Metabolism/appetite of tropicals

[verucaproduce]

Hi all. We were having a "discussion" at my parent's house the other night and I was hoping that you could answer this for me.

Would tropicals be/act hungrier in an unheated tank than they would in a heated tank or the other way around?

Thanks!

[tropicalfish]

the tropicals won't have to act unhungry in a unheated tank.. they will die off in an unheated tank (most of them that is)

[theotheragentm]

Metabolism should be higher in warmer temperatures, but like tropicalfish said, they aren't supposed to be in unheated tanks.

[verucaproduce]

Maybe I should have explained the discussion a little bit better.

My father's friend (who is more my age) went away on vacation for a week. When he left, he turned the heat in his house way down. My father was watching his place and feeding his fish. After a few days of him being away, my father found his 2 angel fish dead. He removed them and then started looking around the tank. He didn't see a heater. Turns out the idiot didn't have a heater in the tank. My father had an extra heater at his house and put it in the tank.

Anyway. I am not advocating mistreating fish. I am just wondering if they would act/be hungrier in colder temperatures as opposed to warmer temperatures?

[tropicalfish]

I would assume that they eat less in a cold tank, because like in ponds, the koi will hibernate in the cold temperatures.

[7Enigma]

Metabolism is directly related to body temperature in coldblooded animals (fish). They do not regulate their temperature the way we do. Because of this, as the temperature drops, they will become more sluggish, they will use less energy, and can ultimately die if not corrected.

You the answer to your question is no, they will have a lower metabolism, and thus would require less food, but only to a degree.

As a contrary example, when treating for Ich where the tank temp is much warmer than normal (87-89F), the metabolism of the fish will be increased. At higher temps they may appear sluggish (how would you feel on a 100F day), but their metabolism and caloric requirements are actually increased compared to typical tropical temps (78-82F).

That is the tradeoff with warm-blooded vs. cold-blooded. We can regulate our temp and survive for a while at relatively extreme levels, but they can survive for a LONG period of time at moderate extremes and require very little food compared to us.