Starting again after major epidemic

[Andrew G]

I recently had an outbreak of columnaries and lost mostly all of my fish. (It spread like wildfire in just 1 day). I'm left with one small oto in a 15 gallon tank. Is that enough to get the cycle going again? Would cardinal of neon tetras be good fish to start over with? (I'm looking for some colorful hardy fish). How many for a 15 gal? What precautions regarding medication and preparation should be taken to avoid another epidemic?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

How long has it been since you had the outbreak? Neons and cardinal tetras are not good fish to cycle a tank with as they can be very fragile and die off at the slightest trace of nitrites or nitrates, platys would be much better and are very hardy little fish although in mixed gender groups they can produce alot of fry on a monthly basis...

 

[oneponygirl]

Hey, I personally haven't had to deal with this but I think people will want to know if the tank and stuff have been cleaned, what you medicated with, is it the same water or have you done water changes, how long has it been and stuff like that.



p.s. I just moved here from Newport, used to live off lower Thames.

 

[Andrew G]

I am religious about water changes and preform them at recommended intervals. The outbreak caught me by surprise, as I had just done maintenance a few days before and everyone looked fine. The pleco was the first to go and several hours later, one by one, the zebra's started gilling and dying off. It happened so quickly that I didn't have a change to fully medicate. For some reason, the oto survived. I'm currently keeping a close lookout on him. I haven't cleaned the main tank yet , however, I have done a 50% water change on it. The hospital tank has been completely disinfected, including unfortunately the cycled gravel.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What are your recent nitrate, nitrite and ammonia stats and how long has it been since the outbreak?

 

[Andrew G]

The most recent nitrate, nitrite and ammonia stats are all zero. It's been one day since the outbreak. Sunday morning they all looked fine. Sunday night several were dead.