Flooded house. Now what.

[emilygupps]

My house is flooded ankle deep because of the water heater. My biggest concern right now is what to do with the fish. The land lord says that every thing will have to come out of the house temporarily. We're talking:
7 Angels
30-40 danios
2 bettas
5 harlies
9 Galaxy rasborras
6 cory
7 neons
10 ish khulis (how will I catch them all?!)
20 Ottos
35 nerite snails
4 orange shrimp
10 ghost shrimp
20 Amano shrino
20 ish red cherry shrimp

And HUNDREDS of dollars worth of plants.

How many buckets do I need? Should I just try to give them to pet stores? The tanks will be down for at least a week plus then I have to recycle them right? We JUST got every thing so stable and well planted. They're BEAUTIFUL.


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[emerald76]

My house is flooded ankle deep because of the water heater. My biggest concern right now is what to do with the fish. The land lord says that every thing will have to come out of the house temporarily. We're talking:
7 Angels
30-40 danios
2 bettas
5 harlies
9 Galaxy rasborras
6 cory
7 neons
10 ish khulis (how will I catch them all?!)
20 Ottos
35 nerite snails
4 orange shrimp
10 ghost shrimp
20 Amano shrino
20 ish red cherry shrimp

And HUNDREDS of dollars worth of plants.

How many buckets do I need? Should I just try to give them to pet stores? The tanks will be down for at least a week plus then I have to recycle them right? We JUST got every thing so stable and well planted. They're BEAUTIFUL.


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Empty the tanks until you can easily lift them. Get some algae growing somewhere for your otos, a bunch of river rocks outside in a bowl will grow algae quickly. Fast the fish otherwise unless you want to do a lot of water changes. It will probably be cheaper to buy buckets rather than completely restock, so find a good sized air pump and put a stone in each bucket you use. I'd get big Rubbermaid tubs, 20 gal each. You will probably need 2 for all the schooling fish but get the otos their own to maintain water quality. Put the filter media in the bins but rinse of any major gunk to keep it alive. The plants can all stay in the partially filled tanks probably. A five gal bucket for the inverts (cover it!), buckets for each Betta or their tanks are probably small enough you can just keep them in them. The angels will need either individual five gal buckets or two Rubbermaid tubs. You may want to put some of the smaller schools together in a bucket. Water changes will be necessary, 50% every other day would be my recommendation . Try to keep the buckets pretty warm but not more than 80.


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[Canadiver]

Sorry to here of your predicament. Our place had a pipe break and flooded, we were able to leave most of our things in the house as it was our own and we made the repairs. If you can't leave the tank there while repairs are made, you should be able to move the tank with a bit of work.

How large is the tank?
Where will you be staying while repairs are made?

When we moved along with our 80 gal. I took the water down in the tank to about 4". Filling two 5 gal pails with lids and putting most of the fish into the pails. Of coarse you must take everything off the tank, filter, heater, decorations, anything that can move. When the tank was light enough two of us to move out and place on carpet in back of truck. Once at new location just reverse the process filling tank with correct temp water, start filter, heater etc. introduce fish and all should be fine. We never lost a fish or plant, the hardest part was trying to net the fish.

I have since made a fish trap instead of netting. My tank is heavily planted and netting fish is impossible without damage to plants. Fish trap was made from a Simply lemonade bottle. Don't feed the fish, put food in the bottom of the battle. I used blood worms and tabs. The fish enter let several get in then reach in placing hand over opening and you have your fish.

Good luck , hope it all works out for you and your fish.




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[emilygupps]

Thanks for replying!

Each betta is in a ten gal. One betta lives with neons the other betta had to move in with about 15-20 danio fry which are just about ready to be sold to the pet store (long story there). Maybe the LFS will take the babies early? That's the first step.

Should I put each PAIR of angels in a bucket, or do I just separate all of them? We are probably going to be in a hotel with dogs, a cat, and a toddler.

The tanks are various sizes. 180g, 30high, 20long, 20 tall, 46 high, 10gx2, 17g (only plants right now).


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[emerald76]

Put angels in the tens if you can two to a tank and then the rest either in a Rubbermaid or individual buckets


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[emilygupps]

I have two pairs so that will work. The other three haven't paired yet. But the four who have are mean little suckers.


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[Mebbid]

Oh my god, I couldn't even imagine... im sorry to hear about this.

I would try coolers. Chances Are your friends have some you might be able to borrow and they will help protect against temperature fluctuations as well as being larger than buckets. You could also see if your lfs could hold onto them for a small fee for a little while. I know mine would.

 

[Canadiver]

Oh my god I had no idea you have so many tanks going. The smaller tanks should not be to hard to move. You just need a place to move them to, which can prove to be difficult. Your landlord should have insurance for this type of thing. I checked mine and it pays for relocating tenants, but does not pay for any tenants properties damage. Not sure if it would cover cost of storage for belonging worth asking. Maybe rent a heated storage to set up some of the tanks in for the time being, you can get 8x10 by the month.


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[Brookster123]

Holy worst nightmare batman.. I'm going to offer a different Avenue here, keep in mind I'm a stubborn pita your landlord will have to work with you here, they're replacing carpet? Concrete floor? They can work around the tanks, you may have to take a day off from work to manage but it's do able.. the logistics of breaking down several tanks is pale in comparison to laying carpet and moving the tank to a completed side. Landlord will need to drain dry the area first.. fine. Cut out carpet around tanks. The thing with water heaters. . They should never have a chance to burst, they have a rating..5 years, 10 years.. the plumber should have written an install date on the side, if the expectancy is surpassed by date than the landlord is irresponsible and you as a paying tenant should not be put out by his/her lack of attention to detail.

