Well That Was An Eventful Night!

george4593

Fish Fanatic
Joined
Mar 25, 2013
Messages
68
Reaction score
0
Around half past 11 last night i heard a massive smash and new straight away it was the fish tank! I came down to find water all over the floor and one fish on the floor, looked up at the fish tank and there was a crack across the whole of the back of the tank, and the fish had managed to get forced through this crack, though i wouldn't call it a crack. After rescuing the fish off the floor i put him back in the tank, there was about an inch of water left and was slowly coming out at this point, so i got a bucket and started to move the tank water into this bucket, once about half full 10L i put the fish in this bucket, all 28 of them, though i only counted 27 and still haven't found the poor fish yet. Luckily i still have my old tank 50L which was empty and still had a heater, so quickly filled the tank up with warm tap water and slowly started to put this tap water (i did use de-chlorinator) into the bucket so the fish could get used to it, after 10 minutes the water in the bucket was cooling down so i decided to put the fish in the 50L tank (yes this is much too small but it's all i had). The fish were fine and i was just plugging the heater in when i realised there was no electricity, the water from the 150L tank had got in the sockets and I'm sure you know water and electricity do not mix. At this point i decided to ring a 24 hour electrician to see if there was anything he could do, at this point its 1am this morning, but he said there was nothing he could do untill it was dry. The only thing to do was to stay up and monitor the water temperature and add warm water when needed. I managed to stay awake untill 8 oclock when i rang another electrician to just come and have a look, because i had no power to anything apart from the lights. He arrived and said do not use that socket (which was under the fish tank) because it was wet and needs to dry. However i could use the other sockets and he flipped the switch and the power was back on which means i could use the heater!! I was pleased but i have still not been to sleep. The fish have all survived apart from the one ( i think). I think the tank has cracked because with a fault in the glass, (an abnormality in the glass) the fish that fell out the tank was fine! I was amazed as he had been forced through the gap by the force of the water. The fish are perfectly fine at the moment and copeing fine with the sudden change in water and environment. Moral of the story is always have a bucket or container on hand. Or even a spare tank it could happen to anybody, my carpet is still very wet but i am getting a carpet cleaner in later. Another thing glass is alot Sharper than you think! Cut my hand three times trying to scoop the fish out of the tank. I am hoping to get another tank made asap and i have phoned the tank builder. So these fish can live happily.
 
My goodness, what a nightmare! At least you heard it happen to enable a quick reaction, rather than find the consequences in the morning.

If you have a test kit, make sure you closely monitor ammonia readings in your 50 litre, as they are much more cramped than ideal - but alive at least!

Have you moved your filter to this tank also?

What was the abnormality in the glass? Did you know about it? If so how long was it present before the crack?

What type of fish do you have, and which one was on the floor?

Sorry for all the questions, hope you get a bigger tank sorted soon.
 
No i haven't moved the filter as yet, the bacteria are more thqn likely dead but i will still hope some survived, i will add some bacteria to the filter, like start up and see how it goes, yes i an monitoring the water closely, no i did not know of tge abnormality, if there is one, as the tank is on a level surface im just guessing there was an abnormality because of the shape of the crack, turquoise rainbowfish, rosy barbs, serpae tetras, and albino corys, the serpae tetra was on the floor thank god they are thin!
Yes thankyou, the fish are fine and happy at the moment
 
Good to hear they all survived, and good that you were able to get everything in order quickly.
If your having an aquarium built, have you thought about maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch acrylic? it wont crack as easily as glass (Obviously depending on the thickness, but acrylic will flex before it cracks)
 
Wow. Glad to hear you got everything back to some semblance of order. I definately agree in moving the filter, as this was only a few hours ago some of the bacteria may have survived.
 
My worst nightmare I think, glad it wasn't a total loss and good luck sorting it asap. 
 
I was thinking about acrylic, but does anyone know of anyone which would make a 36x21x12 or maybe 40x21x12, i have looked at one place and they make acrylic tank but, only big ones like 5 foot long
 
Whereabouts are you George? If you put in in your profile someone may be able to assist you in this.
 
george4593 said:
I was thinking about acrylic, but does anyone know of anyone which would make a 36x21x12 or maybe 40x21x12, i have looked at one place and they make acrylic tank but, only big ones like 5 foot long
 
 
If you want, you could get a tank big enough to keep them in for now, and build your own acrylic tank.
There is tons of vids on youtube explaining how to do it, and you can get acrylic from lots of places, sometimes even your local hardware store.
 
but that all depends on how much time you have
 
I live in Worcester, not far from Birmingham (wherr i hqd the previous tank built)
No i havent found the missing fish, ive either counted wrong even though i double checked or he has been eaten by one of my cat's, i have looked and looked and he is not here so i will re count the fish when i put them in there new tank.
Thanks tiger Oscar but i might be able to get a new and carpet from the house insurance.
 
That to is a good idea, i did not think of insurance
rofl.gif
 

Most reactions

Back
Top