Only fish died, bacteria die-off?

[rsanz]

My only fish died, how can I keep my bacteria from dying-off?

Hi all. Well, as I suspected, my Dwarf Gourami died today. He had been becoming slightly discolored for a few days, just like my previous Dwarf Gourami had before he died. Now, I plan on getting more fish, but I want to be sure of a few things.

1. How can I make sure that the bacteria in my cycled tank will not die off? I need to sustain the cycled tank in order to house my new fish.

2. Should I "sterilize" the tank from the dead gourami? I know I shouldn't clean it out with soap or anything, but is there anything I can do and still maintain the cycled bacteria to sterilize the system?

Thanks for your help, all.

Godspeed, Tang. :sad:

 

[plah831]

you could place the filter media or run the entire filter on another tank to keep the good bacteria fed. I like to use a dilute bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) to sterilize tanks and equipment. After cleaning, rinse everything really well until the smell is gone. I also like to swish it out with some water with extra dechlorinator in it. Bleach is a concentrated chlorine compound so is removed by the tap water conditioner

 

[rsanz]

I don't have another tank. Just the one. Could I possibly just add some flakes in there, let them decompose to produce ammonia to feed the bacteria?

If I do that, though, how can I be sure that my next fish won't catch whatever it was that killed my gourami?

 

[jeffs99dime]

what are your water parameters?

 

[rsanz]

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
pH: 7.8

 

[wataugachicken]

you can take your gravel out and rinse it well, change out all the water, then put the gravel back, put the water back, add dechlorinator, then turn the filter back on. feed with flakes or a little chunk of raw shrimp. only do the shrimp if you're not going to get a new fish in less than a week, it'll take time to decompose.

 

[rsanz]

Wouldn't that kill off all the bacteria, though?

 

[wataugachicken]

the bacteria is in your filter. as long as you don't let it dry out, you provide it with a food source, and don't let chlorinated water run through it, the bacteria will survive. there are minimal amounts that live in highly oxygenated areas of the tank (like the very top surface of the substrate) but not many. just add dechlor before running the filter.

 

[rsanz]

So, should I just take some of the tank water that's currently in the tank and soak the biowheel while I clean out everything else?