Otos - too hot? and a breakthrough! Woo-hoo!

[PlatyLady]

First the breakthrough - yesterday I saw that one of my three new otos finally found an algae wafer! Phew. He sat on it and pretty much guarded it against interested platies, guppies, and the barb. He finally decided to share and came back to scraps of it later.

Tonight, I noticed one of the otos hanging out on my heater. I never worried about the heater before, cuz the other fish don't really hang out ON it. My question is - is a heater set at about 75 degrees too hot for an oto to suck on? I would think it's actually a bit warmer than 75, seeing as it needs to keep the water at that temp, but I don't know...

 

[RogerMcAllen]

If the otto is doing it, it can't be too bad for him. I would imagine he woud move if in any real discomfort.

 

[grimlock3000]

The heating element itself will get over 75F. I have reached into the tank and touched my heaters a bunch of times, it was pretty warm but not enough to hurt a fish without being on the fish for a while. The fish can always swim away if it gets too hot