Saving betta fish.....extended power outage, no heat. My experience

[GFarra]

Hi Everyone

I recently endured a 10 day power outage following hurricane sandy. The outage resulted in heat dropping the temps in my house to 42 degrees. But I did have hot water!

I moved both fish tanks to the basement which was about 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. I placed 2 layers of towels under the tanks and then wrapped each tank with 2 large towels and 2 fleeces each. Inside the tanks I used 2 poland spring bottles with gravel and hot water to keep things heated. I did 2 25-30% water changes daily (morning & evening) with hot water conditioned with Stress Coat.

This all managed to keep the tanks between 74-78 degrees. I realize the fluctuation was larger than the fish are used to but they both survived and are doing really well now.

I thought I would share my experience in the event others face a similar emergency situation. In my case I was unable to relocate as even local hotels were without power.

Regards

George

[paloverde]

I am so impressed by your ingenuity and dedication. I was going to reply in your other post about cleaning up the filters.... You deserve to treat yourself to brand new filters!!!! ( and a beer )

[GFarra]

Thank you. It was definately a lot of work but my 2 guys are worth it! They completely de-stress me when I get home from work. oh, and I did have a nice cold one.....once my fridge got beers cold again!

I just bought 2 "go-bowls" in the event I need to relocate...these 2 little trroopers are coming with me

George

[Wendyjo]

I would say keep an eye out for ich over the next week or two - the stress from fluctuating temps seems to be a factor in ich outbreaks.

[MistersMom]

Dang, you are quite the hard worker, thats very selfless of you to sacrifice your time and energy to that extent! good for you.

I once had a Caterpillar named George, i was playing with him on my porch when the wind blew him into a thorn bush.... i cried.

Oh i had a turtle named George too. i let him go.

Sorry, your name made me feel the need to share my stories lol.

[GFarra]

Wendy,

Thanks for the tip on the ich. I will definately stay tuned for that. I did give them both a 100% water change and rinsed everything in thier tanks in hot water (gravel & silk plants). My cycle was dead so I figured a fresh start would be helpful

Regards

George