What Temp For Guppies/Endler's Livebearers? WHY?

[Bubs]

Hi all. So online there are a lot of different care sheets for these fish. Half of them say the lowest temp you can keep them at is 65 and the other half say the lowest temp is 75. So I don't know what to believe. My gut tells me the second half are right, but I haven't seen any evidence that one of these options is better than the other. So for all I know, 65 would be just fine.
So what do you guys think? And what is your reason for thinking this? Thanks in advance.

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Temperature

Hi all. So online there are a lot of different care sheets for these fish. Half of them say the lowest temp you can keep them at is 65 and the other half say the lowest temp is 75. So I don't know what to believe. My gut tells me the second half are right, but I haven't seen any evidence that one of these options is better than the other. So for all I know, 65 would be just fine.
So what do you guys think? And what is your reason for thinking this? Thanks in advance.

Hello Bubs...

I keep several tanks of Livebearers and keep the temperature in the 74-76 range. 65 degrees seems a bit low to me, but most fish you get at the pet store will adapt to most water conditions as long as you keep the water clear of dissolved fish wastes.

B

 

[FishyAddict1999]

I agree with BBradbury.High temperature causes the fishes metabolism to speed up causing them to poop more and grow faster.Their lifespans will also be shortened by a bit.Low temperatures causes it to slow down resulting in their food not digesting as quickly and thus meaning a higher risk of bloat.The perfect temperature results in a balanced metabolism which ensures they grow properly and digest food properly.The only time I'd have high temperatures is when I'm trying to fight off ich.But remember if you ever do this to try to fight off ich make sure you have a good air supply like bubblers going as the higher temperature of the water there would be less dissolved oxygen in the water compared to cooler water.Also make sure you have a lot of surface agitation to encourage gas exchanges.Gas exchanges are the co2 escaping the tank and the oxygen entering the water.

Glad I helped,
FishyAddict1999


14G Freshwater- Guppies,Platies in the future will be planted
5G Freshwater- Future Betta and in the future will be planted

 

[DeeLee2013]

I breed N-class Endler's and find them happy and healthy anywhere from 74*F to 78*F.

I have a planted tank for them, so during the day I turn my bubblers off since the plants create an O2 exchange. At night, the bubblers come on to help aerate the water.


? Diana Lee ?
? the St. Augustine Redhead ?

 

[Bubs]

I agree with BBradbury.High temperature causes the fishes metabolism to speed up causing them to poop more and grow faster.Their lifespans will also be shortened by a bit.Low temperatures causes it to slow down resulting in their food not digesting as quickly and thus meaning a higher risk of bloat.The perfect temperature results in a balanced metabolism which ensures they grow properly and digest food properly.The only time I'd have high temperatures is when I'm trying to fight off ich.

Wouldn't feeding them less solve the bloat problem? I've got a couple endler's I've been keeping in a cool room and the water temp has been about 67. I started off feeding them every day, but most of the food was left behind. They're only hungry about every three days. So that's how often I have been feeding them now, and only a little because they don't eat a lot when even when they're hungry, and there is still always a tiny bit of food left.

The reason that I am now wondering if the temp is too low is because one of them started to wobble. I've seen this happen to a lot of guppies at pet stores and after they start doing this they usually die within 2 days. If they're lucky they'll make it for 3. I guess its the equivalent to the "shimmies" that sword tails and mollies get when they aren't getting enough salt. Anyway, I did a bunch of reading and figured out that this can be caused by not having enough salt OR by getting a chill.
So I began to wonder if the water was too cold. I added more salt when I noticed it and now the fish is doing much better. Almost not wobbling at all now. So for now I will just start treating them with more salt than I was before and hopefully that will get him better and keep him doing well. If not, I'll move them to the warm room.

I do still wonder if they will do well at this temp.

 

[Mar23]

I keep my guppies at room temperature (no heater). It's about 71-72 degrees and they are quite happy. I also have Danio glofish and a Cory in that temp and they are all pretty active and healthy.


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[emeraldking]

I'm keeping guppies for over 40 years now and endlers for 10 years now. In these decades I've noticed that they do most well between 68 and 77F. But they are able to withstand lower and higher temps as well. If you keep them higher their lifespan will be shortened for sure.
I'm keeping all kinds of fish in outdoor tanks from spring till mid fall every single year. I've even harvested guppies, endlers and other freshwater fish at lows of 46,6-50F. But keep in mind that they were customed to these temps while being outside. And I can tell you that they were really vivid. Don't do this when you have high rates and put them in that cold water in a sudden. They have to get aclimatized to these changes in time... I had several kinds of fish throughout the years but my main focus was and still is livebearing toothcarps. I've visited endemic places where I've observed fish like these in the wild. And in free nature these fish have to deal as well with large rate changes during day and night. Temps that can be 82F at day and 59F during night in shallow water. If you look at that than we're all too careful with our fish.
I can Ensure you that my fish which are kept in outdoor tanks are much stronger than the ones kept inside.


In none of my 60 tanks inside the house are heaters installed. They do perfectly fine at an average enviroment temperature. They're vital and breed healthy.