Power outage!!

[Fishlover1N]

So the power has been out for about 2 hours and it's likely to last for another 4. I have wrapped the tanks in bubble wrap and blankets to keep the heat in and most of the fish seem fine so far.

However my dwarf gourami is resting on the bottom of the tank, breathing fairly rapidly. What can I do to help him? Is it the lack of oxygen in the tank?

Thanks in advance

 

[GaryE]

Dwarf gouramis breathe surface air. Their inner ear has evolved into an alternative lung. They're delicate to begin with and need warm water (which carries less oxygen, hence the need to breathe air). So in a blackout with heat loss, they are vulnerable, both from falling tank temps and from breathing colder air.

I see you're from Saturn, and I can tell you the moons seem to be better to live on. I can't guess at conditions as I could if you were somewhere on Earth. In Canada, a 6 hour power outage wouldn't worry me unless it were colder than -20c outside.

 

[Fishlover1N]

Dwarf gouramis breathe surface air. Their inner ear has evolved into an alternative lung. They're delicate to begin with and need warm water (which carries less oxygen, hence the need to breathe air). So in a blackout with heat loss, they are vulnerable, both from falling tank temps and from breathing colder air.

I see you're from Saturn, and I can tell you the moons seem to be better to live on. I can't guess at conditions as I could if you were somewhere on Earth. In Canada, a 6 hour power outage wouldn't worry me unless it were colder than -20c outside.

Thanks for your reply. Haha, I actually live in the UK so it is fairly warm in the house. The temp in the tank has dropped to about 20c but he is a bit more active now.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Just as an FYI- I have a unit which is used for a variety of things but is intended first for use with vehicles. It contains a big battery which can be recharged by plugging the unit into a wall receptacle. Here is what is can be used to do:
Jump start a vehicle with a dead battery.
Pump air into tires or anything else one might blow up.
Charge via USB connections.
Light the immediate area.
Provide remote power to run something like a TV or tank heaters etc. for a number of hours.

I think we spent about $150 for it.

Unfortunately, I have 20 tanks in two buildings and I live in an area where power outages are not uncommon. In 2012 and 2013 we git hit by hurricanes and lost power for 13 days each time.

However, at the time we were caring for mom at home and she had dementia. She could not survive a power outage like those in winter of summer. I also ad begun breeding rare plecos and found myself with $15k worth of them because the gave me many babies. I had many other fish as well. Between those two factors the decision was easy. We installed a whole house back-up generator. It was not cheap but has proved to be invaluable. We are on out second gennie now and I was happy to pay the amonts they cost.

However, for shorter outages there are cheaper alternatives. One can get back-u[ power in many forms in terms of their ooutput. Many people back up only essential things like the fridge, the TV and some lighting. This can be done via battery or generation solutions/ Many smaller scale back-ups are affordable.

You can also buy battery powered air pumps. They will keep water oxygenated and circulating too. I actually had a power outage in cooler weather before we installed the first gennie. My plecos needed warmer water (I keep them in the 80sF). What I did to keep the tank water up was to remove a few quarts to a sauce pot. I then heater this on our propane grill and then poured it careful into the tank. I repeated this a few times before the power came back. Everything was fine. But had it been the dead of winter, I doubt this would have worked very well.

edited for spelling and typos