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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 16:08:29 GMT -5
Greetings All,
Just curious what you recommend as the ideal temperature for freshwater fish (not cold water fish --- and not discus). I used to keep my 75 gallon at 76 degrees - but the new heater I got (Cobalt) came preset at 78 degrees (the second heater - an Aqueon Pro - is still set at 76 degrees). I can change the setting on the Cobalt heater, but it is complicated.
My smaller aquariums are all at 78 degrees (in my son's former bedroom - now fish room/craft room). In the summer, I have to unplug the heaters. The Rena filter alone on my 20 gallon high keeps the water close to 80 degrees during the summer.
The 75 gallon is in a downstairs basement family room, so that room stays cooler year round.
I read one article recently that recommends temperatures between 72 and 75 degrees (for many of the species of fish I have). The article stated that keeping the temperature higher may shorten the life of the fish.
I do know it is more important to maintain the temperature.... When I do water changes, I heat the water (purchased RO water and conditioned to right parameters) to about 78 degrees.
From Carl's site:
>> Most tropical fish do well at a temperature between 76 and 80 degrees
So... Your thoughts? From your experience, do fish live longer if kept at temperature of 75 to 76 degrees rather than 78 degrees?
My Betta tank heater must have come preset to 75 to 76 degrees (there isn't any control on his heater). His water stays right at 76.
No rush for an answer...
Judy D.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Oct 22, 2014 17:57:00 GMT -5
76-80 has been what I've known. Then lowing it to 75 in the case of disease like Columnaris.
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Post by parker002 on Oct 23, 2014 10:40:56 GMT -5
A couple of degrees is probably insignificant.
I do know from keeping koi outdoors in USDA zone 4 (aka COLD) that water temperature has a direct effect on metabolism. I have no personal or scientific experience to back this up but just based on putting 2 and 2 together, that aquarium fish kept at 70 degrees will theoretically live longer than the same fish kept at 80 degrees strictly due to "wear and tear" on their bodies due to higher rate of metabolic processes.
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Post by angelminx on Oct 24, 2014 15:30:17 GMT -5
I have (had) a Tetra 10G heater on my 10G tank, and it, too is preset, so cannot be adjusted. I took it out yesterday and replaced it with a larger Accura heater that I have, so that I can adjust the temp to below 75 degrees ( I am still adjusting it) for treatment. In the summer I unplug my heaters, but it is now the time of year that I have to start using them again, but this early the set temps are too high--I have to set them higher in the winter to keep the correct temps. If I leave them at the temp I set them at for winter, they heat too high at this time of year, even tho they are set for the correct temp according to the markings on the heater..
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Post by cashay on Dec 11, 2014 10:39:39 GMT -5
OK so let me get this right? If fish has a fungus like that cottoning stuff should the temps be lower then 75 or lower or higher? my 55 gallon has this on several fish, I think it started with my guppies, cause I lost them, that is when I noticed the fungus on a couple others even the brand new babies, I have taken out the carbon from the filters and just pored in some MB to see what happens, also added some salt, and suggestions on what else I should do or what I did wrong that I should correct immediately. I am just treating the whole tank since I cant catch them and most have it anyway, and I'm sure eventually all will have it or already do and just not recognizable yet.
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Post by Carl on Dec 11, 2014 13:17:17 GMT -5
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Dec 12, 2014 11:09:11 GMT -5
OK so let me get this right? Looks like you got it right! Welcome back too! |
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Post by cashay on Dec 20, 2014 11:42:06 GMT -5
76-80 has been what I've known. Then lowing it to 75 in the case of disease like Columnaris. I absolutely agree. I had noticed 1 of my fish in the community tank have white cotton on his mouth, so I took him out and put him in a hospital tank, a couple of days passed and I noticed at least 5 more fish had it, so I decided to treat the whole tank, thinking just kill it in its tracks, so I did but even a few days later, I noticed they were not getting better but worse much worse, actually several fish had died over night, So I took out all decorations and even the gravel changed 50% of the water and still they were not getting any better, I had only 3 fish left, I remembered I didn't turn the heat down... so I did and treated again all over and believe it or not the last three started getting better and actually looks very good. then that gave me an idea. since I only had three little fish left, I set up a 10 gallon tank for them and then moved 1 of my Oscars into that tank after cleaning every thing in it, accalmated it, and put him in there, NOW they can't fight! different topic I know, but I have been having a time with my two Oscar's fighting! they were keeping me awake at night! ( no lie) |
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Post by Carl on Dec 20, 2014 12:49:06 GMT -5
Sorry you lost some of your fish.
If the temperature helped this much, likely it was not Fungus/saprolegnia. More likely Columnaris.
