Many Dead Fish This Morning - Bacterial Blom/infection

[Brette]

Hi all,

I have had an awful morning. I have been treating for columnaris which i think was introduced by a new fish i bought or a plant. seemed to be resolved until I did a large water change, thinking this would be a good thing as the fish and water looked clear. Big mistake. the water became cloudy and this morning more than half my fish are dead. I removed the ones still alive and put them in another container with treated tap water, maracyn plus and non idiozized salt. I bet they will all be dead when I get home from work


What the heck do i do now? this bacterial infection was very virulent. And unfortunately i think by doing water changes while I was treating i let it get a grip ad it wouldn't let go. The tank is empty, should I scrap it? I'm sure everything, gravel, driftwood plants filter is full of bacteria.

I'm going to get a small tank at lunch hour and place any remaining fish that are still alive in there and hope they can survive in an uncycled tank with antibitics and water conditioner until I figure out what to do with my 25 gallon.

HELP!!! Any suggestions?

 

[lilfishie]

what are you water stats?

some meds reduce the amount of oxygen in the tank which could of effected your fish

 

[Brette]

what are you water stats?

some meds reduce the amount of oxygen in the tank which could of effected your fish

The water is finished. I'm tossing it all out tonight. And possibly the tank itself and everything in it (with the exception of the fish). It's cloudy and it stinks and there are fish carcasses floating around in it. This could be the end of my fishkeeping hobby. I need to know if I should throw the tank, filter, decorations and everything into the garbage or can it be salvaged with bleach or a cleaning solution. Will the bacteria always remain in the tank? if so there is no point in setting it back up.

Add to this the fact that I'm trying to keep any remaining fish alive without a set up quarantine tank and you have a major disaster.

 

[lilfishie]

i don't see why a bleach solution wouldn't remove the bacteria, i had a similar problem and never knew what it was, just emptied the tank, bleached it and rinsed until i could no longer smell bleach, luckily i had other tanks running so all fish were moved

 

[Brette]

i had a similar problem and never knew what it was, just emptied the tank, bleached it and rinsed until i could no longer smell bleach

Did you have any trouble with the fish when you put them back into the tank? Did any remaining traces of bleach hurt them?

I just want toss the whole thing honestly. This has been such a disheartening experience. I have no clue what to do with the remining fish that are still alive. I can't put them back into that bacteria laden tank and i have nowhere for them to go.

 

[SharonCC]

Hang on, now, before you toss the tank. The cloudy water that you got after the large water change is perfectly normal. It is merely a bacterial bloom... nothing to do with the bacterial infection. It is rather, the good bacteria, in your filter, catching up with the large water change. I'm assuming the tank is cycled...we really do need the water readings for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. If you decide to clean the tank with bleach,(which is basically chlorine), as long as you rinse it well, and treat the water with dechlorinator, the bleach solution will not be harmful. Sometimes, a really large water change can cause problems for fish. That may be all that's going on... If the fish are still alive when you get home, I would put them back in their tank and continue the treatment for the Columnaris. If you place these fish in a new tank, and they still have the disease, you will contaminate another tank, so there's not much point in doing that. Although, it would be useful to have a quarantine tank...

 

[Brette]

Hang on, now, before you toss the tank. The cloudy water that you got after the large water change is perfectly normal. It is merely a bacterial bloom... nothing to do with the bacterial infection.

Thanks for your responses guys.

I honestly am at a loss. I don't have any clue how to deal with whatever it is that has destroyed my tank.

The tank is about 2 months old and I was introducing fish and plants slowly. Whether it was one of the fish or plants that introduced the bacteria i'm not sure. But they showed signs of columnaris, fin rot, cottony grown, cloudy corneas. the Maracyn seemed to have been working and after 5 days it was clear and I did a 50 percent water change and added some maracide as the fish had been flashing. Overnight the tank went to hell, cloudy, discolored and half my fish were dead.

I am sick of dealing with whatever this is and just want to bleach or chuck the whole tank. The remaining fish are sitting on my counter in a mixing bowl. sigh. I'm going to buy a hospital tank and set them up in there with a new filter and nothing from the original tank until they are no longer sick. I wonder if they'll even make it. Their fins are frayed and they look miserable.

