Help!electric Went When On Holiday

[gennine]

Hello there!
PLease forgive me! I havnt used this forum for a long time, but am could really do with some help asap!!

the tank has been happy, balanced and working well for many months. got a couple of plants t 26C and the fish below in my signature. got a couple of plants growing.

i went on holiday, and didnt check the electric.. (yes, i know!)
my neighbour came in fri, overfed them, (grrr, i should have been even more specific), and put the emergency electric on.dont know what time as i havnt seen her yet.
i also dont know the lowest temperature the tank got to as the heater has probably warmed a few degrees since the leccy was put on, but this last week (we went to the isle of wight!) heating wasnt on and i had a window open. (i live in bath) (fri)..

about an hour n half ago i got in..
the electric had been off for long enough for my freezer to defrost, and for the temperature of the tank to drop to less than 14C!!

I said farewell to my 4 lemon tetras and 2 penguin tetras today..



some are a bit confused but has so far survived
the temp is now at 15 since the flat has been up and running again but have left the heater to go up to 16C. i have fished out as much food as poss and turned the filter up to deal with the rest of the waste.

my concern is how should i warm the tank back to 26C?
at what intervals should i raise the temperature, over what amount of time?

i have put the temp on to heat up to 17C, the water is still very cold and it is gonna take a while..

After i have raised the temp 26C i realise its gonna be fun and games with ammonia levels and things..

please can someone with more experience than me give me some much needed advice on the best way to deal with this?

many thanks for your time!

genie x

 

[Truck]

just wack the heater up to 26oC as it will take a good day or 2 to get back to normal temp. get your gravel vac out and hoover shift all the gravel if possible remove some water and add some fresh water that is warm and dechlorinated and loaded with stress coat

 

[WILDER]

Don't do warm water changes just let the temp go up gradually.
Water changes and gravel vac.

 

[gennine]

Excellent!
many thanks for your help!!
genie

 

[WILDER]

If temp goes back up to fast fish can break out in whitespot, swim bladder and columnaris due to the stress.
So don't do warm water changes, match the temp of the tank water.
Good luck.

 

[andywg]

If temp goes back up to fast fish can break out in whitespot, swim bladder and columnaris due to the stress.
So don't do warm water changes, match the temp of the tank water.
Good luck.

Fish can only break out in whitespot if there is whitespot in the tank.

Also, considering that you can do water changes with water 10 degrees and more lower than tank water without issue, I would guess that 25% changes of water 4 degrees higher will cause no issue at all.

To get from 17 to 26 I would want it to take about 5 hours. Consider how much the temp can drop between an lfs and getting to your house and how quickly it goes back up.

 

[WILDER]

[URL="http/www.americanchronicle.com/articles/42084"]http/www.americanchronicle.com/articles/42084[/URL]

Taken from the link
Rather interesting.

White spot is usually introduced to a tank along with new, infected fish or plants. It can also break out seemingly without warning in an undisturbed tank.

When this happens, it means that the organism has been present for some time, but has been dormant (hibernating), and that some new stimulus – stress, or a change in water temperature – has caused it to awaken and become active.

 

[andywg]

<a href="http/www.americanchronicle.com/articles/42084" target="_blank">http/www.americanchronicle.com/articles/42084</a>

Taken from the link
Rather interesting.

White spot is usually introduced to a tank along with new, infected fish or plants. It can also break out seemingly without warning in an undisturbed tank.

When this happens, it means that the organism has been present for some time, but has been dormant (hibernating), and that some new stimulus – stress, or a change in water temperature – has caused it to awaken and become active.

There is no such thing as a dormant stage of whitespot. Despite hundreds of studies into ich there has been absolutely no reporting of a hibernating or dormant stage. The belief of such a stage is believed to be due to its saltwater version (a completely different pathogen being Cryptocaryon irritans rather than Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) having such a stage.

It is hypothesised that there one can have a low level infestation, but that will be due to the fishkeeper not noticing the fact that the pathogen is in the tank.

The link you have used is inaccurate on a number of other things. Scaleless fish are not burned by fish. Moray eels have no scales yet survive in marine strength water. The catfish of family Plotosiidae do not have scales, yet can live on reefs. The ability to cope with salt in the water is all about the osmoregulatory system and nothing at all to do with scales or a lack thereof.

I would recommend anyone who wants info on ich (whitespot) reads the Skeptical Aquarist page on ich.

 

[WILDER]

I usually use that skeptical aquarist link had it years.

 

[gennine]

well, the fisshies seem to be alot happier now, tank is 10 degrees warmer than when i got home last night (24C) looks like i am out the red now..

 

[WILDER]

Still watch them closely.
Good luck.