Are we keeping our cichlids too warm!

[duanes]

I agree whole heartedly with the above by darth pike, and about the narrow ranges certain species of cold blooded animals have evolved to live in.
Although my haitiensus and Alcolapia tanks were always kept @ 88'F almost constantly.
My beanii, Herichthys carpintus clade, and Nosferatu tanks fluctuated with room temps, of 68'F at night, to mid 70s by late afternoon. (this also includes species of the Geophagus braziiensus complex)
I believe for some species fluctuation of day night, and seasonal temps are a normal and important part of their healthy life.
And because of these drastic differences in temps, (beyond simple aggression), I would never house these species like haitiensus in the same tank with any other mainland cichlid.

 

[duanes]

I agree whole heartedly with the above by darth pike, and about the narrow ranges certain species of cold blooded animals have evolved to live in.
Although my haitiensus and Alcolapia tanks were always kept @ 88'F almost constantly.
My beanii, Herichthys carpintus clade, and Nosferatu tanks fluctuated with room temps, of 68'F at night, to mid 70s by late afternoon, and seasonally. (this also includes species of the Geophagus braziiensus complex, from subtropical southern Brazil)
I believe for some species fluctuation of day night, and seasonal temps are a normal and important part of their healthy life.
And because of these drastic differences in temps, (beyond simple aggression), I would never house these species like haitiensus in the same tank with any other mainland cichlid.

 

[Andy woods cichlids uk]

I for one don't heat my tanks in the house. I unplugged them last spring after receiving a huge electricity bill. All fish have been fine, even in the middle of the British winter. The tanks average about 20c 22c in my centrally heated Bungalow. Last year I had them at 26 to 28 interesting to see how much I have saved when the next statement drops on the door step.

 

[Andy woods cichlids uk]

Believe it or not my adult Haitiensis lives in the same room as my Beani and are both at the same cool temp.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I for one don't heat my tanks in the house. I unplugged them last spring after receiving a huge electricity bill. All fish have been fine, even in the middle of the British winter. The tanks average about 20c 22c in my centrally heated Bungalow. Last year I had them at 26 to 28 interesting to see how much I have saved when the next statement drops on the door step.

I for one don't heat my tanks in the house. I unplugged them last spring after receiving a huge electricity bill. All fish have been fine, even in the middle of the British winter. The tanks average about 20c 22c in my centrally heated Bungalow. Last year I had them at 26 to 28 interesting to see how much I have saved when the next statement drops on the door step.

My bill lept up drastically after having my heaters unplugged on a c/a set up to plugging back in and maintaining a temp of 78 for some south Americans.
Glad I can unplug again for my current set up. Or keep the heater set at the lowest it can be for the species I'm keeping.
I was surprised how much difference it can make to the electricity bill.

 

[NW Cichlid Keith]

I keep mine at 68-72 in the winter and they have been fine - even the clown loaches have done ok at this temp. Not only do you save on electricity bills, but you don’t have to worry about the heater failing and blowing up or sticking and frying the fish. I haven’t tried in the mid to low 60’s but I think I will now.

 

[RD.]

I keep mine at 68-72 in the winter and they have been fine - even the clown loaches have done ok at this temp. Not only do you save on electricity bills, but you don’t have to worry about the heater failing and blowing up or sticking and frying the fish. I haven’t tried in the mid to low 60’s but I think I will now.

Perhaps I'm missing the message, are we lowering temps to save on the power bill, or are we lowering temps to create a healthier environment for our fish? In some cases we clearly can't have both.

Some members apparently liked the quoted post above by Keith, yet from my perspective this is exactly what one should NOT be doing. Chromobotia macracanthus, is a tropical species of fish that originates from inland swamps, streams, and rivers in Indonesia on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Using info gleaned from studies conducted on the Musi River in Sumatra (Legendre et al 2012) prior to the rainy season the average river temperature is 86-89.6 F. Optimum temperature for egg incubation (during the rainy season) is 78.8 F. (Baras et al 2012) Colder than 75.2, or warmer than 82.4 dramatically lowers hatching rates, and increases the rate of deformities. Clown loach eggs have a narrow thermal tolerance range in comparison to other tropical and temperate fishes. How well this species can adapt or tolerate less than ideal temperatures (or temps outside their normal range) as adults found in the wild, are no doubt wider than eggs and larvae, but still.....

So 68-72 is certainly not ideal, or the norm in the wild for this species, and may in fact be stressful to the fish. I would definitely not lower the temp to the mid 60's.


I'm all for creating a healthy environment for our fish, and I think that everyone should take the time to research the species that they keep, and what their normal seasonal temperature ranges are in the wild. If while a person is creating that environment they get lucky and can save on the hydro bill at the same time, it should be considered a bonus.

 

[duanes]

I think research is the key, and finding out the area, and its temp are keys to keeping fish healthy. Because just because a fish is sold in a LFS, doesn't mean it is tropical.
I wouldn't consider the cichlids of northern mexico tropical, but sub-tropical, just as the Gymnogeophagus and Australoheros from Uruguay aren't tropical, or just as the common Paradise fish from Korea and China might be considered sub-tropical, and actually do best with a seasonal cool-downs, and lower temps.
In an article about haitiensus (Hispaniola, Oh Island in the Sun by Alf Stalsberg) temps taken where haitiensus were caught, and were mostly in the high 80s, this would be my cue as how to keep that cichlid.
I see many posts here about sick cichlids, and seems the average temp aquarists assume is best are, are the mid 80s, which while I believe is good for some, is not good for all, and opens those not suited for mid 80s open to many bacterial infections in these species, that they may not have evolved a natural immunity to.
Temp too high, or too low, is just another one of those stressors along with too high nitrate, or too cramped conditions.
This also might be a cue to what species are good to keep together, or not.
An example might be trying keep a cooler water species like Gymnogeophagus balzani with something tropical from northern S America like the genus Guianacara, which I consider a mistake.
Or keeping a southern Brazilian species(almost sub tropical) like Geophagus iporaguensus in constant tropical temps, and then wonder why is has constant heightened aggression tendencies.

 

[RD.]

The trend of keeping fish in the mid 80's is unfortunately part of the "monster" fish mentality. Many hobbyists, especially those that are newer to the hobby want BIG fish, with BIG personalities, where aggression is often seen as a pro, not a con. This is very common in the Flowerhorn circles, where mid 80 temps are the norm - because those temps tend to elevate the aggro levels in a fish, which in this hybrid often causes more intense overall coloration, an increase in attitude, and an increase in nuchal hump size. As Duane pointed out higher temps also create an ideal environment for bacterial infections, such as columnaris.

 

[8DiagramPoleFighter]

I think that the high temps come from the belief that it helps with stemming diseases. My fish are in the garage down here in Southern Louisiana so I never use a heater. With the unusually cold temps that we had, the heaters on full blast only heated the tanks to about 70-72 degrees. My exLamprologus brevis tank got down to 58 degrees. No issues. In nature, the fish go through season changes so we shouldn’t underestimate the fish’s dexterity. It gets cold in certain areas of South America, Africa, and Central America. The only temperature issues that I’ve ever had was the water being too hot. I’ve kept monsters all the way minis. Started the hobby with Africans but now I keep mostly Central Americans.