# Emergency/Disaster Fish Evacuation



## lizzy079 (Dec 28, 2014)

I live in an apartment complex and recently there was a fire a few apartments down from where I live on the second level. It was late night/ early morning when this occurred but we're lucky that we have neighbors looking out for us. The apartment that caught on fire is completely burned (shattered and melted glass around the windows, rooms completely black, the outside of the door and window are black). Luckily the surrounding apartments didn't catch on fire, however it occurred to me that if it were to happen again I wouldn't know how to rescue my fish seeing that the tank will be too heavy for me to lift and I will have very little time to actually rescue them.
What are some things I could do to prepare and actually do if there were another fire or if I moved to an area where a natural disaster, like an earthquake or tornado, can occur without any warning?


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

Rubbermaid tubs work well for temporary housing.


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## Elliott225 (Jan 9, 2014)

I have thought about this for several years. If you have enough warning such as a coming hurricane or wildfire, then you could. If a tornado, earthquake, building fire, or something that has little or no warning, then I afraid the fish probably will be left behind. If it is a small tank, you could just pour or drain it and leave just enough water to carry...drain off around 80% of the water. Then you can refill the tank when you reach safety. If you have a tank that is large...say 30 and up, not much can be done.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

In a pinch a large Rubbermaid container can make excellent temporary aquarium storage. I did this after my 100 Gallon aquarium decided to come apart.

However, this doesn't really help in the event of an immediate emergency. In the event of a fire, you need to evacuate your own house as quickly as possible. You may lose your fish, but hopefully not your own life. 

If you were to move to an area where things like earthquakes and tornadoes are common, you will quickly realize how common they are. You wont want to move your fish out of the aquarium every time there is a warning for one. If something did happen, like your tank decides to come apart during an earthquake, then you can deal with it retroactively. Just make sure you have something to put the fish in just in case something happens.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A stack of buckets or 8 gallon tubs with lids that stack. battery powered air-pumps or an ac pump with a dc inverter for your car. Fish are impractical to move in a true urgent emergency, but you should have a bug-out plan for involuntary eviction such as a long-term power outage. This is where joining a club is helpful. We had 10 club members breakdown the fishroom of a sick member in half a day. Find other fishkeepers near you and help them move big tanks and change water and then put the numbers of the nearest on speed-dial just in case. Make a kit, dechlor, bins, nets, pitcher, that would allow you to keep your fish in a hotel room for a while if you had to. Find out which local chains allow pets.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if we had a fire we would have to let the fish die..there is no way we could save them..besides..our lives and the lives of our family are more important..


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## lizzy079 (Dec 28, 2014)

Thanks for the inputs, I live in the south so I only really have to worry about power outages from storms and hurricanes (since I'm not near a river or lake I don't have to worry about floods) but I can prepare for those (thanks emc7 for the extra advice!), and I brought up the tornado and earthquake since I don't know where life will take me next and may end up in an area where that is likely to happen.

At the moment, I only have to figure out a way to get the fish out since there is a store here that mentioned they could temporarily house my fish if I needed to. The idea if my fish boiling or frying to death is really unappealing so if there is a chance to save them before the fire reaches us then I would like to take it, but I understand that if the fire reaches our apartment then they will most likely get left behind.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I suspect what kills most fish in a fire is the same thing that kills most people, smoke. Pull the plug on the air-pump on the way out and hope for the best.

Tornadoes are hopeless, you are lucky to get enough warning to get in the tub with a mattress over you. It hits you or it doesn't. Some of those west-coast wildfires might have a few days warning, or none at all.

The fish-killing emergencies I've read of lately were all storms. week-long power outages added to mandatory evacuations with no access to your home and fish. And Rita and Sandy were widespread enough that unless you saw it coming and took your fish out of state you were pretty much sol once it hit if you were unlucky enough to live in a no-power, no-go zone.

You can only really prepare for a small scale problem. A one-house or one neighborhood disaster like a tree falling on a powerline. A gas-powered generator is a good idea for a fishkeeper.

I wonder if those underground survivalist bunkers would make a good fishroom with safety from tornadoes and fires as a side benefit.


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## Elliott225 (Jan 9, 2014)

Back a few years we had a bad ice storm. I lost power for a week. I only lost electrical, but I had heat. What I did was stop all feeding and used a generator to run the pumps and filters. I was only able to run the generator for about 2 hours in the mornings and evenings. The fish came thru fine. 

In the event of a fire, the tanks would most likely shatter.


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