Hurricane Emily

[Quesseriel]

This may not be the average Emergency Forum post, and if this is in the wrong place, I apologize. That being said, I currently have a 29 gallon tank which is mildly overstocked (due to births) or maybe more on the side of correctly stocked. It has the average beginner/hardy fish - guppies, mollies, platties, swordtails, neon tetras, cories, and an algae eater. The tank also has a fairly large plant. I have had it for over a year now, and it has cycled and become stable. Hurricane Emily has a sizable chance of coming my way. In the event that I lose power for an extended amount of time, is there anything I can do to help my fish? Has anyone had any experience regarding this? Any response that can be given in the next (probably) two days would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Briarmoor]

I hope Emily misses you. We just dealt with the remnants of Dennis about a week ago. Mostly just a lot of rain up here.

You don't say what area you are in, but guessing it is warm. If so, you might not have to worry about heating. I am new to this and no great answers. I did read an article on this in a recent TFH. I can try to find the issue if it would help you. It mentioned stuff like putting ice in a container in the middle of the tank to help cool, etc. Maybe you could find an issue of it?

I'd be more concerned about filtration. I wonder if you could do frequent water changes? If it is warm outside, you'd not even have to heat the water to keep it the same temp as the tank. I put my pleco in a 10g cycled tank without a filter for just a day until I could get his tank ready and ammonia went through the roof. That's why I am concered about filtration.

Not the best solution, but sunlight would keep the plant alive. Might make some algae too, but the plant would be alive.

Have you found anything online? I'll try to find the issue the article was in.

P.

 

[tttnjfttt]

I have heard of people pouring water through their filters every hour or two, and not having any problems. Last winter I put my bacteria spounge into the main tank durring a power outage, and forgot about it for almost a week (I was super busy and fed my fish as I was running out the door), and I never had any problems with that. If you are worried about ammonia and nitrite building up, you can always do frequent water changes. If you are worried about having a reliable water supply, you can either store some water in a cooler or invest in a small bottle of Amquel which will remove the ammonia.

I agree, that with the plant put it in a bucket of water outside to give it light, which should help it survive.

Good luck weathering the storm!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If the tank is overstocked it will be much more difficult to keep water quality good and stress levels low in the fish than if it were safely stocked- how many gallons does the tank hold and what types and how many fish do you have in it?

 

[Briarmoor]

I found the issue of TFH and the article on what to do in natural disasters, etc. I don't know if it's "legal" but I could scan it into pdf and email it if you want. It is the June 2005 issue.

P.

 

[tttnjfttt]

If you end up scanning this and emailing it, would you mind sending me a copy? I'm more thinking blizzards in December-Febuary and power outages. tttnjfttt@hotmail.com

Or, you might be able to get a pinned topic out of it if you were to sumarize the article and how to keep your fish alive through natural disasters.

 

[Briarmoor]

If you end up scanning this and emailing it, would you mind sending me a copy? I'm more thinking blizzards in December-Febuary and power outages. tttnjfttt@hotmail.com

Or, you might be able to get a pinned topic out of it if you were to sumarize the article and how to keep your fish alive through natural disasters.

I will be happy to scan and email it to anyone who it might help. There was a great article on treating resistant Ich in one issue. Of course it was after I'd already been through Ich.

P.

 

[Quesseriel]

As for the number and type of fish I have:
-6 cories (emerald bronze, albino, and speckled, but that shouldn't make a difference
-5 guppies
-2 platties
-3 swordtails
-3 balloon-bellied mollies
-2 neon tetras
-1 algae eater

I have no need to heat my tank as we keep our house at 78 F. Hopefully, the power wouldn't be off for too long so I wouldn't need to deal with ice. It is looking, though, like my area is going to get the outer bands of the hurricane and not sustain the direct hit that they thought was possible a couple of days ago. Thank you for all your suggestions!

 

[hello kitty]

i would pour water thru my filters to keep the bacteria alive and i might pur water back into the tank to aerate it if that makes sence!

 

[rdd1952]

About all you can do is pour water through the filter to keep the bacteria alive. Also, if temperature becomes a problem and I assume it could since you would have to be either in south Texas or Mexico for Emily to be a concern, you can dip water and pour it directly back in the tank. Not only will this help cool the water, it will also add oxygen to the water which is another problem (lack of oxygen) you could have. Good luck. Hope you get missed.

 

[WookiellMonster]

When hurricane Charley hit central florida i lost my power for about 2 days but my fish were fine. But then my parents went to go buy a generator which when hurricane jeane and frances came thru i found useful cuz during frances my power was out for a week. But generators r really expensive.

 

[pjfish]

If you haven't done a water change lately, it might be a good idea to do one now. That might keep the water cleaner longer just in case you lose power. I don't have any experience with power losses though. Good luck!