Carl
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Post by cashay on Jan 12, 2015 9:36:17 GMT -5
Another Question, I think I have gotten rid of the Columnaris, And I cleaned the tank out completely, let it run until all numbers were right (except for that darn KH can't get it right!) But now my Albino Oscar has patches or shedding his skin all over his one side, I tried MB a few days to see if it would clear it, I tried Melafix, and I tried Fungus Cure. and he still has it and it seems to be spreading, his appetite is low unless it is another fish, he ate a beautiful electric blue Cichlid I had just paid 8 dollars for, But anyway I thought he was just lonely because I moved him from my other Oscar, But he just seems to be getting disease after disease after moving him.. What should I do? Water: well every thing is low today GH: 180 KH: 0 PH:0 NITRATE 0 NITRATE: 20
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Jan 12, 2015 9:59:41 GMT -5
Another Question, I think I have gotten rid of the Columnaris, And I cleaned the tank out completely, let it run until all numbers were right (except for that darn KH can't get it right!) But now my Albino Oscar has patches or shedding his skin all over his one side, I tried MB a few days to see if it would clear it, I tried Melafix, and I tried Fungus Cure. and he still has it and it seems to be spreading, his appetite is low unless it is another fish, he ate a beautiful electric blue Cichlid I had just paid 8 dollars for, But anyway I thought he was just lonely because I moved him from my other Oscar, But he just seems to be getting disease after disease after moving him.. What should I do? Water: well every thing is low today GH: 180 KH: 0 PH:0 NITRATE 0 NITRATE: 20 KH and pH 0? While I'm not sure of the disease, I do know low KH can cause pH swings which can be stressful on fish. This stress can weaken the fish over time and not allow it to fight of the disease. I would say getting your water right is just, if not more important for helping the guy. Some alkaline buffer is what you need, with the treatment. I've never like treating fish while working on water parameters though. |
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Post by Carl on Jan 12, 2015 10:02:17 GMT -5
Starting with water parameters, I doubt your pH is correct since a 0 is not possible.  The KH should be at least 50 ppm, use of Alkaline Buffer should help slowly correct this. If I read this correctly, your Oscar does not seem to want to eat his regular foods, only other fish?  Maybe try the Paradigm Carnivore fish food Resource: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ParadigmFoods.htmlYou might try a bath using Potassium Permanganate as a fish bath. For this bath, I would suggest a 5 gallon bucket for a fish his size with about 1.5-2 gallons of water in it to prevent injury to him Another bath suggestion would be Kordon's new Fish Therapy Bath Solution; while this is new and we have only performed limited testing with it, its ingredients suggest possible effectiveness for parasites and maybe Saprolegnia. Resource: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/FritzMardelKordon.html#therapyFinally with either MB or the Kordon Therapy, make sure to use at least 1 teaspoon of salt per 2 gallons as salt is by itself effective for some cases of Saprolegnia Carl |
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Post by cashay on Jan 12, 2015 11:58:18 GMT -5
I just purchased the Paradigm food so I will let you know if the big picky eater likes it. I am going to go buy an alkaline buffer to see if it helps. again will keep you updated, Thanks
sherry
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Post by Ameenah on Jan 14, 2015 20:13:02 GMT -5
Oscar fighting! They will do that. They need lots of space. I keep 8 in my BIG Tank and yes, they will "test" each other once in a while. But my cats (felines) do the same thing. Last Sept I put an Albino into a tank of its own - solitary for bad behavior - and placed it back into the BIG Tank a few weeks ago. The solitary worked well and the Albino is as "social" as the others now. In my observations, the Oscars tend to "face-off" open mouth to open mouth rarely - and as of yet I have not seen any actually bite the other's mouth. Note the mouth bites are strong aggression to break the opponant's jaw, as would be expected more in a mating period. More often one will suddenly chase another - but once the chasee is in the big fake plants the chase ends. But then, there are times they will swim together - as the 4 7-inch Oscars are doing in my little Avatar picture.
Realizing that the key to multiple Oscars is Lots of Space, I am always watching for a good deal on an even larger tank. In another 6 months I will either have a bigger tank, or have to sell some Oscars. I keep my Big Tank at 76 F (2- 350 watt titanium heaters) and my Oscars are doing well at that - in Spring thru Autumn I turn off the heaters as our weather is quite hot here and the tank temp goes closet to 80 F. I believe this to be similar temperature fluctuation as would occur in the Amazon where water temps decrease in winter from cooler rain. Please see my Tour the Big Tank Blog here at EA to learn about potential tankmates for your Oscar - but dont be suprised if the tankmates become snacks - anything an Oscar can fit in its mouth it WILL eat.
Fluctuations in pH can be a big danger to any fish and is one reason proper acclamation is so important. Are you sure your tank pH is 0? Perhaps you could remove half the water and use water from the Oscar's old tank as a "quick start". Not sure what filtration you have, but could you transfer some of the filter media too? In my opinion there could be multiple problems developing and getting water parameters right would be a good start on full remedy.
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