Ich wiped out my tank, now what?

What appeared to be a very aggressive wave of ich just wiped out my 29 gallon tank. In about a week it wiped out 12 tetras, 4 platies, 3 guppies, and some fry. Heat treatment and Ich Attack didn't seem to help any, other than prolonging the misery. I think I have about 9 or 10 ghost shrimp still running around.

Question is, now what? I assume I should keep treating for ich for another week or so. Sounds like I should wait 3-4 weeks before restocking the tank? If I understand ich's life cycle properly, in that time frame it should die out from being unable to find a host?

 

Hello gar...

The Ich parasite works quickly, but by keeping the tank free of dissolved waste material which will stress the fish's immune system, you can prevent future problems.

Do a large water change as much as possible and still leave enough water for whatever lives in the tank. Do a good job of vacuuming the bottom material to remove as many parasites as possible. Add a bit of aquarium salt to the new, treated tap water. A teaspoon or so for every 5 gallons of new water. This dose is very minimal and won't harm anything but the parasites. It will retard their growth. Add some floating plants and let the tank run for a few days. The plants will steady the water for the fish.

You can introduce a few new fish. I'd choose a hardy species like Platys, Swordtails and female Guppies if you like livebearers. Rasboras or Danios if you prefer egglayers.

Test the tank water every couple of days to make sure the bacteria is working and change out a few gallons if you start to see traces of ammonia or nitrite.

From now on, keep up on the water changes. The water in a small tank like a 29 gallon should get 50 to 60 percent water changes every week. And add a little aquarium salt too once the tank is up and running. A teaspoon or so in every 5 to
10 gallons of water will maintain a strong fish immune system and discourage the growth of future parasites. If you keep the water clean, you have healthy fish and the chance of a healthy fish being infected by a parasite is remote.

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Thanks for the response. I've read a few places that salt would hurt my plants? Is there a consensus on this? It seems like you are saying the small amount your are suggesting wouldn't impact the plants. If that's the case, I will definitely start to add salt.

 

Do not add salt with plants. If you want to treat the tank with salt, move the plants to a separate tank or bin and do a large water change after salt treatment before reintroducing them.

Salt will melt or wilt the majority of plants. It ruins the osmotic properties in the leaves. Plants like anacharis and other thin leafed species will turn to sludge.

 

Hello again gar...

The dose I suggested is very small. I've used it for several years in my planted tanks. Of course, I only keep the following: Anacharis, Pennywort, Water sprite, Hornwort, Bananas, Anubias nana and nangi, Java fern, Sinapore moss and Aglaonema. These grow fine in water with a bit of salt and are more than enough to fill a large tank. These are generally undemanding as far as light and only require a constant flow of clean water to replace trace elements. I can't say how salt will affect the more demanding plants.

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Thanks for the explanation on the plants, guys. I have some plants that require medium light that might be sensitive to the salt, so I'll pass on that but keep it in mind for the future.

How long should I continue to treat for ich in an empty tank? Looking forward to restocking already, haha.