My whole tank seems to have gone wrong

Ogre44

Yeah, he floated in his cup for almost an hour with influxes f the new tank water every 15 minutes or so.
I think he's on the way out now.

GwenInNM

Sorry for your losses. Big drag.

Gwen

magpie

I'm so sorry to hear about this. How stressful and sad.

Ogre44

Thanks.
There may, however, be a ray of sun in my gloomy tank.
The betta seems much improved this morning.

When I posted last night he was laying almost on his side at the bottom of the hospital tank with his pectorals splayed respiring quite heavily.
I watched him struggle to the surface for air and then sink back to the bottom of the tank.

I resolved to make him as comfortable as possible so I got him in his cup and drained out all the water in the tank.
I was resolved to make things as nice as possible for him so I took the tank and rinsed it out with hot water and wiped in down before filling it with less than a gallon of the Epsom salt water.

About an hour after I released him back into the tank I noticed that he was swimming a little bit, and I got him to eat some of his flakes.
I did another partial water change and filled the tank about 3/4 full.

This morning he is buzzing around and flaring at his reflection
He is still occasionally doing the thing where he brushes against something and leaps away from it, but I haven't seen him swoon.
Also His color has gotten much better.

I plan on leaving him in the hospital tank until at least Saturday, with daily 50 and 100 water changes to keep the water as fresh as possible.
But I need to figure out what to do with the big tank.
I cleaned it out, did to 100% water changes, and set it back up but am worried that it could be contaminated in some fashion.
I think I have a few options:
1) Do massive water changes every day until ready to put the betta back in
2) Completely tear the tank down, scrub the tank out with bleach replace everything but the tank and start over from scratch.
3) Do a 100% water change with the hottest water that comes out of the tap, add 2 gallons of bleach for a 10% solution and let the tank run overnight, and then do 100% changes until ready to use the tank.

I'm open to suggestions on making my deathtrap of a tank safe for my fish.
Thanks again.

GwenInNM

Don't use bleach! If you've used that before, that could be the problem. Even the smallest residue of that, could be toxic to fish, IMO. You don't want to have any bleach running through your filter, as that will kill any good bacteria you have. If you've used bleach or any chemical to clean the tank before you set it up, that could be the problem. Did you get the tank and decorations new or used? I'd break it down and use hot water only. Some recommend a small bit of white vinegar to clean. You will have to go through the cycling process all over again, if you are throwing away your filter. Even with using the existing filter, you'll need to carefully monitor your water parameters when you re-introduce fish, feed sparingly, and add new fish very slowly. Best of luck. Glad the betta is coming around.

Gwen

Ogre44

Nope, no bleach to start.
I used some white vinegar and a razor blade to clean some residual scale from the glass and some white vinegar and a toothbrush to clean the filter and lid.
All the gravel etc. was new when I set the tank up.

I've got a lot of plants and only 1 fish so I'm not too worried about the cycle if I have to start over, I just want to make sure my tank isn't contaminated in some fashion so I don't condemn my betta to the same fate he almost suffered the first time.

SinCrisis

From my understanding, bleach is actually ok for tank use. However, it must be fully evaporated before fish are introduced and can be detoxified by water conditioners. It should ONLY be used on non-porous material and should always be diluted to a 5-10% solution. Bleach For Aquarium Use - Is Bleach Safe For Aquarium Use?

You must let everything DRY. Chlorine bleach does evaporate on its own, like how some people let their tap water sit for a day or so before adding to the aquarium because the chlorine will dissipate on its own.