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep water parimeters in check...the smaller tanks are always hard to keep prestine, so don't be hard on yourself.allot of us have been there ..and definitely get the ammonia test kit...that will go a long way...

EDIT ...bare bottom tanks work fine as allot of us use them for fry grow out tanks..but depending on what fish you are going to keep ..cories for one need the bottom to have some subtrate as they like to scavenge

 

What if I got some bigger stones but just not a lot. I'm just feel like I can't get the gravel clean enough no matter how much I vacuum with out removing too much water at a time.

Oh and do you guys recommend Maracyn for fungal treatment instead of what I have? I'm just wondering if the meds they gave me were really the right choice.

 

I understand you don't want to insult your husband.
How about telling him.....
Oh honey, I love the 10 gallon that you gave me so much that I want another tank. Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful hobby. ;D

Some people have bare bottom tanks. Your filter media and decorations should hold enough bacteria to sustain a tank.

I hate to say this because I know you're sad about your goldies but with the fish you have now the tank conditions should improve greatly.
IMO your tank is fully stocked right now. Not ideally as you have some schooling fish that should have more friends, but please don't buy anymore.

If we knew your exact readings we could help get this tank heading in the right direction.
Possibly once we get this tank straightened out and you can enjoy your fish your husband will be more receptive to another tank.
You'd be surprised where you can find room for one.

I asked before, but maybe I missed the answer, do you have a gravel vac?

Edit: Wow, I'm typing slow. lol
Maybe you gravel vac is too big? I had one that took too much water out and ended up buying a smaller one.
Another thing you can do is raise your dirty water bucket (put it on a chair or something) That'll slow down the water flow.

 

for cories, it won't work but without the big waste producing fish it shouldnt get too dirty ...provided its not overfed....sad to say but without your beautiful goldies, you will find it much easier to take care of...

 

Thanks guys I feel a little bit better. I still will talk to my local FLS tonight and see what they have to say about all this. I don't think I'll be buying anything soon. There is no sense in adding more to the mix.

Finally do you guys recommend Maracyn for fungal? I know it says something about treating negative and positive fungal but I don't know what that means.

Also, what is the best way to go about cleaning my tank at this point. I'm sure there is still tons of that green stuff in my gravel and I can see the white fin rot stuff floating in my water. Should I continue to medicate?

 

I would NOT medicate....id go with the prime and a couple weeks of water changes/gravel vacs...cories are super sensitive to meds and id hate for you to loose them...getting the apI ammonia test kit will tell you what you should/shouldnt do as far as the tank...you may have lost your cycle and have to start over with all the meds that were used and if so, you can just go with a large water change and partials from there on in until the cycle comes back completed....

 

If you're worried about taking too much water out when you vacuum try a top fin minI vac. They're small so don't work as quickly but they're great to cleaning up the gravel. With a full test kit with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate you can monitor the values you need. Goldies tend to get really big. and if that's what you really want then go for it. However I'd check out some of the pictures gremlin has taken of the goldies from her pond. Just to give you an idea of why you shouldn't keep them in a 10 gal.
I really hope things get better for you. One good idea is to QT any new fish before adding to your tank (there's a link to a "quick and dirty QT setup" somewhere).
We're here to help.
Red

 

Are the other fish showing symptoms of being ill?

Now, this is pretty drastic and really not recommended but if there are pieces of dead fish floating around and your gravel is as nasty as you say, this is what I would do.

I know some will disagree as too drastic of a step and stressful to the fish. And no lie, it is stressful to them and a lot of work.

Catch your remaining fish and acclimate them very slowly in a bucket of clean dechlorinated water that is the same tank temp into a never seen soap bucket or large container.

Turn off the heater and filter. Rinse the filter media and decorations in used tank water. Put them in a separate never seen soap container with warm clean dechlorinated water.

Syphon out all the nasty water. Using a never seen soap strainer total rinse the gravel with warm dechlorinated water until clean.
This is a real pain, but we're trying to preserve the bacteria.
I've done this with my daughter's tank while maintaining a cycle with fish food. The gravel was so nasty.

Rinse and wipe the aquarium return the cleaned gravel. Fill with water. (all the new water you're using should be about the same temp as your tank water)
Put the decorations, heater, filter back in.
Slowly acclimate your fish back into the tank.

