Inherited Fish Part deux!

S

SaraHall

Seashanty
Sep 26, 2005
38
0
0
Hi All,
Have a few Heaters questions so I thought I'd consult the guru's in this chat room:

3 aquariums have heaters and 6 don't AHHHHHHHH! The albino oscar looks cold cold cold.. His feeder goldfish buddy seems okay. But I understand goldfish and Oscars have different requirements???. I just need to figure out the heaters. So if anyone knows how hot or cold heaters need to be it would be a great help. I have the heaters that look like a giant thermometer with two suction cups. I dont know if they all look like that so I thought I'd give you a visual.
Thanks again everyone!
All my best
Sara:girl:
 
It would help to know what fish you're trying to keep comfortable, as different fish have different comfort ranges. Goldfish, for example, are fine in cold water so long as there is a hole in the ice above that allows oxygen transference. Oscars will freeze to death long before that.

Heaters look different. Heaters are made for different tank sizes according to gallons of the tank. Too big of a heater on a small tank will make fish soup, even if you turn it all the way down. Gonna need some details if you want constructive advice.

What fish, in what size tanks, with what wattage of heater?
 
Also, if the goldfish is meant to be food, you want to accomodate the oscar, which would be warmer temps :)
 
Inherited fish part deux1

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the suggestions. be gentle with me. :( I am trying my best to keep my brothers fish alive and thriving. The goldfish WAS his feeder fish but now them seem okay together. The goldfish got as large as the albino so I guess he is okay? I hope I am not stressing the goldfish out! Then I will need a shrink.
Anyway, I will check on the heaters today with fish breeds and aquarium sizes. Is there a formula to figure out the size? regular volume calc I guess. The largest tanks have to be over 100 gallon. I mean I could comfortably lay down in one and I am 5'-10" tall! And they are wide too! I know that one was custom made for some sharks he used to have. Anyway. I am still working on the breeds.
Is there anything I can do about the algae that sticks on the glass? I mean I had to use a pre-conditioned brillo pad to get it off yesterday. Should I get snails maybe?
Also, Can I put the Albino Oscar with anybody else? Looking to consolidate a bit. The gray oscar is bigger than him though. Anyway, I will get sizes and get back to you all.
Thanks again
:)
Sara
 
Length x width x height (I have always used inches, I'm not sure if that matters)/ 231 will give you an approximate amount in gallons. The general rule for heaters is 3 watts per gallon. For example, a 25-50 watt heater would work for a 10g tank. In the case of the bigger tanks, it is best to get two heaters that add up to the total amount. Place one on either end of the tank. This will help distribute the heat more evenly, put less strain on any one heater, and be a back up system should one stop working properly.

The goldfish and the oscar have different temp. requiremetns, so if you want to keep both (as pets, not food :) ) you'll want to separate them so you can meet both of their needs. I think something like 67-72ish is good for goldfish and 75-80ish is good for tropicals, I could be off a bit though, so don't take my exact word for it. The goldfish is not going to show any real signs of distress from being in too warm of a tank, but long term it will cause problems.

Maybe you can relist what fish and size tanks you have and consolidate somewhere and you could have a goldfish tank???

By the way, DO NOT use a store bought brillo pad to clean algae. ONLY use stuff meant for fish tanks. Alot of those pads/sponges have chemicals, anti-bacterials etc. that can kill your biofilter and your fish. If it was not a fish specific item, I would test your water and do a large water change, and rinse your media in the water from another tank (assuming it is a healthy tank). Someone on here a while back used the wrong kind of sponge in there tank and the fish were all dead in a matter of days :sad: !! They do sell magnetic algae scrapers that I hear do a pretty good job. My friends cichlids like to attack them when she cleans her glass.
 
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