Heater acting out again - thinking about going unheated
- Thread starter SwampFins
- Start date
You will be fine with no heaters. I haven't been using them for a while now for my cichlids. Room stays 72-76, and they seem perfectly happy.
I’ve kept Oscars and Amphs both without heaters in a room that got down as low as 65 - add a couple of degrees of heat for the lights and what the pumps make and the tank was maybe 67-68. The fish did great. You catch Midas in S Florida and now Oscars in areas further north - below the freeze line but with occasional lower 40’s and even he rare upper 30’s. Now the water doesn’t drop that low, but it can get cold and the fish are ok. I’ve tried all the expensive heaters and they all stink - you get one that works great and get excited and buy several more of the same, only to have them fail. For Fish that have to have a heater, I undersize and run multiple, so as not to cook. I set one higher so it is constantly on and just have the second as the extra. That protects you from freezing your fish should one go out as well.
I'm happy to report that the tank has stayed at a steady 77 despite the room being kept at 76. In guessing that's probably coming from the pumps.
Oh no worries then, if you keep your room at 76 than your golden.
Interesting conversation. I've heard of many people, especially ones with large fish rooms, that heat the room and not the tanks. I've always followed the 78 degrees F for tropical fish keeping. I only have two tanks in different areas of the house so heating just one area wouldn't work for me. We keep the house at 72 F in the summer, and let it get as low as 65 F in the winter. Would I be able to get away without using a heater in this situation? For reference, I keep SA cichlids in a 150 tall, and Lake Tanganyika cichlids in a 75.
I would not keep Tangs at 65F, no matter the species. As far as SA, that would depend on the species, but even at 68F for an ambient room temp my tanks have heaters.
I agree with RD about Tanganyikans and the need for a heater, they have evolved to live in a very narrow temp range, mid to high 70s, because the lake is very stable.
Mexican cichlids on the other hand can easily take temps in the mid to high 60s.
Beanii, all the Herichthys, and Nosferatu often have water temps fall that low.
As do southern South Americans.
But not the Equatorial species, unless the rivers from the Andes are steep and short enough to be influenced by high altitude snow fall and thus seasonally cool.
Mexican cichlids on the other hand can easily take temps in the mid to high 60s.
Beanii, all the Herichthys, and Nosferatu often have water temps fall that low.
As do southern South Americans.
But not the Equatorial species, unless the rivers from the Andes are steep and short enough to be influenced by high altitude snow fall and thus seasonally cool.
