Caring for your fish in an emergency

There are many different scenarios that can occur & could be considered a fish tank emergency. This article specifically covers caring for your fish after an emergency which involves a power cut and/or water outage & possible hardware damage.
Power outage is a common problem & is a concern to all fish keepers reliant on mains power for running life support items such as filters, heaters, airpumps & lighting.
The length of the power cut will determine the severity of the problem & the actions needed to best ensure the welfare of fish:
Under 3 Hours- If filter is undamaged & media remains wet, then no remedial action will be required.
If filter media becomes dry or the filter is damaged then we would recommend-
Treatment with Sera Toxivec (or other ammonia removal product), for the removal of Ammonia & Nitrite
Treatment with Sera Nitrivec (or other biostarter)
20% Water Change weekly for 6 weeks
Water temperature should not be a concern for a power cut of this duration.
Over 3 Hours- Biological filter media will be damaged after siting inactive for longer than 3 hours & temperature change could be a concern.
Ways to minimise instability of aquarium conditions-
Keep filter media wet, if the filter is a sump or a canister filter, remove biological media from the filter & place it directly into the aquarium.
Use Sera Toxivec or similar ammonia removing product at the highest frequency recommended.
Use battery powered airpump, if you have one available (some people even have one lying around from their bait box)
If practical, wrap a tropical aquarium with some form of insulation e.g a blanket
Once normality is restored-
Treat with Sera Toxivec (or other ammonia removal product), for the removal of Ammonia & Nitrite
Treatment with Sera Nitrivec (or other aquarium biostarter)
20% weekly water change for 6 weeks

If due to a water shortage it is necessary to use rainwater to provide water for refilling an aquarium or for providing water for fish that may have lost their home (ie a broken aquarium) then be aware that rainwater is very low in mineral content & has a very low pH. It will be necessary to increase the hardness & pH of the water. The most recommended way to do this is to use an aquarium product such as Sera pH/kH Plus or Sera Mineral Salts, however in an emergency situation pH can be raised using standard pantry baking soda, it will be necessary to do this in conjunction with a pH test kit, adding the baking soda slowly & checking the result.
All water should be treated with a water ager, preferably with a stress reducing agent (eg Sera Aquatan)

After any situation when hardware could be damaged always check that it is functioning correctly before resuming use & always turn off all electrical items before putting your hands in an aquarium.
If an aquarium has suffered minor damage, eg broken braces or damage to the upper part of the aquarium, drain the aquarium a little in order to reduce the water pressure.

Stress may be an issue for the fish due to immediate water quality issues & fluctuations. Long term issues may also cause problems for the fish & you will need to remain vigilant to the possibility of stress related illness. Products such as Sera Ectopur, API Melafix & API Pimafix are excellent natural treatments which can help to reduce & sometimes prevent the occurrence of stress related, opportunistic diseases.