Re: [RML] power out: helpful hints on what to do?

Mach T. Fukada (fukada at hawaii.edu)
Wed, 09 Sep 1998 14:42:48

Just an idea. I never heat my tanks here in Honolulu. All of them are
outside on patio and the overnight temperature gets down to high 50's low
60's in the winter. Of course the Pseudomugil I have seem to be OK down to
60 as long as it doesn't go too long. I sent some P. furcatas and M.
bosmani to my mother in law and she has them in her enclosed patio at Kula,
Mau (4000 feet elevation)i. The overnight temperature gets down to the low
40's high 30's in the winter months. They seem to be OK after one +
years. Of course as mentioned they are not eating or spawning (I noticed
that with P. signifer at about 60 , P. furcatas does not seem to be
bothered). Perhaps it is not too much of a factor as long as the daytime
temp gets back up into the 65-70 F range. Might be possible to cover/seal
the tank with clear plastic to hold the heat, I know this sounds funny but
it works for greenhouses (all glass type)....

MTF

At 02:03 PM 9/9/98 -1000, you wrote:
>Some good advice but unless things really get cold a tank at 69 degrees isn't
>going to be a problem for rainbows. Stop feeding everything except perhaps
>some very young fish, say less than 1/2 inch. The others can do fine without
>food for a week. I double recommend that you do immediately what Paul
>suggested that is clean the scum out of those filters. That's the way most
>people kill their fish when the power comes back on. (I imagine what happens
>is that the anerobic conditions start to kill the bacteria which can combined
>with the scum produce a lot of ammonia. As suggested by Jennifer I think
that
>your bacteria should bounce back rather quickly if you haven't left the
scum in
>them for too long). Once the power comes back
>on start doing your ammonia checks, you have an ammonia test kit yes???????
>When things seem ok start doing medium range water changes, 20-25%, do the
>guppies first, just in case the city water supply is now funky :-) You don't
>want
>to give your fish the Sydney scurge or giardia! Good luck & hope your power
>comes on soon.
>
>Gary Lange
>gwlange at STLNET.com
>Rainbowfish Study Group of North America
>http://home.stlnet.com/~gwlange/rainbowfish.index.html
>
>
>
>> Keeping any temperature fluctuations to as slow a rate as
>> possible should be your aim, so if possible insulate your tank with a
>> blanket or any polystyrene pieces (if you have them).
>>
>> But more importantly, after 12 hours the bacteria in your
>> filters will be dead, and you don't want them starting up and polluting
>> your tank. So you should give them a good clean, ready for when the
>> power is restored. On the same idea, don't feed too much now without any
>> filtration, and remember that it will take some time for the filters to
>> recover to normal operating efficiency. Most adult fish can cope without
>> food for a week or so.
>>
>> All the best
>> Paul
>> From autumnal England where we have just had the remnants of two
>> of your hurricanes (Bonny and Danielle)
>
Mach T. Fukada, Web Master
fukada at hawaii.edu
Honolulu Aquarium Society
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2948/HASF.html