Now, word of caution. This is extreme. I know many will disagree, but if done slowly, your fish should survive this ok, but no guarantees. It's really not so different than if you were moving the fish to a new tank.

Only and I repeat only do this if, as you said, there are pieces of dead fish floating in your tank and the gravels is as nasty as you said.
Keep a close eye on your water conditioner for the next couple of weeks.

 

I really feel like I'm at that point Lucy. I want to just transfer my fish into a giant tupper ware container while I use my 5 gallon bucket to clean and gravel vac like crazy. I don't dare stir up all that stuff again with fish in the tank and it was like solid green all the way through the tank last time I really stirred it up. I think if I change out the water about 4 buckets or 20 gallons worth the gravel might be clean enough to put the fish and plants back in.

Sadly there really were chunks of fin that came off when I took him out with the net and when I pushed against the glass a little to get him in the net it left a gross white residue on my glass too. He literally was solid mold over night and had nothing on him when I went to bed at 9:30 this stuff develops wicked fast. Its really scary!

 

Are the other fish showing symptoms of being ill?

Now, this is pretty drastic and really not recommended but if there are pieces of dead fish floating around and your gravel is as nasty as you say, this is what I would do.

I know some will disagree as too drastic of a step and stressful to the fish. And no lie, it is stressful to them and a lot of work.

Catch your remaining fish and acclimate them very slowly in a bucket of clean dechlorinated water that is the same tank temp into a never seen soap bucket or large container.

Turn off the heater and filter. Rinse the filter media and decorations in used tank water. Put them in a separate never seen soap container with warm clean dechlorinated water.

Syphon out all the nasty water. Using a never seen soap strainer total rinse the gravel with warm dechlorinated water until clean.
This is a real pain, but we're trying to preserve the bacteria.
I've done this with my daughter's tank while maintaining a cycle with fish food. The gravel was so nasty.

Rinse and wipe the aquarium return the cleaned gravel. Fill with water. (all the new water you're using should be about the same temp as your tank water)
Put the decorations, heater, filter back in.
Slowly acclimate your fish back into the tank.

Now, word of caution. This is extreme. I know many will disagree, but if done slowly, your fish should survive this ok, but no guarantees. It's really not so different than if you were moving the fish to a new tank.

Only and I repeat only do this if, as you said, there are pieces of dead fish floating in your tank and the gravels is as nasty as you said.
Keep a close eye on your water conditioner for the next couple of weeks.

great post lucy and I so agree!!!....I don't think you are going to have to worry about beneficial bacteria tho as its been so exposed to meds that id start all fresh again ....the prime and water changes will get you through a new complete clean cycle and the ammonia kit will let you know where you are headed....

 

Unfortunatly sometimes it gets to that point.
Like I said, we had kept a tank cycled with fish food and there was no way gravel vacs would have gotten all the nasty stuff out.
I tried the traditional way but there was no end to it and I wouldn't have subjected any fish to that.

Oh, I forgot some extra stress coat for the fish will help also.

Is hubby at work? You could have it done by the time he comes home and have a sparkling tank.

I recently tore one of my betta's 10g's down because of blue/green algae and did exactly what I wrote in post #21.
Took a while, but her tank came out looking great. She was stressed for a while, but is fine now

Good luck!

 

Stress Coat plus is what my FLS told me to use in place of Prime... Should I use both?

 

Prime will detox ammonia for 24 hours between water changes.
According to the makers of Stress Coat+ it only detox's a minimal amount.

If you're re-doing the tank and re-introducing the fish, use the Stress Coat.
If you've lost your cycle switch to Prime if you need to do daily water changes.
Your readings over the next few days will give a better idea of which is better to use at that point.

Edit: Is this also the store that kept selling you meds for a condition that wasn't going to get better unless your goldies were in a bigger tank?

 

Yes, and the best part is I called them this afternoon on my lunch break and their advice was to continue medicating the tank for a full two weeks to finish killing any bacteria. Medicate for 2 weeks and do 25% water changes twice a week.

The meds they sold me say not to do water changes until after 7 days... I don't know how the meds are going to work if I don't follow the dirrections. And my water isn't going to get clean if I don't do changes.

Either way they said do not completely clean and recycle the tank. They claim the meds they sold me will not kill my bacteria cycle.

Either way something is not adding up. I wish there was a happy medium somewhere...

