Cold Cichlids in So Cal!!!

[JoeFatFish]

Thanks to all for all the info. My fish all are doing well, although by Saturday, the water was like 67, so that really scared me! I went ahead, and purchased some 300 watt heaters and doubled up on the heaters for all my tanks, just to get the temp up to 78 1-2 days. As of now, water is 78! I am sure thy would have all done fine, as most fish have a recessive gene, that allows them to survive cold temperatures. Of course in the wild, only the stronger ones would survive, but thanks to modern sceince, and high quality foods, I am sure most captive cichlids would do fine in the low 60's, maybe even high 50's? But just having the thought in the back of my mind, that these guys are "tropical", I let my caring side overule my scientific side, and that "what if" question. I forked up the money for extra heaters, and just took that route. I love cichlids, especially CA cichlids, and I did not want to run the risk, of loosing any, including my beani, that I brought back from Mexico. Thanks again everyone, and have a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays!

 

[Guapote]

Barred midas pair were still breeding and would have continued to do so had I not sold them to GUAPOTE.

And they just spawned yesterday.

My electricity bill will be NUTS. I have 12 tanks going right now.

I have 8 300 watt heaters on and 4 150 watt heaters. Various filters, pumps, powerheads, lights.....the list goes on.

My problem right now is the humidity in my fish room. It has been at 72% for quite some time. I added glass tops but it isn't helping at all.

I need another fart fan in here to give some ventilation

 

[JoeFatFish]

Maybe make a hole on your roof and put one of those spiny ball ventilation thingies on, so as to get some humidity out.

And they just spawned yesterday.

My electricity bill will be NUTS. I have 12 tanks going right now.

I have 8 300 watt heaters on and 4 150 watt heaters. Various filters, pumps, powerheads, lights.....the list goes on.

My problem right now is the humidity in my fish room. It has been at 72% for quite some time. I added glass tops but it isn't helping at all.

I need another fart fan in here to give some ventilation

 

[WildCAught]

And they just spawned yesterday.

My electricity bill will be NUTS. I have 12 tanks going right now.

I have 8 300 watt heaters on and 4 150 watt heaters. Various filters, pumps, powerheads, lights.....the list goes on.

My problem right now is the humidity in my fish room. It has been at 72% for quite some time. I added glass tops but it isn't helping at all.

I need another fart fan in here to give some ventilation

Haha! They waste no time do they?

This weekend was particularly cold and dropped my temp to mid 60's. i dropped the water level and the heater took the temp back up to 74*.

 

[mikei]

I am in no way disagreeing with you or trying to dismiss great advice. I feel we should do everything within reason to provide great conditions for our captives. There is a reason most fish grow bigger faster and live longer in captivity than they would in the wild. With that being said let me provide you with the following info.

When collecting in El Salvador in August, the water temp in the 3 rivers ranged from 60-68*. With an obvious breeding population of many fish year round (judging by the presence of cichlids, characins, and poecillids under .5-1"). The water was so cold one night I was shivering when we were in "La Bruja". The rainy season usually begins, in our area of the country, in may and ends around this time. These same rivers in the dryer months are boiling hot. MOST Cichlids are actually pretty tough so long as the temps don't dip below the 60's.

My tanks (garaged in Socal) are currently at around 72*. I use 200 watt heaters for my 100gals. As you may have recently seen, my Barred midas pair were still breeding and would have continued to do so had I not sold them to GUAPOTE.

I live in so cal also. How do you cool your tanks in your garage during the summer????

I don't have too much room in my home left for tanks! And setting one up in the garage is a nice alternative!

 

[WildCAught]

Never had a problem with my tanks getting too hot in the summer. Since my garage is pretty cool, the water temp never gets above 80*. However, i have heard of Socal hobbyists that have lost fish due to their water getting too hot. I've read you can fill up big ziplock bags with water and freeze them. You keep a few in the tank and a few in the freezer ready to go. When one melts, throw it back in the freezer and grab another one. I've never had to try it but it seems like a great idea.