I know that coldwater fishes need a chiller to survive. Without chillers, many fishes die prematurely. Does that mean that even gars and koi and goldfish need chillers?
Chillers are needed???
- Thread starter matongflush
- Start date
It isn't necessarily the cold water that these fish need to survive but the higher oxygen levels that such cool water brings with it. Also those large of fish require huge ponds or tanks to survive.
Well there are other factors. Certain chemicals are more toxic at high heat. But generally high oxygen levels are very impotant to cool water fish.
I've kept goldfish now for about 5-6 years in somewhat elevated temperatures allowing them to be kept with non-cold water fish. The key thing though is to keep the water stable at those higher temperatures. I have a lot of lights for plants with CO2 injection so they generate a lot of heat so I did put a chiller on it because in the summer the temperature goes up too high for this elevated temperature and the goldfish.
I've essentially locked my tank into 76-77.5 degrees and it regulates with the lights pushing heat up as well as a heater that kicks in at around 75 to go back to 76 on the digital meter on the chiller at worst case. The chiller turns on once it goes past 77.5 degrees and pushes it down to 76.5. The key thing with goldfish at higher then 72 is you need to be sure to deal with all signs of disease immediately. I change the water very frequently as well as have a UV sterlizer on the tank.
It all depends on your local area and room temperature. In California where I am it gets rather hot in the room I have the tanks in so it needs the chiller or I would end up with 80+ degree water. Before we had AC installed my girlfriend lost her goldfish on a rather hot day while she was at work. When she got home the tank temperature had risen to 87 degrees by itself. She had unplugged the heater for the summer so this was not a faulty heater. Even with my AC in the summer without a chiller it will go to around 82 in my planted tank.
I've essentially locked my tank into 76-77.5 degrees and it regulates with the lights pushing heat up as well as a heater that kicks in at around 75 to go back to 76 on the digital meter on the chiller at worst case. The chiller turns on once it goes past 77.5 degrees and pushes it down to 76.5. The key thing with goldfish at higher then 72 is you need to be sure to deal with all signs of disease immediately. I change the water very frequently as well as have a UV sterlizer on the tank.
It all depends on your local area and room temperature. In California where I am it gets rather hot in the room I have the tanks in so it needs the chiller or I would end up with 80+ degree water. Before we had AC installed my girlfriend lost her goldfish on a rather hot day while she was at work. When she got home the tank temperature had risen to 87 degrees by itself. She had unplugged the heater for the summer so this was not a faulty heater. Even with my AC in the summer without a chiller it will go to around 82 in my planted tank.
that's generally high for goldies... as long as it doesnt go ANY higher though and does drop during the night they'll probably be ok. If it goes into the 80 degree area they will likely die after about a week of going up into the 80 degree area and then dropping as it cools at night.
Just because it will be "probably ok" doesnt mean it's good to do though. The heat will make them more likely to be getting sick so you need to make sure you have good water quality and frequent water changes. This would be minimum of once per week and preferred into the 3 times per two weeks as a starting point when the temperature goes up a lot. Also you have to ensure there is good oxygen content in the water. If you have bio-wheel filters or other spraying things in your tank then it will probably be ok. Definately should be a higher gallons per hour cycling of water in the filtration of the tank too.
Again like I said... it's possible to do this... not always the best solution though. This higher temperature increases the metabolism rate of the goldfish so they want to eat much more and do as a result create more "poo"
Extra heat makes bacteria a big problem. The risks are manageable but if you are not experienced it's difficult to manage for people newer (2 years or less) to the hobby and goldfish specifically.
Just because it will be "probably ok" doesnt mean it's good to do though. The heat will make them more likely to be getting sick so you need to make sure you have good water quality and frequent water changes. This would be minimum of once per week and preferred into the 3 times per two weeks as a starting point when the temperature goes up a lot. Also you have to ensure there is good oxygen content in the water. If you have bio-wheel filters or other spraying things in your tank then it will probably be ok. Definately should be a higher gallons per hour cycling of water in the filtration of the tank too.
Again like I said... it's possible to do this... not always the best solution though. This higher temperature increases the metabolism rate of the goldfish so they want to eat much more and do as a result create more "poo"
Extra heat makes bacteria a big problem. The risks are manageable but if you are not experienced it's difficult to manage for people newer (2 years or less) to the hobby and goldfish specifically.
