All but one fish died, when to get new ones?

[NyFish]

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[NyFish]

Hi...
I've posted here a few times in the past few weeks. I had 14 fish (for several months), but then decided to purchase 4 fish from a chain pet store... Within 2 days, 2 died... then, the 3rd died... then all my fish broke out with ICK and the 4th died... Within 3 days my 6 tetras died... my 6 tiger barbs... and today my big flame dwarf gourami died (who was alwasy so active and healthy!!). He had ICK Sooo bad and I treated it, but he didn't make it!!

So, now i have ONE fish left... a BLUE GOURAMI... who seems perfectly active and healthy (no signs of ICK at all)... But, I don't want him to get lonely!!

When is it good to introduce new fish? Should I do anything specific? i cleaned the water (50%) and all my water levels are "safe" and/or "normal"...

Thansk!!

[Emg]

It might be a good idea to wait awhile to be sure there's no more ick in there...........I think 3 weeks at least.......If all is well with the water you can add another fish, just don't toss in too many all at once or you may end up with some more floaters.....

The bio filter needs to gradually adjust to the addition of new fish...if you put too many in at once it overloads the system and you get a little cycle that may ill effect your fish.

I would definitely go to a different store to purchase the next fish....and try setting up a QT tank so that if you have issues with the new ones, you won't pass it on to the display tank and the gourami that survived.

[NyFish]

Thanks Emg... I did a 50% WC and treated the tank with drops to make sure there is no ICH left and I will buy more fish this weekend... The LFS i usually go to is good with recomending what types of fish (and how many...).

I have ONE Blue Gourami (the sole survivor ...), who is now pretty big (about 2-3 inches)... So, i will look for fish to go well with him...

[Bunny13]

How long has your tank been without ich. Ich has several lifestages and only one of those stages is visible. I would bump the heat up a little and wait, at the very least, a week. The heat will speed up the ich cycle and you will be able to see if there is still ich in your tank. I'm not a fan of ich drops you buy at the store. I have found they can be just as stressful on the fish as the disease. I prefer to treat with salt and when I have used salt I have very few if any fish losses. Next time you have ich I would look into salt treatment. You might have better luck.

I agree with Emg. Quartintine all new fish. You can buy them this weekend but put them in a new tank (it can be small, 5-10gallons.) Ask the LFS or someone in the area for some used filter media or gravel to jump the cycle but don't use filter media from your tank because it might still have ich in it. Keep the new fish in quarentine for 2 weeks so you can watch them. During these 2 weeks watch your main tank for more ich.

[Trixie]

I have also used the higher temp/salt treatment for ich. It is rather labor-intensive, but I have never lost a fish that way. Or any plants for that matter.