How Do I Sterilize A Tank That Housed A Sick Fish?

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toomie

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One of my bettas died today. My only guess is he had some sort of bacterial infection, but don`t really know what it was. I was treating him for it, but he passed. :(

So now I have the 5 gallon tank he was in, and need to know how to go about sterilizing it for another betta.There is one live plant, 2 silk plants, some gravel, a little plastic bridge, thermometer, heater, filter, etc.

I also found a dead snail in the tank just as I noticed he was getting sick, so don`t know if that was just a coincidence or whatever killed Joe killed the snail as well.

When I sterilize all this stuff, does this mean I have to get a brand new filter and start cycling all over again?
I assume I will, but don`t know at this point.
 
You shouldnt have to re cycle provided you keep the filter in old tank water and keep feeding it with ammonia with it running as it normally would.

I was in your situation.
Just strip the tank down and keep the filter/heater running in a bucket of water (adding ammonia daily) with any live plants you have.

Clean everything very well with hot water repeat as many times as you want but make sure you clean it well.

Then just put it back together again add dechlorinated water put your filter and heater back in and add ammonia daily to keep your filter bacteria alive.

check your water stats before adding a fish and your good to go.

Some people use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water but i dont like putting chemicals in my tanks a a precaution. It's all down to personal preferance.
Good luck :good:
 
bleach solution will kill ANY nasties that may be residing in the tank. wipe the whole tank down (or even scrub it with a nail brush or new unused toothbrush) and rinse several times in hot water. let it air dry and you're good to go. the bleach will evaporate and will not be residual in the tank. if you are worried about it still, fill the tank with some HEAVILY dechlorinated water. the extra dechlor will take care of any bleach should there be any (which if left to dry completely, there shouldnt be- but overdose of dechlor will put your mind at ease...that's what it's for- to remove chlorine(as found in bleach).
good luck. and yes, keep that filter running to save the bacteria so you dont have to cycle again...if you have another fishtank, just stick it in there,,,you might have a bit of die off to the bacteria, but better than losing the whole lot.
cheers
 
If I keep the same filter media, couldn`t there still be some nasty bacteria in the filter as well? I suspect my fish died from some sort of bacterial infection.
 

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