# What to do with live plants after fish's sudden death?



## funaaba (Jul 2, 2013)

Hi all, my betta Pippin died suddenly last night.  He suddenly bloated up and then became very pale and was gone within the day. It sucks because I only had him for three months and his five-gallon tank was in pretty good condition. according to my tests there wasn't anything wrong with the water parameters, so I'm not sure what went wrong.

Anyway, I'm planning on gently bleaching the tank and stuff as a precaution, and then I'll attempt another fishless cycle before adding a new fish...but first there's the issue of my plants; there's a moss ball, a java fern, and some scarlet temple in the tank, and if I can I'd like to keep them for the next fish because 1) they seem to be doing well and 2) aquatic plants are expensive up here and I'd rather not have to buy completely new plants unless absolutely necessary.

This is the first time I've had a planted tank, so I'm not sure where to go from here now that the fish is gone. Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance!


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

What to do with live plants after a fishs sudden death? Nothing. Nothing at all. There's no need to do anything to the tank unless one of a very few diseases made it's way into your tank.

Any attempts to "sterilize" are futile - the pathogens that can infect our fish are always there. You CANT get rid of them. Like you and I, fish have immune systems and are able to fight things off. Just like you and I.

When you keep one fish in a tank, it's very difficult to understand disease communicability. Understandably so. No one in the rest of the fish keeping world bleaches their tank when a fish dies.


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## funaaba (Jul 2, 2013)

So, in other words, leave the tank as is and continue on as if there was still a fish in it?

Shouldn't I throw in a little ammonia or fish food to feed the plants? Or will the Flourish Excel I add during the weekly water change do that for me?


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I'd get another fish . The plants will be fine until you get another fish.

And to clarify about communicability, I meant from fish to fish in a tank, not between tanks.


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## funaaba (Jul 2, 2013)

Pippin was the only resident of his tank, so at least I've got that to my advantage. I'll probably have to wait until after the holiday to get another fish, though, but if the plants will be alright then I won't worry too much about it.

Thank you for the advice!


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

And don't worry about your nitrogen cycle. As soon as you put in another fish, your cycle will recover very quickly.

Btw, usually that kind of sudden death is a digestive disorder. It's happened to me and others. Part of the hobby. <sigh>


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Hallyx can you tell me about this digestive disorder? I think perhaps I've been dealing with this.


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## Aryia (Oct 10, 2013)

I've read about some people using a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide dip to disinfect aquarium plants. I've personally never done this though, but it might be something you could research or look into if you really want to disinfect your plants. 

I personally would just let the tank rest for 2 weeks or so. Most parasites and bacteria die without a proper host and populations are trimmed back by a water change. Regular tap water (with chlorine) also kills some bacteria, so a good soak or rinse could do good in that aspect. 

But yes, like everyone else said, it's not necessary unless you know it was a highly contagious disease. I'm just listing some possibilities.


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## funaaba (Jul 2, 2013)

Hallyx said:


> And don't worry about your nitrogen cycle. As soon as you put in another fish, your cycle will recover very quickly.
> 
> Btw, usually that kind of sudden death is a digestive disorder. It's happened to me and others. Part of the hobby. <sigh>


Thanks for the input! I'm inclined to agree with you about the digestion issues; Pippin got badly constipated a few weeks ago, but with peas and fasting it was getting better. Perhaps I started feeding him again too soon, even though it was less.



Aryia said:


> I've read about some people using a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide dip to disinfect aquarium plants. I've personally never done this though, but it might be something you could research or look into if you really want to disinfect your plants.
> 
> I personally would just let the tank rest for 2 weeks or so. Most parasites and bacteria die without a proper host and populations are trimmed back by a water change. Regular tap water (with chlorine) also kills some bacteria, so a good soak or rinse could do good in that aspect.
> 
> But yes, like everyone else said, it's not necessary unless you know it was a highly contagious disease. I'm just listing some possibilities.


Thank you for your advice! The tank is still running as normal, and I'll do a water change in a few days. If Pippin died because of digestive issues, then I won't have to worry too much.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

What do you feed the fish?


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## funaaba (Jul 2, 2013)

jaysee said:


> What do you feed the fish?


He was getting Hikari betta pellets! 3-5 pellets once a day; Pippin became badly constipated after he was unintentionally fed twice.


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