Are we cookin our fish?

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It's an interesting article, but I don't see a lot of facts in it.
 
Indeed it is. In fact I have most of my tanks set to 80 but this has caused me to reconsider that stance.
I have mine at 80 but wonder if I shouldnt drop it a degree or 2.
 
I think it's a little extreme for him to drop his tanks down to room temperature, but I'm thinking I might shoot for 76 or 77 and see how it goes. I think the fish adjust to whatever the temp of their water is. They can't survive in their natural environment without being adaptable. I'm sure the temps in their natural biotopes are not always the same.
 
It's definitely thought provoking. I'm still pretty new to this hobby but have been absorbing every last bit of info I can and spend most of my free time on the internet doing just that. The one thing that has never made sense to me though is the idea that it's so bad to change water temperature. I frequently read that you should never change water temp by more than a degree in 24 hours or other such rules of thumb. I wonder to myself how anyone that follows that rule ever acclimates new fish. Do they take several days drip acclimating before releasing the fish? Geez.

Just from a common sense standpoint we know the systems the wild fish live in must have temperature swings due to seasonal changes, day night cycle, weather, etc., and even different temps in different areas due to shade and water depth. Anyone who's ever been to a lake or pond on a hot day knows the water right near the surface is noticeably warmer than it is just a few feet down. If it hurt fish to have temp swings of more than a degree per day, wild fish must be going through quite an ordeal.

I've also read almost universally it's best to have consistent temp throughout an aquarium. But those conditions rarely exist in the wild, especially in slow moving systems like lakes and ponds, so might it not be best to have different temps throughout a tank? Like heated only on one end with slower water movement so it's cooler on the other? This is hard to do on smaller tanks I'm sure, but with a setup like that, one's fish could actually choose their own temp. If they're hanging out at one end or the other it'd be pretty clear what temps they prefer.
 
I think it's a little extreme for him to drop his tanks down to room temperature, but I'm thinking I might shoot for 76 or 77 and see how it goes. I think the fish adjust to whatever the temp of their water is. They can't survive in their natural environment without being adaptable. I'm sure the temps in their natural biotopes are not always the same.
I agree. In some cases it is ok but not all. I may drop my temp as well.
It's definitely thought provoking. I'm still pretty new to this hobby but have been absorbing every last bit of info I can and spend most of my free time on the internet doing just that. The one thing that has never made sense to me though is the idea that it's so bad to change water temperature. I frequently read that you should never change water temp by more than a degree in 24 hours or other such rules of thumb. I wonder to myself how anyone that follows that rule ever acclimates new fish. Do they take several days drip acclimating before releasing the fish? Geez.

Just from a common sense standpoint we know the systems the wild fish live in must have temperature swings due to seasonal changes, day night cycle, weather, etc., and even different temps in different areas due to shade and water depth. Anyone who's ever been to a lake or pond on a hot day knows the water right near the surface is noticeably warmer than it is just a few feet down. If it hurt fish to have temp swings of more than a degree per day, wild fish must be going through quite an ordeal.

I've also read almost universally it's best to have consistent temp throughout an aquarium. But those conditions rarely exist in the wild, especially in slow moving systems like lakes and ponds, so might it not be best to have different temps throughout a tank? Like heated only on one end with slower water movement so it's cooler on the other? This is hard to do on smaller tanks I'm sure, but with a setup like that, one's fish could actually choose their own temp. If they're hanging out at one end or the other it'd be pretty clear what temps they prefer.
I agree wholeheartedly.
 
I dont use heaters. Then again, I dont have anything delicate. My lights all come on when I get up at 230 am, and do get turned off at around 9 to 11 pm depending when I go to bed. Lowest ive ever seen a tank get is one of my 125s had a draft coming thru a wall, dropped the temp to 66 and the red hook was clearly showing signs of distress, had to move him and all the inhabitants, knocked out the tongue and grove and drywall to find the wall was barely insulated with blown in and newspaper that was only about 3 feet off the floor. Outside temp at that time was winter of 2009 we had some really bad cold spells -20 to -30 for a few weeks at night. Weve gone around since then and try and redo a room with new insulation and drywall each year. Lowest my tanks get now is 70 and only for about 2 months jan/feb, tanks in the summer july/august get as high as 105 althugh I had a 40 breeder for some reason that hit almost 110 and I do not turn lights on for about 3 months during that time.
 
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My freshwater Betta and neon tanks runs at 80. I tried lowering to 75-77 for a month and my Betta had a large tear in his fin rimmed with red, so I immediately did some WC's and brought the temp back up and the fins healed on their own. He is obviously from a very hot climate though, and has a history of fin damage so take this as just a particular experience
 
My freshwater Betta and neon tanks runs at 80. I tried lowering to 75-77 for a month and my Betta had a large tear in his fin rimmed with red, so I immediately did some WC's and brought the temp back up and the fins healed on their own. He is obviously from a very hot climate though, and has a history of fin damage so take this as just a particular experience

Makes sense. Although it is odd that they tolerate such cold water.
 
The author says, When I calculate an average of all records I have collected from fellow fish keepers throughout the years, it gives me an astonishing 27° to 30° C or, for you, 79 to 86 F.

I've never had fish that I kept in that high end range. I keep FW community tanks at 75F, and my fancy goldfish tank at a range of 72-74F.

Even though I live in a temperate zone of the US, in the winter I heat my house at about 66-68F. I don't want any of my tanks - including the goldfish tank - running at that temp, if room temperature is what the author is advising. For my tanks, that would be roughly December through about mid-March.

I think I'll keep my heaters. My take on the article is that the author and I do not have the same goal - keeping fish in as optimal enclosed conditions as possible.
 
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I dont use heaters. Then again, I dont have anything delicate. My lights all come on when I get up at 230 am, and do get turned off at around 9 to 11 pm depending when I go to bed. Lowest ive ever seen a tank get is one of my 125s had a draft coming thru a wall, dropped the temp to 66 and the red hook was clearly showing signs of distress, had to move him and all the inhabitants, knocked out the tongue and grove and drywall to find the wall was barely insulated with blown in and newspaper that was only about 3 feet off the floor. Outside temp at that time was winter of 2009 we had some really bad cold spells -20 to -30 for a few weeks at night. Weve gone around since then and try and redo a room with new insulation and drywall each year. Lowest my tanks get now is 70 and only for about 2 months jan/feb, tanks in the summer july/august get as high as 105 althugh I had a 40 breeder for some reason that hit almost 110 and I do not turn lights on for about 3 months during that time.

You don't sleep much, do you? :lol:
 
Room temp in my house in the winter is 65 F there is no way I would be comfortable keeping tropical fish at that temp. I have seen cold fish and really it's very unpleasant. I can see lowering your temps a few degrees but really that isn't what this guy is recommending in his article. And maybe I am alone in this but I kind of find it a little off putting that he has no real facts or anything to back up his opinions but yet he acts as everyone except him is doing it wrong.
 
You don't sleep much, do you? :lol:

i dont:( I work at home, and we were given a siberian husky whose still on a wacky schedule. (almost had her 2 years now) and once up I cant get back to sleep or I get a headache for some reason. My home office has no windows either so I lose track of time.
 
Room temp in my house in the winter is 65 F there is no way I would be comfortable keeping tropical fish at that temp. I have seen cold fish and really it's very unpleasant. I can see lowering your temps a few degrees but really that isn't what this guy is recommending in his article. And maybe I am alone in this but I kind of find it a little off putting that he has no real facts or anything to back up his opinions but yet he acts as everyone except him is doing it wrong.

Thats true.....
 
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