How Do You Do This? Without Spreading Bugs

[shelaghfishface]

recently i used my net to scoop out plant bits on 2 tanks,both were fine looking good ( at the time) then within a couple of days i lost fish in both tanks to whitespot and poss TB(only tb in one tank)

would this have been because i have learnt since how to do proper gravel vac,and it was was just bound to happen with dirty gravel or did i spred it with the net?(even if the illness wasnt visable at the time)

an if i did, how can i prevent doing this in the future?i mean moving decs between tanks etc,or is is just best not too?

i also use the same syphon pipe,gravel vac, so need to know how to properly clean them before using them again ( i tend to do water changes on all my tanks in the same evening,so am usually rushing about before the children get to me!)

this advice will definatley im sure save me a lot of heartache,and this has happened more than once,where 1 tank has got it then another,so i can only assume this is the reason why

what do you think?

shelagh xxxx

 

[raptorrex]

recently i used my net to scoop out plant bits on 2 tanks,both were fine looking good ( at the time) then within a couple of days i lost fish in both tanks to whitespot and poss TB(only tb in one tank)

would this have been because i have learnt since how to do proper gravel vac,and it was was just bound to happen with dirty gravel or did i spred it with the net?(even if the illness wasnt visable at the time)

an if i did, how can i prevent doing this in the future?i mean moving decs between tanks etc,or is is just best not too?

i also use the same syphon pipe,gravel vac, so need to know how to properly clean them before using them again ( i tend to do water changes on all my tanks in the same evening,so am usually rushing about before the children get to me!)

this advice will definatley im sure save me a lot of heartache,and this has happened more than once,where 1 tank has got it then another,so i can only assume this is the reason why

what do you think?

shelagh xxxx

with he nets, i would have them for each tank. boiling water down the syphon tube should sort it. but again they are so, comparatively, cheap for peace of mind one for each tank may be worth it.

 

[WILDER]

Best to have a net for each tank and steralise them after use.
As for the gravel vac I wouldn't do a gravel vac on another tank the same day, I would wash it after use and wait a day for it to dry out, hpping this way it wouldn't pass desease from tank to tank.

Also you need to wash your hands after maintance on a tank.
Anti bacterial soap is good.

 

[ox5477]

using a Gravel vac is a must! It removes pieces of un eaten food and fish waste from the substrate so it does not build up and nuke your tank. The whitespot may have been in the tank since you got the fish. Whitespot has an interesting reproduction where a portion of it's life is spent in the substrate. If you jostled the substrate a little, you may have released the spores of the disease and in essence infected the fish. Moving between different tanks isn't a good practice as already said as well.

Just keep up on the gravel vacs and on the first sign of any diesease/illness, remove the affected fish to quarentine and treat with correct dosages of medicine

 

[shelaghfishface]

thanks everyone, another excuse to spend some cash that i dont have..( i will get 1 of each for all the tanks,good idea)
anyway i took the massive descision to totally strip the 4 ft tank, as since i put an undergravel filter in there its given me nothing but grief,so smashed all that out ,bleached the tank and rinsed really well, bolied all the gravel (good job i have a big family=massive saucepan)boiled for an hour ( god knows what my toddler thought he was getting for lunch lol) then run it under the tap in the sink while stirring it for approx 15 mins, the water was crystal clear at the end, so all back in the tank and have filled it, put in some cuttings from another tank,and am just going to let it sit for a few days now,the ex-residents are 1 silver shark, siamese fighting fish,3 guppies,they are all in a clean tank with boiled clean gravel etc,so they are in no rush to get back( treating for whitespot)lost another silver shark this morning hence this one being alone, but i wont be getting anymore(was 5)and too be totally honest this one isnt looking wonderful,
now the undergravel filter is gone will be easier to vac

anyway, i thought this would be my best option,with the tank having been sitting there for 4 months, with not having had a decent vac in all that time and with all the problems its had, its now clean and im running the same filter as before (washed this in old water).....heres a pic so any suggestions with what to do next would be appreciated,
(ps the plastic plants are in there for a joke-as i def wont kill those!)

 

[Colin_T]

as mentioned above the best thing to do if you are really concerned, is to have seperate gear for each tank. A net, bucket, gravel cleaner and sponge or algae magnet per tank. You clean each tank with its own gear and wash the equipment with hot soapy water after each use. Then the equipment is left to dry.
You should also wash your hands and arms between tanks and if you have cuts or scratches on your hands then wear rubber gloves or don't go in the tanks until they have healed.

The above can be used if you are really paranoid about diseases. You can also bleach the equipment after each use if you are really concerned. Wipe everything down with straight bleach and leave for 30 minutes. Then rinse with fresh water.

Having said that most petshops and home aquarists simply let the nets and buckets dry out. That usually kills most things. You can leave the gear out in the sun to dry as well. Sunlight does a good job of killing water born pathogens. And many petshops don't do anything at all. They simply go from tank to tank with the same gravel cleaner. If they have sick tanks they leave them till last.

To lose fish in both tanks to whitespot at the same time would indicate the disease was present in both tanks for the last week or so. It is easily transmitted when water from one tank gets into another one. Nets, ornaments, hands, etc can all carry diseased water to new tanks.

What makes you think one of the fish died from TB?

It will still take the same effort to gravel clean the tank with or without the undergravel filter. It's the same gravel and will still get dirty. All tanks with the exception of planted tanks that have a special substrate, should be gravel cleaned each time you do a water change. This keeps the gravel clean and prevents waste products from building up and increasing disease outbreaks.

 

[shelaghfishface]

i posted a pic of the fish that died and the general opinion was definatly tb

yes i think that about the whitespot being in both tanks, will defiantley invest in new equipment ,well worth it
the thing is with the undergravel filter is that a lot of the tiny pea gravel actually fell under the plate.and the dirt under there was disgusting( spose thats what its there for tho)so i couldnt get to the most of it to vac it
with it having a fresh start ( apart from the filter) i know where i stand,i hope anyway

 

[Tolak]

I would use 1 part bleach to 20 parts water for getting rid of any nasties on equipment. It is easily neutralized by drying, or rinsing with water containing 2-3 times the normal amount of dechlorinator.

Soap can leave residue, and with so many products having anti-bacterial components to them this could cause problems. When doing tank maintenance I have an area for clean equipment & dirty equipment, when I get low on clean equipment I clean up the dirty stuff, and back to the clean section it goes.

Gravel hides a ton of debris, you do need a gravel vac. If you are low on funds you can make one with a piece of hose & a 1 liter bottle. Cut the bottom off the bottle, attach the hose to the top.

Undergravel filters are nasty things. In their day they were a good filter, but as with many things technology now gives you better equipment.

 

[Colin_T]

To clean the gunk out from a U/G filter simply push the gravel cleaner all the way down into the gravel until it touches the filter plate. Leave it there until the water coming out is clean. Then lift the gravel cleaner up and move it somewhere else.
Regular use of a gravel cleaner will keep the gravel spotless. And if used as above will keep a U/G filter running perfectly.
Any filter left unattended for months at a time will eventually clog up and contain lots of black muck.

 

[shelaghfishface]

i do have to admit Colin, that when everything started to die in this tank, i lost heart,and just told myself that i couldnt manage the tank cos of its size,-so did jobs on it half heartedly
this tank was my first and got every bad thing it could get,wasnt cycled when i set it up,just dumped a lot of expensive fish in there,and watched them die.( as i had no idea)
i now feel o alot more positive with the knowledge i am gaining from people like yourself on here,fishkeeping is as hard as you make it,if the maintenence is carried out properly then its enjoyable, and am just learning this,im bound to make a few more mistakes,but heres hoping they wont be fatal ones

thankyou