how long will fish survive without power ?

[tanyaelec11]

My power company has decided they are replacing underground lines and the power will be shut off for about 5 to 8 hours . What precautions or measures can I take in order for my fish to survive without air ? Keep in mind I am not getting paid until next week and I do not have battery powered air pumps. Thanks

 

[ChrisP75]

Water changes. Give as fresh living environment as possible before hand. If you have a canister filter unplug so it doesn't flood tank with poison when it starts back up (that's what I've been told). Don't feed the day before to minimize waste. That's all I can think of good luck hopefully all goes smoothly

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[tanyaelec11]

ok should I put all the media in the tank before hand ?

 

[Modest_Man]

Five to eight hours is nothing. I wouldn't do anything special. Just keep an eye on the temperature. If it's chilly you can wrap the tank in a couple blankets to conserve heat.

I've gone upwards of four days without power and the fish were fine.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Much depends on the stocking density of a tank. Many decades ago, I and others kept tanks with no filtration at all. I now keep the density low enough that my tanks have gone several days without power.
Densities such that the fish cannot long survive without some sort of power filtration may require some active measures. Stop feeding a few days befor the power outage and do a substrate vac and water change. Do not feed during the outage. If you are home, from time to time stir the surface of the water with your hand or such. Warm up the tank and the house a bit before the power outage and cover if possible. Water will hold its heat well for a few hours. Must be very cold in canada as it is cold here in Tennessee, USA.
I too have read posts about problems when a large external filter has been off for a long time and then just switched back on. I think this was several days so cannot say about a few hours. Pulling the media and putting it into the tank may be a good idea.

Good luck

 

[ehh]

I'd put all my media in a bucket with some tank water. Make sure the fish don't start breathing hard. The lfs I work at sells a battery powered air pump for like 20 bucks. 8 hours isn't too long. Have you ever seen how big fish farms ship fish? 20 or so 1-2 inch long oscars in about 3 gallons of water for about 24 hours.


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[dougjeffries]

I'd put all my media in a bucket with some tank water. Make sure the fish don't start breathing hard. The lfs I work at sells a battery powered air pump for like 20 bucks. 8 hours isn't too long. Have you ever seen how big fish farms ship fish? 20 or so 1-2 inch long oscars in about 3 gallons of water for about 24 hours.


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+1. Battery powered air pumps are very handy. Sporting goods stores will carry them as well. They are used to keep bait alive while fishing. I have several on hand and have lost power for 8 hours with no issues.

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[tanyaelec11]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It is getting cold here . There is snow on the ground . I will wrap the tanks and pull the media and put it in the tank. I guess my little friends wont be eating until Saturday to be on the safe side ! Thank you

 

[neutrino]

Where I live power outages are common and a few hours to overnight doesn't worry me much, especially in decent sized and moderately stocked tanks. Had to go ten days without power after the derecho storm with temps in the 90s, Kept my fish alive doing water changes, battery air pumps, putting some media in the tank and keeping other media alive (Eheim canisters) by flushing old water out and gravity feeding tank water into them once or twice a day. The advantage of media in a tank over in a bucket is it will continue to feed on ammonia (and nitrite) in your tank, more so if you can create some current through it or near it using a battery air pump.

Other than sufficient oxygen (how much a concern depends on stocking vs. tank size as mentioned above) the other thing is temperature, which affects some fish more than others, but if your room temperature stays reasonable, not a huge issue within a few hours ime, except maybe in smaller tanks.

In cool weather I haven't seen much issue with media staying healthy for several hours. Hot weather is a different story if water isn't refreshed, which is why I was flushing water through my canisters in the derecho aftermath.