Please Help! Rebuilding Decimated 29 Gal

Hi, all, this is a bit long, but I'm so overwhelmed. Maybe this should be in the beginners' forum? I had my tank for about 3 years, but apparently am very ignorant. I made the mistake of trusting the LFS people to educate me about it. I did all right, although in retrospect it was just luck. They just kept selling me fish and plants without warning me of overpopulation or things like ick, which I brought home from them. I didn't even know ick was a thing! Or if we had the right fish. Then the fish caught fin rot. Everything in my tank except 3 danios, a tiny fieldstream loach, and a dwarf Mexican crayfish died. I'd like to educate myself before trying to restock my poor tank, and I don't know where to start. Is there a good resource? Ideally I will know what to do and just go pick out fish, rather than count on LFS people to help me. I need a new FLS but my only other options are Petco, etc. :/

The first thing is how do I know if the ick is gone? The second is, the water is testing all right (pH 6.8, ammonia O, nitrite 0, nitrate 0 today), but it is UGLY. This is the 3rd day of ick Cure and Melafix with 25% water changes every 48 hours (per bottle instructions), and a new filter cartridge will go in tomorrow. One Danio has a hole in its side (what the heck?), and I'm unsure about heating the water due to the loach and cray. Should I get a vacuum? Do I keep the filter sponge or chuck it? The plants are getting fuzzy and the water is cloudy and everything is scuzzy without my snails and plecos and cats.

I'd really really love some suggestions about how to proceed: when/how/what to stock. My kids (who are completely traumatized about this and have had like 30 fish funerals) love all sorts of different, fun creatures in the tank along with the swimming fish. They also want a new betta. We had a ton of little fish though (list to follow), and I'd love a couple of centerpiece fish. I'm on a budget, but now I'm pretty glad that our most expensive fish was like $12. I don't know what gets along with what, or how many I can stock, or if they need schools. I don't think our LFS had a ton of variety I'd love a good article or two, since it seems like everyone recommends something different. I'm guessing if the danios survive, rebuilding their school will be the first step? And maybe grabbing a snail or two? Should I remove the gravel and wash it? I made a post about setting up a QT tank (also overwhelming!!! Not sure how to cycle it, or if I should get an identical filter and use the filter sponge from my 29 gal), but I'm going to try. Then what do I do? Get it cycled, confirm ick is gone (how?), and just add 2 or 3 fish at a time, every two weeks?

Thank you sooooo much in advance! I hope this wasn't too confusing or long. I'd really like to not mess this up.

This is what I have to work with:
29 gal 19x30x12"
Fluorescent full hood
Aqueon QuietFlow 20 filter
Airstone
3" gravel
75 degrees F
Tap water
Change 25% weekly w/conditioner
(API Tap Water Conditioner)
Ammonia 0 mg/L
pH 6.8
Nitrates/Nitrites 0
Tetramin Tropical Flakes, zucchinI

Fish:
3 Glo Danios
1 fieldstream loach
1 dwarf Mexican Crayfish

Plants:
2 Rose sword
Jungle vallisneria
2 Lucens
Italian Val
Anubias
Java fern
Banana plant
Pennywort
Red sword
Duckweed 30% cover
Malaysian driftwood/MopanI wood

This is what we used to have:
5 silvertip Tetra
4 Curviceps
Albino bushynose pleco
Farlowella
Spotted rubber lip pleco
1 Mystery snail
1 pond snail
6 glofish Tetra
Whiptail catfish
Guppy
3 Black skirt Tetra
Betta
6 glofish Danios
Fieldstream loach
Dwarf Mexican crayfish

 

Hi,
What are you using to test your water parameters ammonia etc.?
I would deal with the problems before going about restocking the aquarium or setting up a quarantine.
What exactly do you mean by the water being ugly?
I would keep up with the water changes and gravel vac each time to remove any Ick in the substrate. Once the fish have been showing no signs of Ick for at least a week it usually doesn't reappear.

I would not change the filter cartridge at the moment, your fish need the bacteria to survive.
Can you get a picture of the Danio with the hole?
What colour is the cloudy water?
How long do you have the lights on, are they on a timer?

Your parameters should be ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate <20. Do you have a reading for nitrate, cycled aquariums usually have some nitrates present?

We should be able to help further if we know this information

 

HI and thanks so much! I am so confused! I'm just trying to get rid of the ich right now, but am trying to plan ahead a bit, especially if setting up a QT tank for new fish is going to take a while. I only have test strips so I bring my water to the LFS. I just ordered a test kit today. I did a 50% water change today and put the filter pad back in (per ich meds bottle instructions), and the tank looks a bit better. By ugly I mean everything is getting fuzzy and the water is cloudy. It is just kind of milky. The wood doesn't seem to be making the water dark, which I miss. I got a gravel vac today to try out among all of the plants. I think it will be tricky! The loach died and the tetra seems to be going, so I will just have three danios and the crayfish left. I'm unsure if he can tolerate the heat. My light is on for 8-10 hours, no timer. I can't check nitrates/nitrites at home yet but pH is 6.8 still, ammonia 0. I am going to try a heater to ensure that the ich is gone - any recommendations? I can't seem to find any with a temperature control, so I may have to order one. The danios are very active, even the one with the hole. She has been really fat for months now and the hole is right behind her tummy. It looks like a bubble comes out occasionally? I'll try to get a pic but she is fast.

 

Here is the tank right now. I have a video of the fish but I can't figure out how to upload it.... Here is a screen shot of it, but it is so blurry! The spot is dark, just behind its belly.

 

Hi,
What are you using to test your water parameters ammonia etc.?
I would deal with the problems before going about restocking the aquarium or setting up a quarantine.
What exactly do you mean by the water being ugly?
I would keep up with the water changes and gravel vac each time to remove any Ick in the substrate. Once the fish have been showing no signs of Ick for at least a week it usually doesn't reappear.

I would not change the filter cartridge at the moment, your fish need the bacteria to survive.
Can you get a picture of the Danio with the hole?
What colour is the cloudy water?
How long do you have the lights on, are they on a timer?

Your parameters should be ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate <20. Do you have a reading for nitrate, cycled aquariums usually have some nitrates present?

We should be able to help further if we know this information

I got my test kit! Parameters today are pH 7.4, NH3 0.25, Nitrite <0.25, Nitrate 10. Still cloudy. Added the heater and set it up 2 degrees, and temporarily removed the crayfish. I'll change the water again in a bit.