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Disinfection

1K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  ANHEL123 
#1 ·
Yesterday I had my male red devil CT die of dropsy,and I am planning on saving another today. can you give me some instructions and different methods of disinfecting a bettas tank?
 
#2 ·
Sorry for your loss. What I did to disinfect a small betta tank was fill it up with hot water and put some bleach in it. Let it sit for atleast 10 mins. Then rinse it out very good, rinse it again and again. Then let it air dry for a day or so. If there is anything left, it'll all get evaporated.
 
#4 ·
um i dont think i had plants in there. when i have a rly sick fish i take evreything out just so that its less to disinfect after. but ya if they are plastic plants, you could bleach them but i'd just let them soak in rly hot water, same with the rocks. dont bleach the rocks cuz you won't be able to get all the bleach out. to be safe just put both plants and rocks in hot water only and let them air dry for a day or so
 
#7 ·
Like SerenaRena already said bleach would be good way to go. I am going to post what some one wrote to me.
I personally disinfect the tank and glass thermometer before with the bleach . But i would not recommend to do it for the gravel. So i would not recommend to disinfect gravel with the bleach.And i never read on this forum how to disinfect live plants. I do know that you can put quarantine the plants in the water WITHOUT water conditioner for a few weeks which will kill any parasites but i am not sure if it will kill other bacteria.
Also i did boiled the stones a few times for about 5 min. I am hesitate to recommend it because some people on the forum saying it can burst. Again i did boiled the stones a few times long time ago for about 5 min.

Now i am going to post recommendations from someone i was talking. But i want to add to it something. Any time you disinfect something wash it really well with hot, warm, cold water and let it sit in the son for a few days or just air dry it for a few days. Make sure there is no fluid retention. A lot of aquatic diseases are sensitive to dryness so simply leaving everything dry out will help to kill the bacteria.

Bleach is very useful but people are scared to use it because its very strong and kills everything (hence its use for sterility).


First you must know that there are lots of different bleaches out there. You must not use bleach with additives (many come mixed with detergent). So, find a bleach like Clorox Regular.

Next, the aquarium pieces to be disinfected should be rinsed with warm water to remove the particles and debris that builds with use in an aquarium.

You can disinfect the aquarium itself and hard pieces like glass thermometers, fish nets, certain gravel (though not if its porous), and hard plastic like the filter box (not the filter cartridge obviously).

Avoid heaters because people tend to submerge them and it will become very hard to remove the bleach from inside. You don't want bleach sitting inside there either as it may leach into aquarium water later or harm the heater itself.

You should make a 10% solution. This means 1 part bleach and 9 parts water to make a 10% solution. You can then dip the pieces and let them sit in the sink, bathtub, or on the counter for no longer than 10 minutes. Then rinse with warm water thoroughly. The equipment must air dry completely before entering an aquarium. This allows for the bleach to dissolve away and evaporate into its basic properties (its mainly just salt). Then rinse again with cold water (for good measure) before using in the aquarium again.

As an example example, I have a measuring cup with graduations marked in 1 ml increments. I use 10ml of bleach and 90ml of water. That's 1 part bleach in every 10 parts total (water + bleach). This creates a 10% Solution of bleach.

Also serenebeauty i know you have a snail. Make sure if you ever bring new snail or put anything live , even plants always quarintine it first. Snail may be doing good but it can be sick and contaminate the tank. I juat read similar post snail is fine but betta died.
Also even when you buy new betta try to quarantine him. You can have him in the hospital tank or in his main tank without gravel and plants for a few weeks just to make sure he is not sick and you not ending up disinfecting everything again.
 
#8 ·
(Just for future info as well)

You can bleach Live plants. What you do is just a dip.
  • Make the 1 parts bleach 19 parts water solution in one container.
  • Turn the plant upside down, or so that no roots get into the mixture.
  • Hold plant in for 30 seconds (Some of the more delicate plants will not survive without melting, so be careful which plants you put into this)
  • After 30 seconds, take out and rinse under tap water.
  • Place into a Container of Aquarium Temp. Tap water to sit for a while.
  • You can QT these plants for a day up to two weeks, depending on the severity of the disease or if you just want to be safe :)
  • I believe you have to acclimate them like you would fish to go back into the aquarium so they don't melt as badly, it is still possible they will melt though, it depends on the plant.
And voila, you've now disinfected your plants!
 
#9 ·
i just read someone wrote that :

I would also like to add a piece of advice I was given. After the final rinse, add a large dose of water conditioner and fill the tank. This will help to neutralize any remaining trace of chlorine. Then empty the tank and prepare for the next fishy. I have the new boy acclimating now. I used enough water conditioner for a 5 gallon tank on the 1/2 gallon hospital tank so that should make it safe for this little boy. He is so tiny and a bit skinny, but he was so determined to have me take him home. I'll post the link to the picture thread once I have him settled in.
 
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