Ok So All My Fish Have Died

[NoRp]

about a week after my tank is fully cycled all my fish started to devolop a white fuzzy fungus type thing on them
i think it may have been ich or mouth fungus not sure. i tried treating the tank with 1 tbl spoon of salt per 5 gallons but it was tolate. i was wondering do i need to complety strip down my tank and recycle it or what?
im going to head down to my pet store in about an hour and ask there advice but im sure they will just try and sell me something. so i was wondering what you guys thought. ive had quite a few tanks in my time but this one has been the hardest to keep on top of. ive had mainly wild guppies and a few platys. i think i did slightly overstock during the cycle period so i get the feeling this could all be partyly my fault
my ammonim is now at 0 along with nitrite
nitrate at about 30
ph is around 7 has fluctatied slightly over passed few days but im led to belive this is kinda normal and fish can deal withit as long as its a slow process and not a large jump.

any advice would be great
thanks in advance
--NoRp

 

[tttnjfttt]

Personally, I would steralize everything and re-cycle the tank. The reason for this is your fish died from Columnaris, a bacterial disease that is highly lethal. I would want to make sure that it is totally out of the tank before re-using it.

When I had gotten my grandma a betta, the first one came home with columnaris and died very quickly. I thought I had cleaned the tank very well, and bought a very healthy and very active betta, who also subcumed to the disease. After boiling EVERYTHING and neuking the tank with a massive dose of antibacterial meds, i was able to keep a fish in it.

 

[Marcos]

How long did the cycle take?
How many fish did you innitially add?

 

[NoRp]

i listen to the guy in my shop lol bad idea
he told me to buy 5 wait a week but 5 wait aweek and buy 5 then everytihng would be ok

i brought 4 waited a week brought 3
4 died
waited a week brought 3
4 died
waited a week brought 2
4 died
waited one more week tank was fully cycled brought 2 more
all three just died


the problem with empyting and redoing all over is that i have around 20 apple snails and some pretty expensive plants in there. i understand recylcing is the 100% way but for me that would have to be the last resort

 

[tttnjfttt]

How big of a tank do you have? You need to take into account the snails when you decide how many fish you can have, as snails also produce waste.

Also, you need to be careful using salt with snails and wiht plants, it can damage them.

At a minimum, i would dose the tank with an antibiotic, just to make sure the columnaris is out. Do you have a hospital tank you can keep the plants and snails in? This way, you could turn off the heater which would make it easier to get rid of the columnaris.

 

[FishOwner]

Then leave the tank fishless for 6 weeks or longer. While you are waiting, make sure to do weekly water changes, and vacuum the gravel when you do them. When the time is up, add one or two small fish at a time, wait two weeks, then add another one or two. After that you should be able to add a couple more fish in a week. Do a water change the day before you add more fish. And make sure to not overstock the tank!
BTW, never add more fish to a dying tank. Try to find and correct the problem before adding more fish. I know how hard it can be to wait but patience really is a virtue in this hobby!

 

[NoRp]

thanks 2by1by1 foot the snails are still only small and yeah i understand that the salt could have damaged them and the plants but i was down to my last few fish just wanted to save them. ima head over to my pet store now and see what they gots. i live in the uk any specific products i should try and get or just anu antibiotic?
also will the antibiotic kill some of the benificeal bacteria?

 

[Marcos]

I'd go to another shop. What he told you was cr*p, if the shop's own staff doesn't know how to look after fish there's a good chance thier own fish may not be in that good condition.

 

[blackguppy]

Hi NoRp. I'd strip the tank and sterilize it, and everything in it, with hot salt water and start again. I'd also suggest that you read up on tank cycling, and stock the tank much slower the next time around. I blame the staff at the fish store this time, but now that you know better, it's up to you to approach this the proper way from now on. Take your time letting the tank get cycled, and it'll pay off in the long run.