Ich wiped out my tank - what do I do?

[redryder]

I must have noticed it too late, because even though I bought a heater and medication, my fish all died anyway.

Since I want to change gravel anyway, I don't mind throwing it away.

Do I have to throw away my plants? I'd really like to keep the Java moss - its the most expensive plant I have.

Do I have to throw away the biological media in the filter? What about the filter sponge?

[vinz]

Actually, keep the tank running and salt the water. It will kill all the ich larvae still in the tank.

Or, when you are cycling the new setup, salt the water.

No need to throw anything away.

For details about type and amount of salt and duration, please search the forum. I've forgotten the details. I think it's two weeks. Good to do it while there are no shrimp and snails in the tank.

If I remember correctly, the ich will lay eggs while on the fish, but the eggs will fall off into the water, therefore be present everywhere in your tank. They will than hatch and the larvae will float until it can attach to a fish. Then the cycle repeats. Salting the tank kills the larvae and breaks the cycle.

[stormhawk]

In cases of a severe infestation, I would advise you to get rid of the filter media as well, especially since your tank was wiped out totally by it. You can "sanitise" the media by microwaving it in a plastic microwaveable container with some water at High setting for about 10m. It kills the bacteria but destroys the cysts. In any case, you can easily reseed the media with those proprietary bacteria starters from the LFS and begin the cycling process.

If you already planned to throw away the gravel, just do it and change to a brand new one. During this stage of the clean-up you can use a little potassium permanganate solution to cleanse the tank, if you're planning to wash it clean. It usually kills any leftover free-swimming larvae.

Alternatively, you can just get a proprietary ich medication like Sera Costapur, and dose the entire tank (plants, gravel included) for the required duration in combination with increased temperature via the heater. Anything above 30 degC for about a week or two should kill any free-swimming larvae. They cannot find new hosts to infest and will die off naturally if there are no new fish added to the tank during this period of time.