dogofwar
CCA Members
One of the ways that I keep the power bill down is not heating most of the tanks in my fishroom and placing fish that like lower temps in tanks near or on the floor of my fishroom and placing those that like more heat nearer the ceiling.
The air temp in my fishroom hovers at around 72F this time of year. There are lots of new world cichlids active and even breeding at temps in the low 70s and even lower!
I just checked a tank on the floor today and it is 56F. I keep primarily Uruguayan fish in the floor tanks but many Central Americans also do great. The tank I checked is right below a tank of Coatepeque convicts. A couple of them made the leap into the tank below and have been doing great with lower winter temps for a couple of years. They're all active and eating (albeit a little less)...and ready to spawn when the temps rise in the spring!
I have a tank of Gymnogeos., wild-type swordtails and goodeids that are also on the floor. This tank isn't near an external wall, so it's probably in the low 60s but all of the fish are doing great - active, eating, etc.
I have tanks of Central Americans - cons of various types, Theraps wesseli, Cryptoheros, etc. - in a couple of the bottom row tanks (about 16" off of the floor of the fishroom) and they're all doing great with no heaters and temps in the mid 60s.
Lake Nicaragua is in the low to mid-70s near the surface and nearer to 60F near the bottom. Temps are cooler in the winter and warmer in the winter.
While the Amazon, tropical West Africa and other places near the equator have relatively stable, hot weather throughout the year (albeit with rainy and dry seasons), Central and Southern South America (and places with higher elevation) get downright chilly in the winter.
I've had really good luck with allowing temps to fluctuate with the seasons and lower temps seem to lower aggression, lengthen lifespans and result in a ton of breeding in the spring. Fish don't necessarily grow as fast or breed as much as those kept warm all year but that's a good thing (at least for me).
Do other folks keep fish at lower temps?
Matt
The air temp in my fishroom hovers at around 72F this time of year. There are lots of new world cichlids active and even breeding at temps in the low 70s and even lower!
I just checked a tank on the floor today and it is 56F. I keep primarily Uruguayan fish in the floor tanks but many Central Americans also do great. The tank I checked is right below a tank of Coatepeque convicts. A couple of them made the leap into the tank below and have been doing great with lower winter temps for a couple of years. They're all active and eating (albeit a little less)...and ready to spawn when the temps rise in the spring!
I have a tank of Gymnogeos., wild-type swordtails and goodeids that are also on the floor. This tank isn't near an external wall, so it's probably in the low 60s but all of the fish are doing great - active, eating, etc.
I have tanks of Central Americans - cons of various types, Theraps wesseli, Cryptoheros, etc. - in a couple of the bottom row tanks (about 16" off of the floor of the fishroom) and they're all doing great with no heaters and temps in the mid 60s.
Lake Nicaragua is in the low to mid-70s near the surface and nearer to 60F near the bottom. Temps are cooler in the winter and warmer in the winter.
While the Amazon, tropical West Africa and other places near the equator have relatively stable, hot weather throughout the year (albeit with rainy and dry seasons), Central and Southern South America (and places with higher elevation) get downright chilly in the winter.
I've had really good luck with allowing temps to fluctuate with the seasons and lower temps seem to lower aggression, lengthen lifespans and result in a ton of breeding in the spring. Fish don't necessarily grow as fast or breed as much as those kept warm all year but that's a good thing (at least for me).
Do other folks keep fish at lower temps?
Matt