I'm not a complete amateur. I have a tank at work that has been disease free and healthy for 2 years. I have no clue how I ended up with columnaris. But that coupled with the cloudy water when I did water changes has desemated my fish.

If anyone has any further suggestions as to how to rid an empty tank of a virulent bacteria I'd be glad to know. Also how to care for sick fish in a hospital tank that hans't cycled. *groan

Thanks

 

[aquababy]

Hi again Brette

I answered your post on my columnaris thread but found your thread aswell. I understand your pain and loss and know how hard it is to lose them when we get so attached to our little fish freinds but please don't give up. I have had columnaris in my tank for at least a month now. It was killing my fish all in different ways and I couldn't understand what to treat my fish with. To make things worse I was doing too many water changes and keeping the tank too clean. My fish seemed to die more after a water change than of the disease but I didn't give up. My fish are looking better everyday and even though I know I still havent cured them for me they are a cause worth fighting for. To put them in a new uncycled tank might be worse than putting them back in their own tank. At least in their old tank they won't have to deal with ammonia,nitrite and probably nitrate problems. Remember your fish are still poorley and won't be able to deal with all the unbalanced water. While your fish are sick and your using medications on them they will need loads of oxygen (put in an airpump and airstone) and you will need to remove the carbon from your filter. If the carbon is still in your medicines won't work. I have learnt so much from this forum but have lost so many of my beloved fish in the process. Im not sure about the medication you are using but the Anti Internal Bacteria stuff I am using says not to do a water change for at least 11 days. If you leave everything in the tank then you can treat the whole tank but if it makes you feel better to get rid of all the ornaments and plants thats up to you. Do remember that your fish will need somewhere to hide or rest while they are ill or they might get more stressed. Help the little guys get better and they will show you they can survive this. Once their immune systems get strong they will get through. Your the only chance theyv'e got.
I have a cat named Gizmo and a 4 years back my vet gave him some new worming tablet called Milbemax. When I got him home he was sick. I took hime back to the vets and he said it was a normal reaction. Two days later he was passing blood in his stools and urine. The vet said he wouldn't survive. He was on a drip for 4 days and when he came home I had to carry him to his litter tray. He couldn't even stand up on his own legs. I nursed him and cared for him and he is still with me and as naughty and daft as ever.


I know cats and fish are different but when we are the only hope they have we can't give up. Even if my Gizmo had died at least I know I would have done my best. I'm not saying you don't care enough or aren't trying, Im just saying please don't give up.
I beleive SharonCC is right. If you buy a new tank and put your fish in, they still have the columnaris so it will just spread again. Carry on treating them in their old tank and help them build up their immunity against it. They aren't as fragile as we think.
Seeing as we both have the same problem in our tanks we can get through this together. We can keep each other updated and I'm sure there will always be someone here to answer your posts. They are such a brilliant bunch of fishkeepers on this forum. Almost like a cult

 

[black angel]

what kind of fish?


sounds to me like a bacterial bloom and normal. what made you think it was columnaris and not new tank syndrome?

how many fish and were you checking water stats?

 

[SharonCC]

Am I glad to see you!!! I tried to explain about bacterial blooms, but ....

 

[Brette]

I tried to explain about bacterial blooms, but ....

I think you're dead right. I had bacterial blooms which worsened the fishes condition. I was overzealous from the start about keeping the tank clean. I don't think I had enough good bacteria built up in the tank to prevent the crazy bacterial blooms every time I did a water change (50%) and cleaned the gravel. The tank was only 2 months old and probably pretty fragile and then i think I introduced a fish with columnaris and things got completely out of control.

Over cleaning is not a good thing apparently. I should have left it alone after I set it up for a month or so in hindsight instead of trying to clean everything up all the time with such a new tank setup.

I had 8 cardinals
6 diamond tetras
a blue ram
a checkerboard cichlid

I have the 2 cichlids and one cardinal left. none of them look good.

I have completely screwed up from the start. I thought I was doing a good thing but I was overzealous with medicating and cleaning. My 3 gallon at work is sparkling and I've had the fish for 2 years. Probably because I don't bother with it too much. I'm heading home from work in a few and I'm not looking forward to have to flush probably more dead fish. I feel so guilty about this.

Thank you all for your posts.

