Ich Killed My Whole Tank!

[josh63762]

Hay all this is quite a sad story so prepare. Yourselves I have a 97 L / 25 gal which I just started restocking over 2 weeks I had 2 mono angels 15 neon tetras and 2 very small pangasios sharks and 1 raphal catfish I planted the tank and within a week I woke up one day to find all my fish to have white spot within 2-4 days DURING HEAT SALT AND ICH MEDICATION!!!! They all passed now I am sitting with 1 pangasios shark who survived the ordeal but a day later has caught a very bad fungal infection and I don't think he will see tom my question is if he goes there will be no fish left in the tank how can I totally get rid of all the disease in the tank should I empty all the water and dry the tank out coz no treatment other medication has worked and the scary thing is I caught the ich early tank what should I do I want to restock but not if they all going to die again

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Was your tank cycled before adding all these fish?  If so, how was it cycled.
 
I've had a terrible ich outbreak but sounds rather extreme to be just due to ich, it makes me wonder if you had a new tank and they got poisoned by ammonia.

 

[josh63762]

No that's the thing I had the angels in there for about a month prior and they where fine even I am shocked at the severity everything I have read say its normally easy to get rid of

How do I make sure this isn't carried to my next batch of fish how can I clean the tank and Plants?

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Ich can sometimes be very hard to get rid of.  A few months back I had my first ever really bad batch of ich and lost a bunch of fry and later two adult fish as well.
 
You shouldn't do both salt and medication at the same time, by the way.

 

[josh63762]

Oh Why? I was unaware. Of that maybe that helped kill them? What can I do to totally rid this is it true that it dies within 3 days of not having a host?

 

[fluttermoth]

It takes longer than three days; could be as long as 60 or 70 days. If you lose the last fish, I'd be inclined to strip the tank down totally; you'll have to recycle it afterwards, of course.
 
I feel I ought to mention that if you only had the two monos in there and added the rest of fish (most of which weren't suitable for tank anyway, tbh), you probably did have an ammonia spike which, if it didn't kill the fish directly, would have stressed them and left them open to catching other diseases like the whitespot.
 
If you don't have a set of decent, liquid test kits already, you should definitely get some before you consider cycling/restocking.

 

[josh63762]

ok will do so what do you mean by tear down should I change the substrate completely (sand) and how do I disinfect the filter

 

[attibones]

It would probably be best to remove all decor and substrate, clean out the tank using a white vinegar and water solution (1:10). You should probably go ahead and remove your filter media and start again with fresh. This will help you be totally sure there is nothing left in the tank.

 

[josh63762]

its a sponge filter that's in there now can I not soak it in bleach or something

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What's the point in that - honestly?  Soaking it in bleach will kill all your bacteria anyway - and until ALL the bleach has been removed from it, it will remain inhospitable to new bacteria colonizing it.  Just bin the old sponge and get a fresh one - easier, safer and better in the long run.  Sponges are fairly cheap.  (Of course, its always easier to spend someone else's money.)  But honestly, you'll end up spending more with water changes and dechlorinator if you bleach the old one and use it again (fish in cycle) or in test kit solution (fishless cycle). 
 
The way to be 100% sure its all gone is to start from scratch...

 

[DoubleDutch]

Huh, Ich is one of the easiest illnesses to cure. Don't need bleach for that !!!
But I don't think it was Ich (alone). I think your tank is (over)stocked with fisg that don't belong in it (sorry) what's making the problems.
Little Pangasius Like this ones

Even Angels don't belong in a 97 Liter tank !!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ich can be a bit stubborn at times.  The good news is that unlike so many other diseases, its fairly obvious to diagnose and therefore far easier to treat than many "mystery" diseases.
 
 
I agree though that what brought on the ich (and probably made things worse for treating the ich) was the stress with the wrong fish in this tank.  It might have been partially caused by ammonia, and partly by cramped quarters.   The root cause is not always the "cause of death" - it just opens the door to the secondary infections, which ultimately leads to death.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Agree with that, though in 95% of the cases every white spot (also the larger ones) on fish is diagnosed as Ich.
It often appears to be some kind of bacterial infection due to bad waterconditions / ocverstocking aso.

If ich the parasite will damage the (slime)skin and the fish will get secondary infections indeed.

Still think the stocking is the problem overhere, with all possible infections as result.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I agree... my point with the diagnosis being, that very rarely does true 'ich' get misdiagnosed.  Although other things can be mistaken for ich.  (If that makes sense?)

 

[TwoTankAmin]

A bit of misinformation here on the ich life cycle and treatments etc. Here is an excellent piece on ich, its life cycle, how to treat it etc. It is published by:
1. This document is CIR920, one of a series of the Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date March 1991. Revised May 2009. Reviewed November 2012. Visit the EDIS website at http/edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. Ruth Francis-Floyd, IFAS Extension veterinarian, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, and Peggy Reed, biological scientist, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences; Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
 
http/edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa006