My 55g fish tank just lost all its fish, I desperatly am seeking advice.

+1 for everything said, just wanted to say welcome!

don't sweat the mistake...it happens and now you'll know what you are doing...

have you given any thoughts to what kind of fish you woud eventually like to keep after the tank has gone through it's cycle??

joeyburger said :hello and welcome! sorry for your loss and the tank troubles...!
oscars can grow at a rate of 1 inch a month until they get about 10- 11 inch then they'll slow down. imho a 55g is barely big enough for a single Oscar, seeing how they have a big bio-load and are very messy eaters also. having a few danios and an Oscar together imo is trouble in the making...the Oscar may see the danios as a snack rather than friendly tankmates. i am not trying to discourage you or anything in that nature...just trying to help you avoid futrue troubles. i have oscars myself (2 albino & 1 tiger) along with a Jack Dempsey and they are housed in a 125g for now.

When you clean everything with either vinegar or bleach and water mixture ,be sure and clean the filter as well ,and purchase new cartridges,pads,sponges or whatever kind of filter material the filter holds.
Rinse evrything three or four times and let dry completely before using it in the aquarium.
Three or four small danios will work to provide source of ammonia for the bacteria that is needed to feed on , but they would in my view,represent a small bioload and thus when placing much more than one or two small fish in your tank after the tank has (cycled) you would still see a rise in ammonia levels. Certainly an Oscar is capable of producing much more waste, (ammonia) than a small group of danios. This sudden increase in waste(ammonia) will need to be realized and water changes will be needed to keep levels at or very near zero assuming you want the fishes to remain healthy.
Water conditioner you use will be important and I would recommend PRIME or AMQUEL+ which is different than regular Amquel. You want a conditioner that clearly says on the bottle that it detoxifies or removes,Chlorine,chloramines,AND AMMONIA.
Were it me,(and it ain't) I would cycle the tank with two or three uncooked,raw,coctail shrimp. I would put them in the toe section of a pair of ladies nylons with a rock to hold it down ,and toss the nylon with shrimp,,into the aquarium and leave it for three weeks.Once each week,,I would change out 25 to 30 percent of the water just as you will need to do each week after fish are added.At the end of three weeks,,I would test the water with my test Kit (you do have test kit right?) and ammonia,and nitrites should read zero and you should see some measureable nitrAtes. I would test the water for a couple three days in a row ,to see that these numbers don't fluctuate. I would then perform a 50 percent water change using water conditioner's mentioned and slowly begin stocking my tank with fish two or three at a time with a week in between new additions of fish to allow the bacteria (good kind) to catch up.
No fish will have been harmed and the tank would have a healthy bacterial colony much more capable of adjusting to the addition of a large fish such as Blue Acara.
Have kept Oscars and when young,,they are much more trouble to keep in tanks less than 75 gal due to the amount of food needed and waste created. Once mature,, many will eat anything that swims and can fit in their mouth and they can reach twelve to fourteen inches with proper care and in my opinion would feel quite stressed in a 55 gal in the long term.Many folks say,,, I will get the Oscar a larger tank in a few months Blah,Blah,Blah but in reality,most don't. Is why you seldom see Adult Oscars,they usually die from disease related to poor water quality from being kept in tanks too small to allow water quality to be maintained at the levels needed to ensure the health of these fish. Hope some of this helps>

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I second all the good advice you've been given above. One thought to add, before starting another setup think through what you want in the end, by which I mean the type of tank, with which fish (even if generally, like African rift lake cichlids, or livebearers, or tetras--because these different types of fish do not live together in the same aquarium due to differing water requirements and behaviours, some of which you've already learned the hard way. Knowing what you'd like in the end will make it easier to build it along the way, and there are plenty of us on here to offer suggestions.

Byron.

wow thanks again everyone for all the feedback and responses. So a few updates.... I spent about 5hrs cleaning my tank with bleach and vinegar. After it was all said and done, my girlfriend spotted a tank online that came with a stand (so I didn't have to use my dresser). I decided to toss the old tank and just use the new tank with stand. I threw out the old cartridges in my emporer 400. And rinsed it with vinegar, I am wondering if this is enough, I wish there was a way to test for fish dieases. So just to be certain I wanted to check to see if maybe I should be anti-fungus medication while performing the cycle. Also I have decided to go a fish-less cycle just because I don't want to see anyone go due my ignorance.


Thanks again all the help has been very well.... helpful :P

Oh and I did want to add one other thing, I am decided to just stick with an Oscar. I really enjoyed my last one so much that I can't see getting anything else.

My brother had an Oscar for years - it was beautiful and friendly. He was housed with a blue lobster and a redtail shark I believe.

If you're worried about the bleach, then after you clean with the bleach, rinse it out WELL, and then fill it up with water, Add a double-dose of dechlorinator, let it sit, dump it out, and fill again.

Bleach = chlorine (ie CLORox)

Declorinator would help neutralise any traces of the bleach.

If it was me though, I lean more towards hydrogen peroxide. (Once hydrogen peroxide is exposed to air or light it turns to pure oxygen and water)

I've also used Oxy-Clean to clean a tank since in my experiments it breaks down into salts and oxygen.

congrats on the new tank.
i wish you the very best of luck.
you're in great hands,and the guys here will help you get through.

Would NOT add anything to the tank while fishless cycling other than source of ammonia like shrimp mentioned earlier, Dechlorinators mentioned earlier,and tapwater.This way you know exactly what's in the aquarium.
Cycle in a bottle products,stress this or that,Mela this,or Pima that,along with ph up or down products,,often cause more problems than any benefits. they may provide. By keeping chemical compounds to the simplest form... you will have far less to worry about and fish keeping can be more enjoyable.