 

[Brette]

what kind of fish?
8 cardinals, 6 diamond tetra
1 checkerboard cichlid, 1 blue ram


sounds to me like a bacterial bloom and normal. what made you think it was columnaris and not new tank syndrome?
I think it's both. They have cloudy corneas, white fluff, fin rot.

how many fish and were you checking water stats?
16 in a 25 gallon tank
I checked the amonia periodically with an 3 yr old test kit that read 0 amonia. I cleaned the tank often. The test kit might have been expired.

 

[SharonCC]

I tried to explain about bacterial blooms, but ....

I think you're dead right. I had bacterial blooms which worsened the fishes condition. I was overzealous from the start about keeping the tank clean. I don't think I had enough good bacteria built up in the tank to prevent the crazy bacterial blooms every time I did a water change (50%) and cleaned the gravel. The tank was only 2 months old and probably pretty fragile and then i think I introduced a fish with columnaris and things got completely out of control.

Over cleaning is not a good thing apparently. I should have left it alone after I set it up for a month or so in hindsight instead of trying to clean everything up all the time with such a new tank setup.

I had 8 cardinals
6 diamond tetras
a blue ram
a checkerboard cichlid

I have the 2 cichlids and one cardinal left. none of them look good.

I have completely screwed up from the start. I thought I was doing a good thing but I was overzealous with medicating and cleaning. My 3 gallon at work is sparkling and I've had the fish for 2 years. Probably because I don't bother with it too much. I'm heading home from work in a few and I'm not looking forward to have to flush probably more dead fish. I feel so guilty about this.

Thank you all for your posts.

Brette, bacterial blooms don't affect fish in any way...it's fine. When you get home, do a water change, considering that there were fish floating. Then, add the fish, if alive , back to the tank. Acclimate first, as they're not in great health. Continue the treatment that you were using, and no more water changes until the treatment is over, unless the specific treatment advises to do so.... (Assuming the tank is cycled)... When you cleaned the tank, please tell me you did not clean the filter media or replace it.
Don't worry! Everybody has tank stresses, and we all do our best. If the remaining fish die, DO NOT THROW OUT THE TANK!!! It's a perfectly good tank, and you can start over. Don't be discouraged!!!


Is the Ram still alive through all this...since they're known for their sensitivity, he must be one tough little guy!

 

[Brette]

Believe it or not, the Ram (a balloon Ram, they had labeled as "dwarf" and I didn't know better) is still alive. He's actually the fish I suspect who introduced the illness to my tank. The checkerboard cichlid, also supposedly a fussy fish, alive and kicking. I lost 10 fish total, 7 cardinals and 3 diamond tetras. The remaining fish are eating and seem to be making a pretty miraculous recovery in their hospital tank. Today they gobbled down some frozen blood worms like greedy pigs.

If they survived the water in that tank, I'm sure they could survive a nuclear holocaust. They will surely inherit the earth.

I dismantled the tank, the water was so bad and it stank and all the decomposing cardinal bodies in there was more than i could deal with. I dismantled the tank and washed everything with a weak vinegar/water solution. I'm also baking the driftwood in the oven for 1/2 hour 300 degrees. I ditched the fluorite, it is porous and i didn't trust it. I don't want any of this bacteria (the one making the fin rot, white fluff and cloudy eye) in my tank anymore. I realize i will have to start over with cycling the tank and making sure not to OVERCLEAN THIS TIME.

Thanks for your interest Sharon! Out of curiosity do the symptoms sound the same? (cloudy eye, white fluff, fin rot which developed really quickly and aggressively) I know it's a bacterial infection but I'm wondering exactly which kind. sounds like columnaris to me.

 

[newfishy]

if you do end up deciding to sterilize the tank, take out all living things, and pour a good amount of bleach in the tank and let it sit for an hour or two, then rinse rinse rinse until there is no more bleach smell in the tank or on any of the equipment. I would toss the filter media and get new to replace it.

spread out all equipment and let that and the tank air dry completely. then get some rubbing alcohol and spray all surfaces down and let air dry until totally dry.

then give the tank a final rinse down and refill, using triple the amount of normal dechlorinater. go about fish less cycle as normal before adding fish back.

This method will 100% sterilize all the nastys in the tank, but you must take care to rebuild the “good” bacteria in your filter by proper cycling, or all your fish will die again.