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We had a major snow storm on 10/29. I lost power for 5 days, just got it back today. My tanks dropped to 55*F. I've lost most of my fish including my male abn, 11 babies, my two pairs of S. multipunctata and most of my african cichlids. I just have a few yellow Labs left, 1/2 dead male Ngara peacock (lost all the females), two zebra danio (my kids tank), one baby abn & the mother. Not sure what direction Im going to go now. If my Ngara dies, go south/central american? Go native & never have to worry about the temps again? I like them all but have only two tanks. I wanted to spawn my multis. 2nd time in my life I failed at it.

That is hard luck, sorry you lost your fish.
I heard about your weather on the TV, the same weather system was heading here but would fall just as rain... in fact I think it was last night.
5 days without power would also mean your filters would have to be cleaned and re-started.
There are more and more temperate species appearing in the hobby now, fish from Argentina, northern India/Himalayan rivers and China. Some of them are fine in unheated tanks with the temp set in the low 70s and then unheated for their 'winter' period. I think they could stand a drop to 55 and recover.
S Barbatus, mountain minnows, shiners, gymnogeophagus, stoneloach/Hongkong pleco, some snakeheads and anabantids, certain barbs.
I have some North American rainbow shiners and they are as pretty as any tetra or rasbora.

Ooooo - thanks real bad luck - i feel for you.

The rain we had in the early hours of this morning was horrendous - i know because i got caught in it

As Wrasse says, there is an increasing amount of temperate fish available so there might be some good options if you wanted to go that way

What made it was devastating as it was, was that it came so early, all the trees have most of their leaves yet. Big healthy trees were snapping apart under the all the extra weight of snow/ice. If it were to come at the end of the month, the same trees would have been fine since they'd have been barren. My Electric company had crews from several other states coming in to help out. My male Ngara peacock & 3 other Labs didnt survive the night.

Dang, hate to hear that. Here in Texas if we have a little ice it shuts us down--did back in 2000, killed all of my uncle's fish except his weather loaches (coldwater, of course). Power was off for 2 weeks. If you decide you want to get back into the multis let me know. In the spring I'll break down my 300 gallon tank to move some things around and I'd give you a pair of multis if you pay to ship them. I've got about a dozen so I could part with 2, or if you wanna try petricola, I could part with a few fry.

Sorry to hear that you lost your fish during the snowstorm! We got 16 inches of wet snow and were without power for more than 4 days, so I feel your distress.

For a few tanks, I suggest that you invest in battery operated pumps to which you can put an airstone on for aeration. Also, drop your biomedia bag into the tank to preserve the 'good' bacteria - I've had success doing this. Boil water, put into 1 liter bottles and float in the tank to keep temperature up. Also, drape your tanks with towels or blankets to insulate them, thus keeping the tank warmer longer. Don't feed your fish until your power resumes and you can do a water change - adult fish can survive for more than a week without food.

I hope this helps you prepare for the next one, since this is just the beginning of winter

Very sorry to hear this. If you own your house, an ~5000 Watt, ~$500 generator is a very good investment and you can use for other things too, e.g., if you have a big yard and electric garden tools...

I think it is safe to assume you have no gas, just electric service. Surely, if you had gas, you could cope somewhat with the tank temp drop.

So nice of Unblinded to offer his fish to you.

unblinded wrote:Dang, hate to hear that. Here in Texas if we have a little ice it shuts us down--did back in 2000, killed all of my uncle's fish except his weather loaches (coldwater, of course). Power was off for 2 weeks. If you decide you want to get back into the multis let me know. In the spring I'll break down my 300 gallon tank to move some things around and I'd give you a pair of multis if you pay to ship them. I've got about a dozen so I could part with 2, or if you wanna try petricola, I could part with a few fry.

Thank you!! Thats a very generous offer. I've got alot of thinking to do before spring. North American native riffle tank or back to africans or pleco's with characins. I need a fish room so I dont have to pick just one. lol

Ditto on the fishroom. I'm building a fish house/room (12'x16') starting next month & will be finished in the spring is the reason for moving the tanks that house my synos.