Toddler Has Over Fed Tropical Fish.. Please Help. SOLVED

Actually, this thread is a very good example of what I mean when I say that people who use RO water should always have some available in case an emergency water change is need. I must make a note of it to show what I mean. Imagine if you hadn't been able to do a water change until you'd been able to go to a shop to get more RO water 

Actually, this thread is a very good example of what I mean when I say that people who use RO water should always have some available in case an emergency water change is need. I must make a note of it to show what I mean. Imagine if you hadn't been able to do a water change until you'd been able to go to a shop to get more RO water 

Exactly. Between this and an unforeseen tank leak, always best to be prepared with extra water on standby.

Sorry to sound stupid but what do you mean by RO water?
I have learnt from my lesson, the food is locked away & out of sight.

Reverse osmosis is a process which removes everything dissolved in the water. As fcmf says, it is used by people who have hard water and want to keep soft water fish as mixing it with their hard tap water dilutes the minerals and makes the water softer. It is also used by people who have a lot of nitrate in their tapwater (legislation allows up to 50 ppm in the UK) and want nitrate sensitive fish. The problem can arise if something happens in the tank which needs lots of water changes to sort out, eg a toddler feeding a whole tub of food. The water changes have to be done with exactly the same RO/tap mixture as usual, which can't be done if there is no RO water on hand.

I would also take issue with a section in the article that fcmf linked to.
It says that pH reducing chemicals remove dissolved minerals - they don't, they add even more. pH reducing chemicals do not soften water.
It says that household water softeners of the type that are recharged by salt can be used. These add salt to the water and should never be used. Water softeners of the type that require a bypass tap for human consumption should never be used in a tank, the bypass tap should be used for tanks as well.

The RO section is fine, but it should be borne in mind that the article was written some years ago so the cost will be higher.

Wow - I missed that second pic; what a difference!

@CarenLevo123 what fish do you currently have. Unclear from the photos

Wow.. I am truly overwhelmed by everyone's advice & kindness (& not judging). Thank you so much. I have printed this all out so that I can look back when I need to know certain things.
Thank you

@CarenLevo123 - I have split the topic at this point to move your query re the guppy's lost tail into a new thread of its own. I've given it that self-explanatory title. Hope that's helpful. fcmf (moderator).

Oh my days! I've just seen your first photo!!! I bet your face was a picture too when you saw it.

I've just stretched my moddy muscles for the first time and added solved to the thread title. Hope thats ok Caren?

Oh, @CarenLevo123, how sad - it is indeed truly horrible to lose pet fish and particularly en masse after an "incident" which presumably this is the belated result of. Very sorry to read about this. This is completely normal to feel like this under such circumstances. Why not take a "breather" for a bit and see how you feel in a few weeks'/months' time? You may feel differently then or at some point in the future when you weren't planning to but something (such as seeing someone else's fishtank) might reignite the interest.

If you feel you can't bear to continue with fishkeeping for now, then it should be relatively easy to rehome the remaining fish, either to a LFS or via aquarist-classifieds.co.uk.

Another option, now or in the future, is to try something completely different eg a betta on its own, just to break the resemblance between the very unfortunate situation you had and a newstart in fishkeeping.

If you do change your mind or want to run any ideas past us about fishkeeping but a different aspect of it, then we're always here to help. Best of luck.