Emergency: house heater broken and no tank heater

[pklong]

Please help. We live in Florida, which is generally very warm, but we are currently in a cold snap (like the rest of the US). Our house heater decided to stop working last night and the temperature in the house went down to 65 degrees F (thankfully the air stills runs, so it didn't go below that). The tank water (no heater in tank) got down to 67 degrees F. We have a 5 gallon tank. In it, we have 1 male betta, 3 neon tetras, and 1 albino cory catfish. We finally got an A/C technician out this evening and the whole unit needs to be replaced, so we won't have heat again tonight. I'm worried about our fish. My husband replaced 2 quarts of the tank water with warm water about 30 minutes ago and brought the temperature up to 70 degrees F, but I know that won't last long. Is there any way we can keep our fish from freezing? How do we keep the tank warm with no heaters? Suggestions?

 

[wildroseofky]

Wrap the tank in blankets or towels to help hold in the heat. Fill some water bottles with hot water and float them in the tank. Replace when they get cool. Can you use space heaters to get the room warm? If you can keep the room around 80 you tank shouldn't loose too much heat. Be careful if you are using space heaters though. Hope your furnace is fixed soon. Our temps are 0 right now.

 

[pklong]

We don't have any space heaters because we never need them here in Florida (darn cold and us Floridians not knowing how to deal with it!). The tank is located right next to the thermostat, which is the warmest part of the house. We'll wrap the tank with blankets and try the heated water bottles, but we don't have anything to get the house warm. Thanks for your quick reply!

 

[HN1]

What temp was your heater set for?

You will most likely be fine wrapping it in a blanket and waiting it out. Do you have a thermometer to monitor temp? A gradual lowering of the tank temp will be far better than wild swings.

 

[Rare]

Any petco (or other) around your area? I know they are opened till late here. A heater for your 5gal under 15 bucks. I got one yesterday for my fry tank. It has one setting so no fussing with it. I think it's 78. Just put it in and you are good. Always nice to have for an emergency.

 

[Toad]

Walmart has them too.

 

[pklong]

Thanks, everyone. We've got a heating pad on one side set to the lowest setting, then wrapped it all with towels/blankets. I hope it works. We don't have a petco nearby. I'll run to petsmart tomorrow and get a heater. Thanks, again, for all the helpful advice.

 

[Khuligirl93]

I know this is another topic, but neons and Cory cats really need to be in larger groups and need a larger tank than 5g.

 

[KimmiA]

You should be fine with the advice given here I had the same scare when Superstorm Sandy hit. There were a few days where my tropical fw tank dipped to the 60s, but the fish were fine, just were as active as they are in warmer weather.

Good luck! And try to stay warm