How do I start over?

[Confetto]

Over the last week, both Zamboni and Miso passed. (Mystery snail & Koi Betta) I had posted here about Miso having frayed/blown fins and even with treatment, he stopped swimming about the tank, only responding to me coming up to the tank with for food. Yesterday he didn't eat & last night I discovered he passed.

In the past, I kept bettas (veil tails) for years with a lesser quality of care - not a bad fishkeeper, just inexperienced. This time I did more research, better quality tank, parameters, live plants and regular upkeep and didn't make it a year.

Tonight my tank houses two anubias plants and a bucephalandra. There's some patches of algae as Zamboni is no longer patrolling, but all the parameters are reading safe.

My question now is how do I start over?  Do a drain & clean the tank? If so, what do I do about the plants if I remove the gravel to clean it? Now that no one is pooping in the tank, will the plants do alright with limited bio load until I get another fish? Is now the time to get the bigger tank and start from scratch? 

I suppose I could look all this up online, but today my heart is heavy & I miss my boys. 

[CJs Aquatics]

I’m sorry for your loss, it’s always a heavy weight when things like that happen. First things first. If you are unaware of the cause of death it probably still resides in the tank, unless it was something that needs a host, and should be eradicated before trying to add new life. At least that’s probably what the internet would say. Let’s assume it is for the sake of the info. You would sanitize and remove everything associated with the sick tank. That would include nets, heaters, filters if applicable, substrate, the tank itself etc. a diluted bleach solution can be used for this as long as it is rinsed very, very well. Declorinator such as seachem safe can be added as an extra precaution. Some people use other things such as salt baths, peroxide etc. but the point is your essentially starting from scratch with a new clean tank and equipment. Try your best with multiple tanks to avoid cross contamination. Substrate depending on what it is can be cleaned as well or baked etc. etc. the plants you listed will need to be placed in water of some kind while you are going through this process. From there you set the tank back up as you like, and start your tank cycling completely from scratch. After cycled you will add the livestock (after quarantining them) and your off to the races. Another practice could be just medicating the tank itself for a few weeks to hopefully kill off whatever is in it without going through the process of moving things destroying things etc. basically that’s treatment from the inside out and depending on what meds you use your cycle could remain intact or it still may need re- cycled. I’m under the impression most fish at the pet stores are carrying something so it’s entirely possible that even after all this work the next fish you bring home carry something else to the tank. Call me lazy, or whatever the case but I promise I’ve been through similar situations and this is what I would do in this one. I would do water changes until it adds up to 100% over the course of a few days. That’s about it. I feel like we over medicate things, I feel like we play doctor essentially, but unless the next fish you get display signs of something, it could very honestly have just been the slightest swing was stressful enough to bring something out of them they already had, or something already present in your tank that’s been dormant etc. There will always be obstacle’s unfortunately, but there is also magic which makes it worth it. If your params are good like you said, and everything is going well, I would let nature do nature and only intervene if I knew something was going on that needed me too. An analogy would be something like: just bc the person sitting next to you or someone in your house has a cold, doesn’t mean you will get one, or even that it increases the likelihood of it. It could go the other way and you could get one, and then need medicine, but you wouldn’t start taking medicine most likely bc someone you live with has a cold if that makes sense. This is just my 2 cents, Any course of action you take is completely at your discretion and also ok and everyone has different thoughts and experiences, I just was hoping by sharing something in this it may help, and I hope it does. 

[ScandiDefense]

On 4/20/2023 at 12:39 PM, CJs Aquatics said:

An analogy would be something like: just bc the person sitting next to you or someone in your house has a cold, doesn’t mean you will get one, or even that it increases the likelihood of it. It could go the other way and you could get one, and then need medicine, but you wouldn’t start taking medicine most likely bc someone you live with has a cold if that makes sense. 

Wow! That analogy is so spot on! Everything makes more sense to me now. I will never view medication for fish in the same way ever again!

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I agree with @CJs Aquatics you can approach this from multiple ways. Everyone will tell you something different. Letting a tank just sit without a host most things will die and I'd still have a eco system. You could consider getting a Nerite snail for a nanny in the tank while you decide where to go next. 

Some people would say just to play it safe you could do the ACO med trio in the tank when you populate it again, not only treating whatever the incoming fish might have but any sign of what may have effected the last inhabitants. This isn't a bad option either. 

I had a vet that did a spay surgery on my pet Rat years ago, he said to me when I picked her up that he would prescribe me pain meds if I insisted however his philosophy was that feeling pain is not a bad thing. It's part of the healing process and the animal's body will tell them when they should not be doing something, like moving, when their body needs them to rest. That statement made more sense to me than most anything in my life. So I don't personally medicate myself or my animals unless it's necessary. (Not just for pain but illness)

This is a personal choice though and you should do what's best for you and your situation and don't let anyone let you feel bad about that choice! 😁

I'm really very sorry for your loss. I don't care what anyone says, Betta fish are hard and sometimes they pass mysteriously. I think they're a lot like cats, they don't show weakness until it's too late- it's part of the nature of predators/fighters. I've also had bad luck with some beloved Mystery Snails in the past. I feel for you,  big time. Take your time to mourn the loss but stock the tank again when you feel it's time.