 

aww we all get this confusing advice...and its definitely your choice.....I think once you get the ammonia test kit, that will give you some info on if you lost the cycle or not....dont get test strips get the apI liquid kit for reliability reasons....I hope things look up no matter what you choose to do!

 

Are you existing fish sick? What are you treating them for?
I agree, it's confusing when there's so much conflicting advice.

 

great advice, I agree with Lucys method.

I just want to address your concern reagarding 'removing too much water', like when you do a gravel vac, and when you do a water change (such as, doing more than 2 gallons at a time) .... I get the impression that you feel that changing out any more water, would somehow be harmful, to either the fish or the tank.

I want to reassure you, changing water is never harmful to fish, and by getting into a routine of frequent water changes, your fish will thrive, and your water chemistry will remain continually stable.

I know some here will probably disagree, and I am always curious to see the reasons why they would disagree.... but I stand by the advice I am giving you >>> Doing frequent large water changes is the absolute best thing we can do for our fish. Period. No if, ands, or buts about it.

So there's no need to be worried about removing "too much water". As long as the new water going into the tank during the water change, is the same temperature and ph, it cannot and will not harm your fish. It's just the opposite, freshwater fish NEED fresh water, and the more the better.

Personally, in a small tank such as a 10gallon, I'd be changing out 100 percent of that water each week, but I'd do it in gradual changes during the course of the week; like a 2 or 3 gallon changeout every other day, for instance.

The benefits to the fish are enormous. It nips any potential problem in the bud. If any bad bacteria gets introduced to the tank, it'll be tossed out before it has the chance to multiply and become a huge problem. Ph remains stable, because it remains close to your tap ph; and a stable ph is more important than trying to aquire a specific ph 'number'. Algae never has a chance to get completely out of control. Debris, uneaten food , and fish waste (including urine ! yes, fish do produce urine !) are removed; thereby putting less stress on the filter as well as providing great water quality for the fish.

Look at this experience as a fresh start. Do the frequent changes as you recycle the tank, to keep the fish safe. But once it's cycled again, continue with the frequent water changes, and I assure you, the chances of seeing bacteria issues, fin rot, algae, or gunky gravel buildup, will be nill.

good luck ! let us know how you are progressing.

edited to ask the question. How deep is the gravel in your tank? If it's deep, you may want to remove some of it. Gravel can be less than an inch or even 1/2 inch.

 

Joy,

Thanks for your comment. I agree that changing water out is not a bad thing and necessary to keep up with the ammonia that eventually gets produced however I do disagree that large water changes are a good idea.

Because I have such a small tank changing a large percentage of water all at once will stress out my fish too much. Although ammonia and other chemicals are harmful to fish they do aclimate to things if they're introduced gradually. Therefore it is more stressful to remove all those chemicals at once by doing a huge water change then to gradually dilute the water with several small changes over the course of time.

As for the amount of gravel I have in my tank, I think it is about 10lbs. This was the amount that was recommended to me by Petsmart when I was first setting up my tank. This may be too much, I'm not sure but is what I was told to do. I also bank my gravel in the back of the tank and have it level with the base in the front. The tank setup instructions said to do this.

 

hmmm well I think allot of members have tried to help and not sure how much more they can advise....but with pieces of your goldies in there, the green slime, and the other waste , the massive changes are needed IMO ....ammonia is never something that fish acclimate too..they tolerate it but its a killer and it can destroy more than be tolerated....removing harmful chemicals are a must and especially if its already killed your babies doing things gradually at this point, might be a demise for the others...

 

Agreed, rash and quick changes when water parameters are way off can be harmful.
However like Shawnie said, if the tank is in the condition you describe the remaining fish will not last long with 10% changes.
All the food and fish matter is only going to break down and create more ammonia.

What's been suggested it to acclimate the fish very slowly to the clean water. That means letting them float in a bag and add small amounts of clean water to the bag over the course of an hour or two to reduce the shock.

Good luck however you decide to deal with the tank, wishing you and your fish the best.

 

Joy,



Because I have such a small tank changing a large percentage of water all at once will stress out my fish too much. Although ammonia and other chemicals are harmful to fish they do aclimate to things if they're introduced gradually. Therefore it is more stressful to remove all those chemicals at once by doing a huge water change then to gradually dilute the water with several small changes over the course of time.

My point was, once you get your tank stabilized, begin a routine of doing frequent changes to ensure it never gets in that condition again.

