I was thinking about putting my two Pictus Catfish and my common pleco outside during the summer in a 100 gallon or so tank with algae already grown in the tank. Is this safe, and should I do it? Right now my two catfish are close to four inches long and my pleco is about the same. I would put rocks in the tank for hiding and shade.
Can I do this?
- Thread starter fishlore101
- Start date
I would not do it if the tank is in the sun--it could get too hot. You would still need a filter too.
Outside is a relative term. Outside in Alaska is different than outside in Southern California.
The ambiant air or direct sunlight could litteraly cook your fish for you. You also run the risk of getting outside contaminants in the tank. Polen from trees, various airborn molds, etc.
Not to mention the elements. What if a major storm rolls in and your tank gets hailed on?
If you have an enclosed patio where you can regulate the temp, you might be OK. Aside from that, I think you're asking for trouble.
The ambiant air or direct sunlight could litteraly cook your fish for you. You also run the risk of getting outside contaminants in the tank. Polen from trees, various airborn molds, etc.
Not to mention the elements. What if a major storm rolls in and your tank gets hailed on?
If you have an enclosed patio where you can regulate the temp, you might be OK. Aside from that, I think you're asking for trouble.
EcoPit said:
The tank would be dug into the ground and wouldn't be put in direct sun, but I was thinking about it for awhile and I would be putting a screen over it at night also. From reading the other posts it sounds like a bad idea so I wouldn't do it. But why is it that goldfish can live outside all year round (I live in Wisconsin) and tropical fish can't? My uncle put in a large red finned shark last year in the same outside tank as my goldfish and we told him to remove it before it got cold and he didn't and it died. I know that tropical fish need heat, air, and filtration. Why did this fish do so well outside until it got cold? (I know that the cold killed him.)
Goldfish contain two sets of enzymes. One set to be used in warmer waters and one set to be used when temperatures get colder. This enables them to still maintain homeostasis and survive even when temperatures plummet. The tropicals on the other hand don't have this and once the temperatures get too low, the warm water enzymes stop working efficiently and the fish literly shuts down.
rrkss said:
Thanks for the great info, but during the warm weather months when the water is warm could tropical fish survive outside?
Yes. I just read an article in an aquarium magazine about keeping topicals in an outside pond during summer. The fish can actually really benefit from it. Unless you live in a very warm place they have to come inside in the winter though.fishlore101 said:
I wouldn't use a tank if I was doing that though... it'd be a lot cheaper to dig a pond then to buy a 100G glass tank and put it in a hole.