Well, time for an update on my swordtail.

Yesterday I got home from work and found these nasty looking white... globs on the swordtail's tailfin.

I thought they were ich but when I get to thinking about it, they were probably too big.

If I had to compare them in size to something, I would say the ball in a ballpoint pen or a pellet of birdshot.

Regardless, it had those nasty looking globs on it. I figured it might be Ich, and given that that is the only thing I had the medication for on hand, I used the appropriate dosage and took the filter out as the bottle directed.

This morning the fish was doing fine, it even looked a little better.

I had the day off so I was at home and stopped by to check on it again around noon. It was dead.

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I really am not entirely sure what happened, but I am very glad I bought that quarantine tank. The problem is, I am not sure how to decontaminate it now.

I ran the net and stuff under hot water for a while, then added an overdose of the Ich remedy to the water, just incase that is indeed what it was.

As it is now though, the thing is empty. I want to get it ready so I can get a new swordtail.

How should I go about decontaminating the thing?

I'm sorry the swordtail didn't make it. The white globs may have been bacteria or fungus from your description.

To disinfect your tank and inert supplies, I suggest soaking them in water with a cup of bleach per 10 gallons for a few hours. Then, rinse well and refill with fresh water and a double dose of dechlorinator. Again, sit for a few hours. Then, dump, and it's ready to go. Bleach kills most everything. As an alternative, some people soak things in water with a ton of salt but it's not as effective.

Regarding the use of bleach with aquarium supplies, I am somewhat concerned about residual bleach on the gravel/ornaments/equipment. I imagine it doesn't take much to kill a fish.

I think you mentioned something about decholrinator before?

I am not overly familiar with the stuff. Where is it commonly sold?

Normally, just rinsing well will remove enough bleach in a large enough system that the residual amounts wouldn't be fatal. I have well water so no chlorine in my water but I use bleach to disinfect everything, even my own plastic juice work bottle (which grows black fungus after a week). After soaking in fresh water with dechlorinator, there is no residual bleach taste at all. Dechlorinator is technically sodium thiosulfate. Some names of products that dechlorinate include Tap Water Conditioner and Stress-Coat by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals which are the two that I use. I use the first one after bleaching (it's cheaper because the other one also has aloe).

Anyone who has city water which is dosed with chlorine or chloramine needs to add dechlorinator to their water before using it with fish, reptiles, amphibians, or any aquatic animal. If I drink city water, I can taste the chlorine immediately but those who are used to it don't realize it. I can even smell it from a glass. For human and pet drinking water, it's good to use a filter to remove the chlorine.

All aquarium stores sell dechlorinators.