A 2 to 3 gallon water change every other day, or even every third day, is not considered a huge water change. Because your tank is small, it's even all the more important, as water conditions in smaller tanks deteriorate faster than in large tanks.

I also recommend following Lucy's advice on how to get your tank stabilized. She did say to slowly acclimate the fish to the new clean water.

Also, I advise to stop medicating. Imho, there is no disease in your tank. It's the water quality that's causing the problem, and clean water is the cure.


The fish store has given you bad advice all around. I hope you don't continue to follow what they say, they've steered you wrong on many fronts.

I also wish you good luck, whatever you decide to do.

 

I think there was some confusion about what was said about water changes.

I do change my water on a regular basis ie 25% twice a week but I think my syphon was too large for the size tank I had so I was removing a large amount of water before I could vacuum enough waste out. Have a large vacuum which was forcing me to do 50% changes was removing too much water. 50% changes were stressing out my fish. This is what I meant by removing too much water. I have never had a problem with doing frequent water changes since I knew my tank was slightly overstocked. What I didn't realize was that unless I stir my gravle when I vacuum I won't get enough stuff cleaned out when I do it.

Yesterday I stripped my tank completely. I moved what was left of my fish to a 2qt container of clean water. One rainbow rock and a live plant to another five gallon bucket with clean tap water. I then bleached all my plastic plants, fake ornamentals, filter box and tube, thermometer and anything else in the tank.

After this I began stirring and vacuum cleanning my tank. I added about another 10-15 gallons and repeated the cleaning until the water was as clear as I could get it. I then filled the tank with tap water and added my stress coat plus dirrectly to the tank. I removed half to two-thirds of my gravel and replaced my live plants and rainbow rock. I left almost all of my plastic plants and ornamental stuff out give one medium plastic plant. I then replaced my cory and two neons which is all that's left after the fin rot.

I've decided not to medicate unless I see something but I'm hoping the chlorine in my tap will have killed anything left in the remaining water and gravel before I added the stress coat plus.

It took my almost two hours and my husband was pretty anoyed by the time he got home around 6:30pm and I was still working on the tank while he was waiting to sit down and eat dinner... Needless to say last night was not a good night but I'm glad its done.

Tonight I need to buy more filter media and the ammonia kit since I'm sure my cycle will be gone. There might be some bacteria left from my rainbow rock, live plant, and bio filter grid but I doubt it will be enough for the whole tank.

Either way the my cory seems pretty happy he was swimming every where like crazy with a whole empty tank to himself now. The neons seemed kind of lost...

 

Wow, what a job. I think I told you, I just did that myself recently. Not fun.
A lot of us know that 'my husband is not too pleased' look.
Luckily he has a soft spot for animals and that's saved me many times. lol

I bet the water looks great and your fish are happy to have fresh water and clean gravel.
Hopefully you have enough bacteria left to sustain your stock since it's pretty small.

Keep an eye on your parameters, do water changes if you start to have ammonia and don't add fish until you're sure the cycle is complete.
Readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites with some nitrates showing.
At that point you can consider adding a couple more neons and another cory.

I know it's hard to realize that a 10 gallon tank just can't hold the amount of fish you want.
My first tank was a 10g. and boy was it an eye opener.

Best of luck!

 

I've decided not to medicate unless I see something but I'm hoping the chlorine in my tap will have killed anything left in the remaining water and gravel before I added the stress coat plus.

I'm so glad you took Lucys advice and did this. You now have a fresh start.

I just need to warn you about putting untreated tap into the tank and then adding the dechlorinator at the end.

The short time the chlorininated water is in there, it can do damage; harm the fish and/or kill off any beneficial bacteria that's on the gravel and decor. I suggest using a bucket, and adding the dechlorinator to the new water, then pouring into the tank.

good luck with the fishes Cathrinetta !

 

The fish weren't in the tank and I wanted to kill whatever was in my tank. That was the whole point of cleaning out my tank, because I could not get rid of the fin rot.

 

How are your fish doing?

 

Fish seem to be doing better. I can' tell if I've lost my cycle or not. I was trying to find out if I had from either you or Shawnie. My readings last night were .25 ppm ammonia and 0 nitrates. I didn't test the nitrite. I have tons of algae in my bio grid though. I'm not sure if it can take care of the ammonia or not.