Power outage disaster

Question
Hi i have a question about a nitrate spike in my tank. Yesterday the power went out in my house for 9 hours in which that time so did my filter and airstone in my 10gal with my danios and female betta. When I came home tonight sadly my danios had died but the betta was still alive and when i test the water nitrates were sky high. I need advice on how to get my tank back to normal and if my betta will be ok. She is now in a holding tank.

Answer
Hi Austin

If your tank was properly cycled, a 9 hour power outage should not have killed your Danios unless it is overcrowded.

The best thing to do at this point is a 30% water change and siphon the gravel well to remove any fish wastes and excess food. Fill the tank with fresh water using a good water conditioner such as StressCoat or Aquasafe. Let the filter run for about an hour and put the Betta back in the tank. A Betta should be fine by herself in a 10 gallon.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard