Whitespot And Now No Fish. What Next For Our Tank?

[phoebejo]

Just over two weeks ago we bought two small fantails to go in our Bio Orb tank. It was a new set up and we left it running with the filter on for over 24 hours before adding fish. At the same time as we put the fantails in we put some live plants in too.

 

Three days later (last Saturday) we found one of the fish dead. He'd shown no signs of illness at all so we were a bit shocked. The following day we took his dead body back to the shop along with a sample of water from the tank. We then learnt that all of the fantails had been taken off sale as they were being treated for whitespot. So our fish were ill when we bought them. Salt, the dead fish had been dead in the tank for around three hours before we found him, during which time bacteria from his decomposing body had affected the water quality. We were advised to start treating for whitespot, do a 30% water change, 25% two days later, same again two days later and again two days after that before taking another sample in to be tested.

 

On Monday the other fish, Peppa, developed a whitespot on his tail. Over the next few days he's become progressively worse and this morning has died. Molly was actually with him when he died so he didn't remain in the tank once he'd gone.

 

We're due to take the sample of water to the shop on Sunday. We also have the offer of replacement fish which I will not be taking them up on

 

What should we do next with the tank? The filter is still running, we've left the plants in and obviously the water contains treatment for whitespot. How long should we leave it before buying new fish? How long will the infection live on in the tank? Should we just empty it, throw away the plants and start again? It's due another 25% water change tomorrow, should we still do that?

 

Help!

[Sophie]

Sorry to hear about Peppa

 

I am definitely not an expert, but from what I remember from when we had a whitespot outbreak in our tank, if you can raise the temperature in the tank, you can speed up the lifecycle of the whitespot parasites. They can only be killed by the treatment during one stage of the lifecycle, so need to up the temperature, treat every other day applying the treatment 3 times, and it should clear the tank. If you don't have a heater in the tank, maybe try putting it in direct sunlight (should be fine as it doesn't have any fish in it currently). I don't know enough about the whole setting up stage (the fish were my OHs really) to say whether it might be easier to start again from scratch.

[yena]

I used to keep cold water fish many years ago and I know whitespot is a killer. I was always careful were I brought my fish from, usual keeping to the same pet shop. I also would check the fish one at a time, to make sure they were ok, checking for tears in tails/fins, loss of scales or any signs of disease. Many a time I've told them I didn't want a fish because it didn't look well. I never had to deal with whitespot, so honestly can't say now to treat it. But, I would of thought if you've treated the water it would also treat the plants and gravel, so it should be ok. I would just buy a couple of fish to start with, making sure they survive before buying others.

[cycas]

If you do decide to empty and start over, I would be inclined to cycle the tank before putting more fish in it? Poor Salt and Peppa were ill anyway, of course, but apparently putting fish straight into a new tank is not recommended nowadays because it does put them under a lot of stress until the tank ecosystem stabilises.

 

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

 

if you google fishless cycling (yes, really!) you'll find lots more. Most of the resources talk about tropical fish but it also applies to cold water fish.

 

According to this article: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

 

the tank should definitely be whitespot free if you leave it empty for a couple of weeks, which would also allow you to cycle it.

[Lainey]

I've always used salt to treat my fish- i buy 10kg sacks of pond salt from my local fish supplier and it has got rid of many things in the past. I now use it religiously and i havent had any diseases or illnesses for years. It is great for stressed fish as well and i always add some salt when introducing new fish. it also works equally well in the pond and has the added bonus of keeping the water clear- fantastic stuff

I usually go on a measurement of 1 tablespoon of pond salt per 5 gallon of water

[PRO-GALGO UK]

You need to be waiting at least a week before putting fish into a new tank, and use CYCLE or similar bacteria culture, or a piece of filter from an existing tank, to get yours going.

 

Fan tails are extremely sensitive fish due to their intensive breeding and I would say dont put one in until the tank is a good 6 months old. Start with some hardy fish, just 1 or 2 to get the tank going. And dont overload the tank. Bio-orbs arent brilliant tanks and goldfish are very messy fish, pooing out most of the food they eat. Id say 4 is probably the most you can expect to get in a bio-orb.

 

Also with live plants in goldfish tanks they tend to eat them and create even more waste.

[jane-f]

The biorb isnt really designed for putting goldfish in to,(although i know it states on the box)

they are messy fish and the filters cant cope with them, not to mention they do grow

and grow, my last gold fish i had to give, as they did out grow the tank,

they was in a 24" tank and they grow to over 8 inches, they now live in a friends pond,

for the biorb it would be better to put smaller fish in,

mountain minnow or something like guppy's are ideal, although they are tropical - they can live in lower temps,

 

 

you need to cycle the tank for at least a couple of weeks, until your ammonia levels have dropped,

white spot can be cured easily, but the stress of moving to a new tank and the tank not being cycled could have

lowered there amunity (sp) even more - so they couldn't fight it.