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[emilygupps]

Holy worst nightmare batman.. I'm going to offer a different Avenue here, keep in mind I'm a stubborn pita your landlord will have to work with you here, they're replacing carpet? Concrete floor? They can work around the tanks, you may have to take a day off from work to manage but it's do able.. the logistics of breaking down several tanks is pale in comparison to laying carpet and moving the tank to a completed side. Landlord will need to drain dry the area first.. fine. Cut out carpet around tanks. The thing with water heaters. . They should never have a chance to burst, they have a rating..5 years, 10 years.. the plumber should have written an install date on the side, if the expectancy is surpassed by date than the landlord is irresponsible and you as a paying tenant should not be put out by his/her lack of attention to detail.

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They JUST gave us a new one six months ago!!


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[Canadiver]

That's exactly what we did at my place but being the owner i had the final word. Any hot water tank that I have replaced or installed has always had a pan under it with a drain to catch and get rid of the water. However this won't solve the issue at hand good for the future.

I still believe the best thing is to try and leave the tanks up and running, even if you have to move them somewhere during repair. There is a lot more work and cost in trying to set up temp containment and putting fish in buckets etc. I would discuss with landlord to leave the tanks, if not talk to him about renting a place to move them to. Draining enough water to make them able to move is not that tough.

Another thought is there a garage on the property or someplace they can be put for a few days. How long are we talking, I know my place took a couple weeks, but pipe broke upstairs and flooded the kitchen and living room down. So had to do drywall and paint first. The dry out takes a couple days usually. Anyway here wishing you well. Good luck.


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[PNWaquarist]

Sorry to hear about that, Emily. Good luck with everything.

 

[Brookster123]

They JUST gave us a new one six months ago!!


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Tell said landlord to not be a cheap blank and do it right... balls in your court..

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[emilygupps]

Tell said landlord to not be a cheap blank and do it right... balls in your court..

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Land lord is a pretty good guy came out in the rain in the middle of the night. Seems the whole thing is some how the gardeners fault because he changed the hose hook up out front but didn't put a pressure regulator on so its reading 120 and out house is supposed to be 75? So any way the pressure burst the valve on the hot water heater and the over flow was pointed toward the house instead of outside??? Idk they might as well be speaking Russian.

I think we are going to just move the tanks one at a time as the do each room with new carpet. He says he can help us find people to move the 180.


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[trennamw]

Sorry to here of your predicament. Our place had a pipe break and flooded, we were able to leave most of our things in the house as it was our own and we made the repairs. If you can't leave the tank there while repairs are made, you should be able to move the tank with a bit of work.

How large is the tank?
Where will you be staying while repairs are made?

When we moved along with our 80 gal. I took the water down in the tank to about 4". Filling two 5 gal pails with lids and putting most of the fish into the pails. Of coarse you must take everything off the tank, filter, heater, decorations, anything that can move. When the tank was light enough two of us to move out and place on carpet in back of truck. Once at new location just reverse the process filling tank with correct temp water, start filter, heater etc. introduce fish and all should be fine. We never lost a fish or plant, the hardest part was trying to net the fish.

I have since made a fish trap instead of netting. My tank is heavily planted and netting fish is impossible without damage to plants. Fish trap was made from a Simply lemonade bottle. Don't feed the fish, put food in the bottom of the battle. I used blood worms and tabs. The fish enter let several get in then reach in placing hand over opening and you have your fish.

Good luck , hope it all works out for you and your fish.




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Fish trap ... Brilliant!!! How do you get them back out?


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[Canadiver]

That's great news Emily, I bet everything will work out in the end. Sound like the landlord is going to take care of it well.



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[Canadiver]

Fish trap ... Brilliant!!! How do you get them back out?


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What I do is fill a at least a gallon size bucket or something that the bottle will fit in about 1/2 full, using water from the tank you are taking fish from. I also drill a couple small holes into the bottom of the bottle. This will allow some of the water to drain out back into the tank. When the bottle is about 1/2 full, put your hand over the open end tip the bottle up so water is no longer is over drain holes. Move it the bucket place it into the water remove hand from opening and gently pour lifting the bottle back out. Now if you need to put into bags so you acclimate into a new tank. The fish are real easy to catch with a small net and best of all no damage to the plants in the home tank. I think it is less stressful on the fish also. Give it a try works great.





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[emilygupps]

Update:

We are going to be out of that house a least a month. And the land lord says we have to take the 180 down. Completely get rid of it.... By Wednesday. Eventually we plan to put up a smaller tank in its place depending on what can be on the tile. I've found an LFS who will take what we can't keep.

Questions: can I keep my khulis in either my 10g or my 20l? Temporarily?

My peaceful betta is currently living with 7 neons whom I am giving up to the pet stores. Can I move him in to a tank with my cpds? Will they nip him?

I have 7 Angels. 1 pair is in a breeder but still no eggs, is it okay to give them up? Will the pet stores have a problem with aggression? I really love two other Angels and would rather keep only two out of the seven, they're also a pair.

Plants... Oh the plants. Can we put them in a bucket out side to get sun with some nerites?


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