cichlid snowball fights

[jpmroane]

As many may know a blast of sub zero temperatures hit the northeast over the past weekt. During this the heat in my house shut down for about four hours. The tank temp fell to 68F. The tank (a 90 gallon) is home to three salvinis (4.5"-5.5") and three Aequadens tetramerus (5.5"-6.0"). While the water was in the 68F to 74F range a pair of salvini and a pair of tetramerus began to jaw-lock and they managed to shred each other’s mouths apart. The damage was not severe but after the temperature hit 75F they stopped and continued about their normal business. Is a double spawning imminent? What should I do if this occurs?

P.S. Tetramerus are great fish will they be okay with the salvinis? I have herd that 10" tetramerus can really throw their weight around.

[valerie]

Dont' know anythign about your fish but how did the tanks temp drop that low if hte heat was only off for 4 hours? Dont' you have heaters in that tanks?

[jpmroane]

The heet may have been off longer and the room may have got colder. All I know is that the temp of the tank was 68F. I was not at home at the time so I really don't know. The heater is a Ebo-jager 250 watt.

[jeffro426]

Having experienced nearly an identical situation, i can tell you, if your room temp drops alot, it doesnt take that long to lower the temp of a good sized tank. I had the power go out in my house about 2 weeks ago when we has sub zero temps for about 8 hours and my 55 gallon temp went from 79 to 67...nearly killed my mbuna..but there doin fine now.