Restocking after ich

[Bettapuppy]

I have a 10 gallon tank that currently has one female betta, 3 neon tetra, 3 amano shrimp, and one zebra nerite snail. I had an outbreak of ich and fin rot in my tank last week shortly after I introduced 8 neon tetra and new plant. I treated my tank with RidIch Plus, water changes with a good gravel vacuum (part of the dosing instructions), and aquarium salt for 5 days. I keep the tank at 78 degrees. Both the ich and fin rot cleared up within a few days. I ended up loosing 5 of the neon tetra. The last fatality was on the 25th. I'm aware that neon tetra are schooling fish that do best in groups of 6 to 10. How long should I wait before adding more Neons to the tank?

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Usually you have to continue treatment for another 7-10 days after all the ich have gone.(when all the fish are clear from ich).
This is to treat the remaining ich that are in eggs form.

You can only add new fish after you have completed all treatment.
If possible, get another tank to quarantine your new fish.
By the way, 10 gallons may not be big enough when your Neon grows bigger.

 

[Colin_T]

How long should I wait before adding more Neons to the tank?

At least 2 (preferably 4) weeks before you add anything new to the tank.

If you have a quarantine tank, you can put some new fish in that and move them into the main display tank in a few weeks if they and the original remaining fish are all healthy.

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

I would say to wait until you are 100% sure there is no ich, I would also recommend you to remove the snails and have them in a separate aquarium, and if you can, get some medicated food that won't kill them since ich needs snails to complete its life cycle. As for the tetra, once you are sure you have no ich in your aquarium, you set up a hospital/quarantine tank and house your new tetra there for a month using preventive medicines for bacteria, viruses, and both internal and external parasites. Once the month is over and they don't present any signs of illness then you can add them to your tank, by the way, buy more than you think you need, trust me you will love it, I at first only had 3 otocinclus then 1 died and I bought another 2, 1 had cancer and the other committed suicide and so decided to go to the store and buy 3 (ya know to have the recommended 5 to 6), but I bought 6 and now I am super glad I did since now that they are 8 they just act like a hurricane going around in a tight shoal looking for veggies and algae throughout the tank and doing some quite funny stuff too, we think we know how fish act in groups but the larger the group the more unique and unexpected/funny behavior you will see.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

you set up a hospital/quarantine tank and house your new tetra there for a month using preventive medicines for bacteria, viruses, and both internal and external parasites.

Please, please don't use anti-bacterial meds without knowing exactly what you're treating, and not as a preventative measure. Antibiotic resistance is a real problem, and it's caused by the misuse of antibiotics like this.

I'd agree that it's worth worming new fish while in quarantine, but medicines also cause stress to fish, along with antibiotic resistance being a problem, so I wouldn't preventatively medicate for anything viral or bacterial unless you see symptoms that need to be treated. Since fish are so often exposed to worms while being farmed or in store, and can carry a worm burden for months before showing signs, worming while in quarantine makes sense. But it doesn't make sense to broad stroke treat for viruses or bacteria that likely aren't there, and would show symptoms if they were. Keep the water clean and watch the fish every day - that's what quarantine is for.

Wholly agree that you see the best out of schooling fish when they have the right numbers! Otos are one of my favourite fish, and they thrive when kept in the right numbers, in an established tank with pristine water. They are also famously delicate and struggle a lot with shipping. My LFS lost their entire recent oto shipment in one night. Even in a very established, well algaed tank with pristine water, I've lost one from each batch I've bought, so choosing carefully when to buy them and looking for healthy specimens is crucial with otos in particular.

Getting one or two extra when buying schooling fish isn't a bad idea, as far as they're concerned, the more the better. As long as your tank can support than many should they all survive. But especially with otos, I'd get a couple more than you'd planned with how delicate they are. Just remember to substitute with extra algae wafers a couple of times a week or if they get through the tank algae faster than expected. Check for nice rounded tummies when they're stuck to the glass. A flat belly is a starving otocinclus. But they're a wonderful fish in the right tank and in the right numbers!

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

Please, please don't use anti-bacterial meds without knowing exactly what you're treating, and not as a preventative measure. Antibiotic resistance is a real problem, and it's caused by the misuse of antibiotics like this.

I'd agree that it's worth worming new fish while in quarantine, but medicines also cause stress to fish, along with antibiotic resistance being a problem, so I wouldn't preventatively medicate for anything viral or bacterial unless you see symptoms

yes, I forgot to say that, sorry.

Wholly agree that you see the best out of schooling fish when they have the right numbers! Otos are one of my favourite fish, and they thrive when kept in the right numbers, in an established tank with pristine water. They are also famously delicate and struggle a lot with shipping. My LFS lost their entire recent oto shipment in one night. Even in a very established, well algaed tank with pristine water, I've lost one from each batch I've bought, so choosing carefully when to buy them and looking for healthy specimens is crucial with otos in particular.

Getting one or two extra when buying schooling fish isn't a bad idea, as far as they're concerned, the more the better. As long as your tank can support than many should they all survive. But especially with otos, I'd get a couple more than you'd planned with how delicate they are. Just remember to substitute with extra algae wafers a couple of times a week or if they get through the tank algae faster than expected. Check for nice rounded tummies when they're stuck to the glass. A flat belly is a starving otocinclus. But they're a wonderful fish in the right tank and in the right numbers!

in my experience otos have been really hardy, and, from the 3 ones that passed away only 1 was a mystery, the second one jumped out of the tank and the third had cancer . otos are also some of my favorites, such cute fish!!, when I say buying 1 or 2 extra I don't say it with die-offs in mind but rather for the joy of giving them extra friends.
as for oto care, I agree with you, only clean well-established tanks should have ottos, I do 40% water changes twice a week to keep my water pristine, I supplement their diet with lettuce, cucumber, and algae wafers and give them an extra food source I add leaf litter and wood chips to my tank (of course I make sure they are fish safe) and yes! if your otos have a flat stomach they are sad and hungry, mine are so fat that you would say they are pregnant if you saw them for the first time and as a result of such care they are always swimming around in a loose school (which means they aren't stressed or harassed by other fish) just being the cutes goof-balls ever bringing me joy whenever I see them, I am in fact thinking about buying another 10 gallons after I get my new 30 gallons well established and converting that new 10 gallons in an otos only paradise.