Will my fish be OK since the blackout?

[nosidam]

Lost power about 4:15pm. Got it back at 9:20am. 17 hours without the filter or surface agitation.

When I got home at 8pm last night I changed about 10% of the water, and did the same when I woke up this morning at about 7am.

Filter is on full blast and has been since shortly after the power came back on.

My fish look OK, but two of them are hanging out at the surface.

I have not tested water parameters yet, but will do so shortly.

I assume I lost my good bacteria colony in both the filter sponges and the tank surfaces. I assume this will mean a complete new cycle. Anything I can do to help things during this period?

Anything else I can do to help them?

10 gallon
3 small swordtails; 3 corydoras; 1 fancy guppy
live plants
aquaclear mini with sponges only

Thanks.

-josh

 

[myfishnorton]

you could get the boxed and other bacterias you buy at the LFS, that could help you. Don't know what to do about the fish though

 

[beaver8888]

ya i just got a black out for about 4 hours in rhodeisland it sucked i checked everything and im alset hopefully everythings alirght for you

 

[cannonj22]

I think as long as your bacteria was underwater they should be okay. I'd imagine they are all still alive and kicking. Just to be safe I would keep a close eye on the Ammonia and Nitrites for this week, but I couldn't imagine why that would've wiped out your bacteria.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

*COUGH* South doesn't have these problems *COUGH*

As long as the bacteria stay wet they should be fine. The fish....as long as they keep eating and swimming they should be fine. Pretty much what cannonj22 said ^^^^

 

[fishlover25]

if the filter wasnt working for those hours y would the fish die or ammonia spike. u still have bacteria on decor and gravel(if u hvae any) or sand. y should u worry? i power went out for 11 hours. everything is PERFECT just like it was before

 

[fishboy]

Without water movement often bacteria will die.... which will cause an overload in the biological load... which will then cause an ammonia spike. It it all a domino effect. Your tank may seem perfect right now however you may already be experiencing a loss of bacteria. I suggest you watch your ammonia levels.

 

[Leopardess]

Without the filters running, the MAJORITY of your bacterial colony is going unused, as the water is not flowing over it. Also, no filter means no surface agitation, which means no oxygen renewal. And, its a good thing its summer, because with no electricity, there are no heaters.

 

[fishlover25]

oh ok. i'll watch the water

 

[nosidam]

Thanks guys.

I figured that the bacteria colony would be affected. I guess I will just watch things very closely for a little while.

Do you think doing small, daily water changes will help, or maybe twice a week?

-josh

 

[colesea]

I lost power here as well in NY for a good six hours. My tropicals survived, but one of my goldfish perished. I don't know if it was because tank temps have been very high lately, and without the constant aggitation of the fliter he just finally went over the edge. Or if there was some disease cooking that the stress of no water flow finally did them in. I've done a 75% water change today, the remaining goldfish and two sun cats are doing fine.

But I've had a major issue with fin rot lately, again I'm uncertain if it is heat-stress related, or if my cats are just getting fisty and attacking the fish while they sleep. The two biggest goldfish show no signs, but the four smaller ones all have shredded tails. I've been trying salt treatments, 6 gallon water changes daily, and copper, but they've been pretty ratty all summer. The catfish have been the most active I've ever seen them, but I've not et witnessed them attacking the fish. Ah well, mystery mystery.
~~Colesea

 

[Somonas]

nosidam you are bang on with the bacteria. My power was off for almost 24 hours so I am in the same boat. Most of your bacteria is probably dead but some is still alive so don't nuke your filter media like I was going to.
Monitor your tanks for ammonia spikes that might be caused by the dead filter media rotting.
Other than that there is not much you can do.
There is probably bacteria in your tank, on the rocks, plants and glass, which would have been exposed to more oxygen in the water column than that of the bacteria in the filter box.

 

[nosidam]

I have been doing water checks every day since the power came back on and I have seen a small rise in the ammonia. Normally, it's 0, today it's between 1-2ppm.

My male swordtail died on Sunday, and one of the females looks sick. Her top and tail fins are clamped, she's shimmying in place, and she's been hiding behind a plant.

The other female swordtail, the guppy and the corys look/act fine.

I've added a little salt to the water to try and perk up the female swordtail, but not too much since the cory's don't like it too much.

Hopefully, she will recover.

Thanks for all your help.

-josh

 

[fishlover25]

i didnt have power and my fish are fine. just like they were before the power went out. it went out for 11 hours here

 

[Delia97]

they should make battery powered filters.

I bought a battery powered pump for travel... but it was sold also for power outages. Maybe they should make a temp battery powered filter.

 

[Wormo3188]

Like a backup battery for your filter, so if the power goes out than the battery kicks in and keeps the filter running.

 

[aguy2go]

After the blackout one of my neons died of neon tetra and another grew a bubble under his chin. Any guesses as to what the bubble is? I think he may have cut himself badly on the gravel...

 

[SigEp824]

you can also use battery backup units like those for computers (APC has even advertised them as being used for aquariums)

 

[nosidam]

Originally posted by SigEp824
you can also use battery backup units like those for computers (APC has even advertised them as being used for aquariums)

Yeah, but unless you get the $500 units, the most they will last is for about an hour. Even the more expensive units only last about 2-3 hours.

A UPS is good if you lose power for a few minutes at a time, not a complete blackout where there is no power for 12+ hours. You need a gasoline powered generator for those. Luckily, where I am, that only happens once every 30 years or so.

I think a battery powered pump is the best bet for the future.

 

[c_paan]

I hope everyones fish problems turn out alright. What a horrible time that power outage was eh! My fish all seem to be fine. We were only out for 4 hours though.