Best way to cover fish tanks

[FishEnthusiast]

Howdy,

I have discovered that no matter what I use, my cats have fleas. So now I have to spray my house with pesticide. I know I have to cover my tanks, but what is the best way? I have 8 tanks ranging from 55G to 1G. my 55, 20 and 2 10's have hoods, but my smaller betta tanks (5g, 2 1g and 2.25g) do not. I was thinking I would cover the 55, 20 and 2 tens with blankets. Is that good enough? What about the smaller ones? I was also thinking of waiting for a warmish day so I could put the smaller tanks outside while I spray. I have a porch that is almost entirely enclosed with tarps, so that room stays about 5-10 degrees warmer than the actual outdoors.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

 

[mellowserra]

Hi, I had to de-flea my house once, a major infestation with 5 cats(indoor), 4 birds, ferrets, and fish this was no picnic!!

Here's what I did:
Fumigate/dust carpet in one room, vacuum, put flea bathed cats (yes, with soap and water) into clean room. Duct-tape seal around door cracks. After my cats dried I used a product called "Advantage" on them, it is supposed to be very safe, works very well to repel any remaing fleas that may survive the assault.

With all clean animals in clean room, I went to the rest of the house. If you are able to do this (use an extra room first) then you can put your small tanks in there instead of waiting for the weather to break, the warmer it gets, the worse the fleas get. I returned home at the end of summer after being absent for a few months and the problem had not been addressed, I can only begin to describe how bad it was!

I didn't take ANY chances with the tanks, I duct-tape sealed every place that could have allowed a microscopic amont of anything through. To be add'l safe you could throw plastic or a blanket over it after taping, then I used carpet powder and fumigated throughout the rest of the house. I used spray on our couch, which we got rid of shortly thereafter anyways, it's nearly impossible to get rid of fleas when they get into your upholstery.

Also, if you are able to, you may want to invest in multiple quality products, such as flea bath for your cats, a vet product for repelling afterwards, spray for your upholstery, powder for your carpets, and bombs to cover everything else, better to get them all at once than have do it again and again!!

Hope this helps, good luck!!

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I use Advantage every month, as it only prevents them from laying eggs, I still have adult fleas. I also have flea bath and room spray. When I moved into the house I am living in now it was infested, I spent 1 month and a lot of money getting rid of the fleas. My daughter and I are a good indication of how bad an infestation is. We both get bit all the time when it is bad. I only have 2 or 3 bites. I use a flea comb on all three of my cats daily, there is flea poop, but no eggs. I have tried keeping my cats indoors, but I just can't do it. I have an acre of back yard and they love hunting there.

I am going to look into the flea treatment called Program I think. It proports to kill the adult fleas as well as making them sterile I believe. I am most worried about the big tanks like I said.

I just want to be sure that I don't kill my fish while killing the fleas. I am not entirely sure I need to fumigate right now. I am going to flea bath the cats when hubby gets home from out of town, it takes the two of us. I will continue with the flea combing and Advantage till then.

 

[pjfish]

While you're fumigating anywhere close to your tanks, be sure to turn off the filter and air pumps, as well as covering them up. Leave them off as long as possible to avoid getting pesticides from the air into the water. It would probably be good to do a water change before the fumigation so you can leave the filter/air off longer.

As a side note, some bettas are good jumpers so you should have tops for their tanks, too.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

all my betta tanks are covered, but there are air holes. My 2.25g is a critter keeper, my 1G bowl has a cd lid on it, my 5G has a lid for a lizard tank, heat resistant mesh, and my other 1G is a critter keeper as well. I guess I should have been a bit clearer. They just don't have hoods.

I just want to make sure they are safe if I need to fumigate. I have pretty much decided to bide my time. I only get bit if one of my cats is on me, I know my house isn't infested right now. I don't want to harm my fish with needlessly fumigating. I am just paranoid when it comes to fleas as they love me so much and I have had issues with getting bit all my life.

Thanks anyway.