Help! Well Water!

But shouldnt you still be able to have the water warmer than 68 degrees if you use a heater ?
With a 50W heater in my 10G i was able to let the house cool down to about 63 at night before the tank temperature dropped below 80.
 
Platies, mollies and guppies can live in 68 degree water or even colder.

Especially sailfin mollies which are native to the Southern US
 
There is a far cry from "can live" and "should live". IMHO all stocking should address SHOULD and not CAN as that is best for the fish and not the fish keeper.

Many fish CAN live in a 10 gallon bucket, but that would shorten their lives by quite a bit. Most fish CAN live in a higher or lower pH and it does not shorten their live span, nor cause health problems, but can be an issue when attempting to breed. Most fish CAN live at a lower or higher temperature, but that leaves them open to stress and therefore disease and a shortened life span.

Water temperature can be adjusted with a heater easily and constantly. pH not so easily nor at a constant. Fluctuations in pH are more stressful than a higher or lower pH.

I would not keep mollies or guppies or platies in cold water. They should be kept in water that is at a suitable temperature for their specie.

My two cents,

Roan
 
White clouds can easily survive 68F water, though the room will have to be much colder than that for the temp to drop that low. The lights alone will heat teh water and water doesn't give off heat fast.

I kept my white clouds for close to 4 years in water that cool. They are now in a tank on the main floor and the temp is a bit warmer at 72F or so.

The main problem with not having a heater is the swings in temp that you get. I set my heater on absolute minimum just to make sure things don't get any colder than 68F. I really would suggest you do the same.
 
I am just saying that they can not that you should keep them at that temp.

But they certainly can. I've done it.
 
General Mollie . Notice I say general, as other sources say other things. I've seen the suggested temp range for these fish anywhere from 68-82. I keep mine at 79. TKOS made a good point as far as temperature is concerned, stability is most important as long as your within an accepptable range.
 
Gambusia said:
I am just saying that they can not that you should keep them at that temp.

But they certainly can. I've done it.
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Heh.

Not going to touch this one.

Roan
 
tre8160 said:
General Mollie . Notice I say general, as other sources say other things. I've seen the suggested temp range for these fish anywhere from 68-82. I keep mine at 79. TKOS made a good point as far as temperature is concerned, stability is most important as long as your within an accepptable range.
Click to expand...

TKOS always makes good points :) My rule of thumb is: stable temperature in the middle range of the extremes. So if the temp range runs from 70+- 2 to 79+-2, then I use 75* as my temperature.

Roan
 
Hey you live up north it gets cold in the winter. A 10 gallon tank requires a very inexpensive heater. Simply put a 50 watt EBO-JAGER costs less than $16 at www.thatfishplace.com . It may not be fair to the fish to deprive them of controlled heat. If you plan on having lighting on your tank then that will certainly increase the temperature of your water. However, I am sure that everyone will agree it will fluctuate quicker than larger tanks becuase the smaller volume of water in a 10 gallon aquarium can not physically hold as much heat as a larger tank. The fluctuations cause more stress to the fish than a constant temperature. It's one thing if the temperature is kept constant in the winter with the addition of a heater, but if you want to keep the fish for a while you have to make sure that they are in an airconditioned room in the summer especially when the mercury reaches above 90. Do not put too many fish in your tank and becareful not to buy any realy dirty ones like goldfish . Good luck!
 
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