Lost all of my fish...

[follicle]

Greetings,

In October, my mother moved from a two-story, 4-bedroom home to a one-story, 3 bedroom home after my father passed away. With no room left to spare, my mother gave my father's 55 gallon freshwater tank to my wife and I. We took care of it as needed and I never really showed much interest in it. Last week, we went out and bought our first fish since we got the tank, three Tiger Barbs and few Silver Dollars. Then I found out about the Black Ghost Knife Fish and the different ways you can customize your aquarium (lighting options and such). Then I started getting really excited, bought some books, and then...

We got a really bad snow/ice storm here in Southern Indiana. It's been bad for close to 72 hours now. We lost power about 48 hours ago and had to go to my mothers house because it was far too cold in our house. We had to pack up pretty quickly and get the cats out of the house, and it didn't occur to my until I got to my mom's house that all of my fish would probably die. The drive to my mom's was treacherous. We couldn't make it back out to our house until this morning, and sure enough, they were gone. I'm really upset and mad at myself for not being able to do anything, or be prepared. It just sucks...

I guess my question is, is there anything I need to do when this all blows over to get the tank ready for new fish? Should I siphon the water and fill it up with new water? Is there any kind of treatments I need to perform? My father used to be a know-it-all of fish aquariums but we're still relatively new to this and I'm not really sure what direction to take.

Another question, do any of you have anything setup to prevent something like this from occurring (a UPS or some type of generator)? If so, what kind of setup do you recommend?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!

In your situation, yes, I'd go ahead and start over. All new water, and you'll need to recycle the tank. Check the articles linked in my signature for cycling a tank.

There are precautions you can take to get around these things, and you mentioned the 2 I was going to. A UPS, just like the ones you would buy for a computer, will provide some level of protection. But they'll only last so long, and definately not for 48 hours. A generator would provide you long-term backup, as long as you're able to keep it full of fuel.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I have also lost power in the last year 5 times (and I live in the middle of Chicago!). Fortunately, it wasn't for extended periods of time, and when it was... the fish did ok since it was warm out.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if the power goes out for long periods of time, the filter is going to get really nasty with stagnent water in it. Unplug it to prevent the water from shooting back into the aquarium once the power is restored.

 

[missileman]

Sorry about the loss.
You may be able to save the cycle. Do a 100% water change/gravel vac and empty the water in the filter but save the filter cartdridge and bio material. Its been cold so the bacteria should still be viable.Refill the tank and treat the water before turning the filter back on. You can then go for either starter fish or add a small amount of pure amonia, (1/4 teaspoon of 10% amonia should be about right for a 55 gallon) and test the water every day for a few days.
My thought is that because of the cold the tank should not be in very bad shape to spite the dead fish.