# what to do in a power outage with fish



## Charlie1 (Dec 31, 2011)

The hurricane is coming, and a power outage could occur. So I was just wondering what to do with all my fresh and saltwater fish in the event of losing power. So is there anything I could do? Thanks in advance!


----------



## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

You could try to find some battery powered air pumps. I have 2 and they have saved my fish during power outages before.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Wrap the tanks to keep them warm. Do you have any of those "emergency" foil blankets or insulating foam board? Stock hydrogen peroxide. Stock battery-powered air-pumps (check fishing stores) and batteries. Stock ammonia "detoxifiers" that are liquid and don't need a filter. Quit feeding a couple days before. Clean the filters and do a big water change before it gets here. Fill all buckets and bathtubs if you think there is a chance of losing water supply or getting a "boil water" advisory (usually areas that flood but city water pumps are often electric). If you only have a few fish, get breather bags, chemical heat packs and styros and plastic bins, sponge filters, air pump, airline, airvalves and dechlor and take them with you when you evacuate to a hotel. If your plants are dying from lack of light, take them out of the tank. Put them in a bin of water outside and see what's salvageable later.

I hope this storm is all hype. But Americans have lost power for more than a week before and its good to prepare for that or longer.


----------



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Pray that the power comes back on quickly...... Or you could just get Styrofoam pads and cover the tank with them. You can also heat water and put it into the tank for temp. If the tank is highly stocked, you can put a couple drops of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) in the water. That will add oxygen. Don't O.D. though.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

how many drops say for a 29 gallon betta man ????


----------



## Charlie1 (Dec 31, 2011)

Ok, so where can I find some of this stuff? I honestly have never have heard of battery powered air pumps. Do you get them at the pet store or some specialty store, because if they are only sold at specialty, then I am out of luck. Also, how many drops per gallon with h2o2? I a lot of invertabrates, would h2o2 kill them? Im sorry these questions might seem alittle "newbieish" but I am afraid I I am not experienced in what to do in the event of a hurricane. Thanks.


----------



## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

I'm guessing you all talking about hurricane Sandy is probably near or within the New York tri-state area.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

here is the penn plax bettery powered pump...you could probably run a couple of sponge filters off of it...set up the filters to run off of a gang valve...1 filter in each of 2 tanks... turn it on....then plug it in to the wall...the pump will shut off...when the power goes out the pump will come on automatically....
here is a link....

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...air-b11-auto-on-battery-powered-air-pump.html

hydrogen peroxide can be purchased at any drugstore or grocery store...comes in a brown bottle.....i would buy a couple of bottles if more than 2 or 3 tanks.....

3 drops per gallon whenever the fish come to the surface to get air....


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I've gotten battery powered pumps at K-mart, bass pro shop and bait shops in Florida.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If things got really bad, I could bag all my fish and put them in stryos with heat packs. Here, its only getting down to 50 at night, so the tanks won't be that bad. I wouldn't want to be w/o power in maine, though.


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I think there are a few essential items for a house in case of power outage or loss of water. 1- hoard water (duh). 2. Camp Stove! If you loose electricity and you are not on propane, then you just lost all forms of heating anything. Camp stove with lots of propane canisters- food for a long time, hot water to add to tanks (slowly just enough to warm it up to where you want it, don't pour hot water in the tank- of course). Hot water for personal bathing. etc. I think that people often forget a form of cooking. Camp Stove= Awesome. Obviously you will also want to make sure there is ventilation if you use this indoors. Duh. Indoor use highly discouraged.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have natural gas stove, water heater and heat. But the heat has an electric fan and the water heater and stove have electronic ignition. I bet I could light a burner with a match, but its likely that and fireplace gas log is all I'd have and the fireplace is behind a aquarium on the hearth. Not worried because the storm isn't coming here, but I think an getting an backup source of heat is an excellent idea.


----------



## Maine_Fish (Apr 7, 2012)

emc7 said:


> If things got really bad, I could bag all my fish and put them in stryos with heat packs. Here, its only getting down to 50 at night, so the tanks won't be that bad. * I wouldn't want to be w/o power in maine, though*.


You speak the truth. 

Back in '98 we had an ice storm in January that knocked out power to almost the entire state. I was one of the lucky people...my power was out for only 4 days (which is a big deal when the temps are below freezing). Some folks had their power out for weeks. It was crazy. I wasn't into fish keeping at the time.

I know one family who lost their mature black shark during the ice storm. Heartbroken and not wanting to dispose of him, they placed him in their freezer. Almost 15 years later...he's still there! 

Just the other day, somebody told me that their large oscar survived the ice storm of '98 despite it being so cold in their house that ice actually formed in his tank. Tough guy.

I recently purchased a 5500 watt gas powered generator. I'm stopping by the gas station this morning to fill my gas cans (should be enough to last at least a couple days). In addition to powering the fridge, a space heater, and a couple lights, it should be able to handle air pumps to run sponge filters, plus a heater for each of my 4 tanks. 

Keeping my fingers crossed for everybody and their fish friends...


----------



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

It's better to under dose multiple times than to over dose once.


----------



## Charlie1 (Dec 31, 2011)

Hi everyone! I lost power, and my fish are in the cold. The ambient temperature is low 60s during the day and high 40s at night. I am still without power, however, I am able to use my sister's computer, (who does have power.) I brought my cockatiel and my saltwater fish/shrimp (who were near death) with me. All my freshwater fish are at home, covered in insulation/blankets. I added H2O2 to increase O2. My water temperatures are still dropping dramatically, currently my freshwater tanks are roughly at 65 degrees and dropping. Just thought I should update my quandary. Any advice at this point be helpful, if any could be offered. Because if my power does not come back soon, my fish will be swimming in icecubes...


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

loha had some great advice on a different thread about floating water bottles with warm water in the aquarium water to keep the temperature up (in case you have access to warm water still).


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

charlie.....get some soda bottles , milk jugs...whatever will hold hot water.....fill them and float them in the tanks...the bigger the tank;the bigger the bottle/jug.....that is the best way to do it...that will keep the temps more stable...


----------



## Charlie1 (Dec 31, 2011)

I'm back!!! My power was pu back on at around 12:00. Thank you everyone for helping me out with my fish, hopefully I never have to go though that again. Unfortanatly I lost some of my fish, but out the (roughly) 30 (excluding fry) fish I own, not too many died. 
Four guppies died
~70% of my BN pleco fry died
My bamboo shrimp is near death, however now that the power is on, seems to be making a recovery.

As sad as me losing those fish, I could have had more casualties on my hand, so overall I was lucky. Thanks again!


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Glad it wasn't worse.


----------

