Tropical Fish Tank - How Long Will They Survive If Power Is Off?

[joko]

how long can will tropical fish survive should the power go off and turn off their heat, bubbles, and filter?

possibly getting one as a gift but concerned if their meter runs out while theyre at work and its off all day - possible 8-10 hours

thanks

[boxtops]

IMO it depends on the species of fish, size of tank etc - some can tolerate lower temperatures than others

[wildwood]

Not sure why their meter runs out but if it is a reasonable sized tank of 12 gallons or more in room temperature it should be ok.

If it ever happens, don't add hot water to raise the temperature back too quickly. Let the heater warm the water back up slowly. Watch out for white spot after a chilling.

[boxtops]

wildwood, on her other Q, joko said her friends are on a pay as you go meter.

[wildwood]

Oh, well she's got to make sure their is plenty of credit in the meter then.

[divegirl]

The other problem is that once the water stops flowing through the filter the good bacteria on the filter media starts to die off. This can cause an ammonia spike and a age the fish.

Have they kept fish before and do they know how to 'cycle' a tank? Can I suggest you join a forum like the tropical fish forum (TFF) for advice on both.

Lisa x

[divegirl]

That should say damage the fish...

[Prudie]

I lost a whole (small) tank of fish once when something tripped the house when I was away for a night. They were without power for about 18 hours.

[divegirl]

Here's a link to the site I mentioned.....

http://www.fishforums.net/

Lisa x

[chas2008]

when i moved house it was a good 4-5 hours between turning the tank off and resetting it back up at the new address...didnt lose a fish. I think the problems start with a rapid temp change.

[RATTER15]

I lost a whole tank full of expensive fish when I left the tank under the charge of an ex, she decided to go away for a few days and to be on the "safe side" turn all the power off, I came back to a tank frozen solid and wrecked!!

I was not a happy bunny!!!!!

[hammerman]

Tropical fish are a lot hardier that many people think. A good friend had a 4 foot tank and his house got flooded when the local river burst its banks. The freezing cold, filthy dirty and salty water (the river was tidal) went to his lounge ceiling.

When the water went down about 3 days later, he was finding all sorts of his tropical fish flapping about in the pantry, on the stairs, in the hallway etc. He put them in buckets, brought them up to me and they all survived.

Not to be recommended though lol !!!!