Hey im wondering what needs to be done to keep trops in outdoor ponds. Is all I need to do is heat the water?
Tropicals in outdoor ponds?
- Thread starter BigO6687
- Start date
In case anyone was wondering the plan was to build a pond around 12 x 6 when/if my sister gets a new house, heat it, and have a baby rtc or rtc/tsn and a trio of pacu
It depends on where you live. If you're in a southern climate, then you can have an outdoor pond with little to no insulation and just a small heater for the winter. If you're in a northern climate, you'll want heavy insulation, an insulated lid, heavy duty heaters, and possibly an enclosure like a greenhouse to set up around it, at least in winter.
Conner;4675711; said:
lol i live in socal, so water temps dont get too low other than maybe winter and thats just down to the 60's
In the research I've done, I found that 40 degrees ferenheit is the average temp. At which tropical fish usually die of hypothermia. The research I did however was mainly geared toward Central american cichlids (I was researching the feasibility of having flowerhorn in ponds), so RTC and Pacu might like it hotter. Hope that helps.
Oh wait theres an episode of river monsters (i think? at least it was a show on animal planet) where they tested the cold water tolerance of red bellied pirahna. It was to see if they had the potential to become an invasive species in the upper united states. I don't remember how this turned out but It could be the perfect info for you if youre wanting to try pacu. It was one of those shows i think that has slick graphics about the "KILLER PIRAHNA THREAT AGAINST OUR HOMELAND" or some such bs, but the expirament they did was legit. Check it out
If I remember what it was I'l post a link, but I'm an expert at forgetting so no promises
Good luck
btw south of san diego you could probably do this with no problem. I'm considering moving there so I looked it up.
If I remember what it was I'l post a link, but I'm an expert at forgetting so no promises
Good luck
btw south of san diego you could probably do this with no problem. I'm considering moving there so I looked it up.
It was monsterquest and the p's were able to with stand down to 52 degrees. But they didnt test how long they could survive at that tempature.
so other than temperature, what else would i need to worry about? i live in a busy city, so raccoons are common. Once they gain some size, would the raccoons be able to do damage to big cats and pacu? When they're still small, would an 8' diameter pond be enough room for them to hide from raccoons in, jic they went after them?
When the tempatures drop at night below 60's I use a sumbersible tank heater for my 150 stock tank pond that contains small tropicals. When cold weather approaches I take off the FOUNTAIN heads and drain the water down some. I cover it with a Blue tarp to keep the heat in. It has worked so far. In South Florida we have had about 3 nights in the 30's and a handful in the 40's. We are expecting the same next week. So far has been so good.
Now that being all said, I had a heater FAIL with two smaller pacu's It was the second day of 60's as the highs and low in the 40's and lost the pacu's and one oscar. You might want to have a back up. Also cover any cord with PVC for filters in and heaters and such. The Pacu's like to nibble them. Learned it the hard way.
Now that being all said, I had a heater FAIL with two smaller pacu's It was the second day of 60's as the highs and low in the 40's and lost the pacu's and one oscar. You might want to have a back up. Also cover any cord with PVC for filters in and heaters and such. The Pacu's like to nibble them. Learned it the hard way.