Restocking An Almost Empty Long Established Tank

[Pysgodyn]

Hiya guys.

I've left thigs dwindle over the past year or two, and have found myself with an established 125 litre tank with only two red phantom tetras in it. In 2010 I'm planning to sort it all out!

Here's what I've done so far -

50-60% water change, rinsing filter in dirty water
New plants
Water testing - (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0.25)

I introduced a new bristle nosed catfish, and it died on day 4. No idea why.

What I'd like to know is - Is there any harm in introducing further fish? Given that the above water stats are perfect, could there be anything else bad living in the water that new fish won't like? Would I be better off starting from complete scratch than trying to revive an old tank like this?

 

[soccermatt]

If you haven't done a good gravel vac that what i would do to start. Then in another 3-4 days do another large water change. I don't think that there is much use to starting off from scratch if everything is still working.

What i would do is add 2-3 more red phantom tetra's to start to so that they can be in a larger school, and slowly give time for your tank to adjust. If all seems well then i would say you could go from there.

Good luck with your tank.

 

[Pysgodyn]

That's a good idea - thanks. I did vac the gravel when I did the water change.

Oh, and I (genuinely) forgot to mention a recent white-spot issue with the tetras. I've treated it as it says on the bottle (second dose today) and they look much better. My inexperienced common sense would say to hang fire on adding further fish until it's completely cleared, but if there's no other reason why I should start from scratch I think I'll do what you suggested in a week or so.

Many thanks x

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with soccermatt, its a much better idea to take your good time before deciding to start fish additions again. Instead, do a series of large water changes with good deep gravel cleanings during each one. Pick out something to pay special attention to during each session. Perhaps the filter hoses need cleaning? Perhaps the decorations or the glass at the top or back? Perhaps the fluorescent tubes are more than a year old and thus need to be replaced if you have plants? Get your notebook in order and be sure to write down test results and share the actual numbers with us. Are you using a good liquid based kit?

Look up oldman47 and find that good white spot/ich link he's got and read it and study your situation so you'll be sure to feel you've given that treatment the full time it needs and done the right things. That's another thing that will make you feel good before you go adding more fish again. Think about your layout, substrate and plants and about your stocking plan - get all those ideas in order prior to that first restocking.

Good luck! ~~waterdrop~~