Bichir Temperature Threshold?

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R

rsandelius

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 28, 2005
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Detroit, MI
What's the maximum threshold that you would consider for a senegal bichir? To try and sum it up, my heater is on the fritz. What has been a stable 79-80 degrees in my tank has suddenly risen to 85-86 degrees, and I've got my heater turned down as far as possible. Rather than turn the heater off during the day while I'm at work and turn it back on at night when I get home, I'm going to get a newer, smaller heater (100 watts vs. my current 150 watts), this time making sure that I get one with a thermostat. The thing is, I can't get this new heater w/ thermostat until probably Friday, so I just wanted to make sure that I'm not frying "Little Buddy" alive...

Maybe that's why he's been so antsy over the last couple of weeks...
 
I dont think so. I'm not an expert on bichirs, but most tropical fish will be ok at those temps for a short period.

You said you turned the heater down all the way?? I would be more worried about drastic fluctuations in temp than high temp. I would have turned it down some, but not all the way. If the temp was high and the heater is now off esentially, the temp could drop quickly and cause more problems.
 
I must not have explained myself thoroughly... what I'm saying is that for some reason, with the heater turned all of the way down, the temp is SUSTAINING at 85-86 degrees. The heater still kicks on, sporadically, to maintain the temp. My problem is that even with the dial turned all of the way down, it's still maintaining the temperature at too high of a temp. Heaven forbid if it stayed on ALL of the time... it'd probably turn the tank up to 95 in no time... I think that I just bought too powerful of a heater for a 29 gallon tank.
 
Yeah, i thought you meant that it rose, so you turned it down.

Ok, i would say the temp control is broken. So you should deff. get a new heater.

I would get one ASAP, but maybe stick a space heater around the tank area, (not really close or anything) so the temp doesnt fall to fast now that the heater is turned down all the way.

But like i said, i think he'll be ok short term at that temp. But make sure to lower the temp slowly as that might cause more damage.
 
Yeah... that's why I'm going to be demanding that the new heater have a thermostat... that way, I can pop it in, set it to 84 for the first day, 83 for the next day, and so on until it gets back down to 80 where I want it.
 
Anyway you could possibly get one sooner?my concern is it stick on and just keep heating which is a very likely scenerio. 85-86F is pretty much the high end that I ever kept a bichir
at.
What heater are you considering?
Heaters
I recomend submersable heaters rated at 2 1/2 -5 watts per gallon
depending on the location of the tank.Bichirs prefer high 70's to
mid 80's water tempurature. I recomend titanium heaters instead
of glass as they are unbreakable.I also highly recomend either
placing the heater in your sump if you use one or at the very least
a heater guard you can buy one or make one-Anne
 
Read up above, Anne. It's not stuck on "heat-mode," it's just maintaining the temperature at 85-86 degrees. It's not going any higher... it's been maintaining it at that temp for about two days now. If I can find something sooner... i will. I hate being broke...

either that... or I'll just go out and buy a heater with less wattage and ride the temps for a day and do it that way....
 
I've kept my bichirs at 87-88 for several months (along with a jardini and two dats). I was a little worried when it hit 88. Gets hot in the summer and a/c wasn't working. They did and are doing fine.

If your senegal is very young/small it might be more delicate. Mine are all on the larger side.

Get the temp back on track gradually, like others have said.
 
85/86 degrees F. shouldn't be a major problem for the short term but it definitely sounds like you need a new heater. Even if the heater is overpowered for a 29 gallon (which yours isn't at 150w) it won't overheat the tank unless something is wrong with the thermostat. If you can adjust the level of your heater (which you imply that you can) then it does have a thermostat...it just isn't working correctly.

I can tell you all about losing fish to a malfunctioning heater. I lost 2 P. delhezi, 2 P. mokelembembe, and 2 P. senegalus to a heater with a malfunctioning thermostat. It failed overnight and the tank temperature was 105 degrees in the morning. Can you say 'bichir soup'?

-Joe
 
Thanks alot for the advice and reassurance, guys... I can't wait for Friday to go heater shopping...
 
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