Starting over

[HayleYoyo]

So if anyone has seen my last few post, they know I’ve been having a lot of problems with my 35 gallon tank.

I had 6 of my bettas die from dropsy without reason, and more then half my Neon Tetras Disappear.

Small case of ick on my remaining

I thought I finally had it under control. The ick has gone, and my tetras were no longer going anywhere. But then I woke up to my aquarium 2/3rds empty.... because of a canister filter came undone.

I refilled my tank, tested the ammonia levels to make sure my media wasn’t dead, and I was lucky safe.

However, my last betta has bloat, and I can’t find yet another tetra. The bloat turned into dropsy.

I honestly don’t know what to do at this point.

I was thinking about tearing down the whole tank, and starting over, incase there is a parasite in the tank, though I had installed a uvc, so I’d be surprised.

How do I sanitize all my plants, and gravel and tubing?

Do you guys think this is the best way to go?

[HayleYoyo]

After doing tones of research I’m pretty sure my fishes had Columnaris. The suggest method for getting rid of it in an aquarium is of course meds, unavailable in Canada. I did find an article that recommend salt. Has any one tried this?

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/columnaris-symptoms-and-treatment.263058/

[tanksalot360]

So many canisters end up in a secondary container....sry this happened to you.

If you see red worms hanging from the fish's vent, Levamisole can paralyze the worms - PM me if you'd like to try this route.

Bleach dips of plants ornaments, gravel, equipment, along with peroxide will help sterilize everything if you want to restart. Follow bleach treatments with heavy dechlorination rinses/soaks (prime).

Also a good idea to quarantine plants, I will clean off the wool (fertilizer) then at least overnight the plants in a secondary container.

Whether you sterilize or not, I would be tempted to pretend like you are cycling the tank again if possible. Start with large bodied tetras. Or just bandaid the system with the best filter media- purigen!

Do you have tannins in the water - driftwood will help condition things for all tetras and almond leaves can help general with betta ailments.

[HayleYoyo]

So many canisters end up in a secondary container....

what does this mean?

If you see red worms hanging from the fish's vent, Levamisole can paralyze the worms - PM me if you'd like to try this route.

no I haven't seen any worms. Actually I haven't seen any worms. Detritus or otherwise.

I do quarantine all my plants before I get them, but usually just in a copper solution. I was
More worried about pest then parasites. I should have just done a cleave dip.

I also use driftwood and almond leafs. I recently added a carbon filter as a last ditch effort. Just incase my tank is suffering from some kind of contamination, so the tannins aren't helping much anymore

[tanksalot360]

Eventually canister orings get old and crack, a hair gets caught in the seal or plastic gets worn down to where small leaks happen, and people put their canisters in a bucket for assurances. Keeping orings lubed with silicon lubricant and making sure you don't overfill the filter with media to have it clog causing some additional internal pressure help to prevent that. That said, I still love the versatility and otherwise dependable canister filters.

If you haven't seen the worms, they're likely not camallanus, but it's still possible that there are Internal parasites, but we don't have access to proper treatment anymore. Waterchanges are your friend, did I mention purigen is recharged with bleach? I only bring up purigen again because it absorbs everything! And has saved fish in the past.

I recently ran a few fish thru 3-4 meds, and frequent waterchanges over 2 weeks, nothing seemed to help, but fish continued to eat. While the meds didn't appear to work, I added a bag of purigen (15$) and the improved water quality that went beyond waterchanges really helped the fish out and they recovered swiftly. So whether the purigen helped remove residual medication that was irritating the fish, organics or something else unmeasurable, the improved water quality helped the fish recover on their own.

Sounds pretty good- copper will sterilize against new parasites and clean snails and hydra(?) from plants - just rinse really well if you have other invertebrates.

I hate to see you go thru this, fish are obviously very vulnerable and all you can do is provide the best possible care you can (which I see that you are), experiences like these do make you a better fish keeper in the long run. Hang in there