Kay, I am so sorry you have to go through this again. I hope your house and all your family stays safe.
As for the fish...I have had experiences moving fish...they do not do well at all traveling. One of mine died when I was moving from Louisville to Lexington - he was only out of his tank and in a bucket for an hour.They just don't travel well. They get sick from the movement, the lack of oxygen, temperature changes, etc. I would recommend trying to move the fishtank to somewhere safe in the house (basement, bathroom, etc.) and covering it with a piece of plywood if it doesn't already have a cover. I'd leave one of those time-release food capsules in there on the day you evacuate. The pleco should take care of any algae in the case that your filter stops working due to loss of power. The risks of leaving the fish are:
1) you could lose power to the house, which would also mean no air pump, filter, or heating/cooling. However, they would not have any of these things while traveling either until you reached a hotel room or something where you could set up a small tank, if you have one.
2) something could hit the tank and break it, which is why I suggest putting it in the safest part of the house and making sure it's covered and protected as much as possible.
I think the risks of taking the fish with you outweigh the risks of leaving them at home, especially if you're traveling all the way to Tennessee or Michigan. This is all just my opinion of course.
I can't imagine what it must be like for you Floridians. Is you school even open, Kay? I think it's probably a good idea to back up your pictures on your computer somehow (or just take the whole thing with you, like you said) but I can't really think about what I would take besides the important stuff (papers, photos, medicine, etc.). At least you do have a little bit of time to prepare.
You know my grandparents do live very close to you, and it's wearing on them a lot, having to travel so much. It's expensive too: hotel rooms, gas if you can find it, plane tickets, not being able to work, damage to property, etc. It's just madness.
Again, I will be thinking of you and all the other PTers in Florida. Let us know when/if you decide to leave.
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