induction of fire into fishkeeping

[drbrad25]

Hi Everyone,
Well i have had quite an induction of fire into the world of fishkeeping. Thanks to everyone who replied under emergencies and gave me advice. My tank has been set up for about 5 weeks now (4 of those weeks i have had fish). My first fish were 6 platies that seemed to go fine for about a week (tank had appeared to stop cycling) and then when i added four bristlenose catfish, things went to hell. The catfish died after about 3 days (couldn't find any problems with the water,ie. NH4, nitrite were 0). Then the platies started to drop off (i think it was ich cause they were covered in white spots). Mum added 9 neons without telling me and then they died after a few days (also due to ich as they were aso covered in white spots). So finally i was left with one platy who seemed fine. When the ich outbreak was on I cranked up the temperature to try and kill the ich and did regular water changes (once every 3 days), but i think it was too little too late.

Everything has been fine with my last fish for the last weeks so today, i decided i'd take my water to the fish store to get tested and if it was clear, to get more fish. The water was fine and so i got, one more platy and 4 guppies.

Basically i want to avert this disaster ever again. I can't think what triggered the original deaths and then the outbreak of ich. I thought it could have been the way i was maintaining my tank, so i was hoping for some feedback on what i do from you.
My water is kept at 26 degrees Celsius, and i have an overhead filter with a powerhead.
Every week i do a 10% water change treated with AquaPlus and do my best to clean the gravel (hard cause there are lots of plants).
Once a month i clean the filter material in some tank water.

The other thing i thought could have caused problems is that the bristlenose were diseased in the fish store and that spread to the whole tank. Has anyone had that happen before? To be safe, i've decided to change fish stores, it's no loss cause they are actually quite rude most of the time.

Is there anything else i should be doing to my tank?

Thanks,
Brad

 

[pondfreak4365]

hi DrBrad25,
I always quarantine new fish for 3 weeks before introducing them to the community tank. I do change a bit more water during weekly maintenance, but if all the params are good, you should be fine. It's quite possible that the bristlenose were diseased. My understanding of ich, is that it's present many times in tanks without causing a real problem. During times when fish are stressed they are more susceptible to illness. Best of luck with your new waterbabies.