New tank after dead fish

Hello all,
My poor betta Rocky died last night after some sort of infection. I never figured out what it was, and tried to save him but I couldn't. He was my only fish.
Anyways, I have an almost empty 3 g tank now with three snails, that could be infected with whatever killed Rocky. I plan on getting a new fish, perhaps another betta or some tetras. Should I scrap the current set up and re-cycle, or is it fine to just get the new fish and put them in the current tank?

On a side note, was three snails too much with the betta in the 3 gallon? I'm just reading now that snails actually carry a greater bio load than I had thought.

 

Tetras aren't suitable for a 3 gallon, so your only option is a betta.
I would sterilize everything and start over, just to be safe.
What species of snails are they?

 

I think ramshorn, they're very small. Why are tetras not suitable?

 

I think ramshorn, they're very small. Why are tetras not suitable?

they like to be in schools of 6 or more they are very active and need room to swim

 

With a 3 gallon you don't have many options. Snails, shrimp, and/or a betta. What were the symptoms? You can clean and restart if it makes you feel more comfortable. Parasites die without a host. I believe snails can't get most diseases that fish can. I'm not even sure if there is one that they can both get. So correct me if I'm wrong.

Can you get seeded media from someone trustworthy? Maybe cycle media in a bucket? I did that with TSS+, a 5 gallon bucket, and, a leftover animal syringe and janitor ammonia.

 

It looked much like a white cottony fungus on him, but the fungus treatment only made it worse. It was some sort of infection. My brother has an established tank, maybe I could use his filter media?

 

Tetras are schooling fish and require 6+ of their own species, not to mention they are extremely active and need space to swim.

 

It looked much like a white cottony fungus on him, but the fungus treatment only made it worse. It was some sort of infection. My brother has an established tank, maybe I could use his filter media?

That's perfect! You can get a new sponge or filter media for your filter and put it in your brothers filter for 1-2 weeks. During this time you can keep and eye on your snails and do large water changes weekly or biweekly. Then right before you take the media back from your brother, clean the tank out. Keep the snails in a separate cup or bucket with tank water. Rinse the tank extremely well before adding the fish and snails.

I also suggest picking up seachem prime and stability if you don't already have it. Test for any minI cycles for about a week or two and do water changes appropriately. Add the stability for at least a week and continue until fully cycled.