Temperature

[Staceybird2410]

Hi, I've just bought a tank for my daughters room and I want it to be a tropical tank. I bought a heater and thermometer but when I put the thermometer in before the heater, the water is 28 degrees. I've read that 26-28 is s good temp for a tropical tank. If this is the case, do I even need to use the heater? I'm very confused 😳 Thanks for reading

[TropicalFishForums]

[Mol_PMB]

The high temperature seems surprising to me.

Possibilities:
1) the thermometer is wrong
2) the whole room is really that warm?
3) the other equipment on the tank (light, filter pump etc) is putting a lot of energy into the water (unlikely on a standard setup)
4) the tank was filled with warm water which hasn't cooled down yet.

28C is rather hot for most species so it would be good to figure out what's going on. Can you try calibrating the thermometer in a cup of iced water?




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[Staceybird2410]

I think it must be the thermometer! The room is not that warm. Will try putting it in iced water or prob just buy a new thermometer. Thanks for replying.

[Stephen]

The standard temperature for a tropical fish tank is 24C but it depends on the fish species.
Some fish prefer the temperature lower than 24C and others higher than 24C and some are happy at 24C.

How big is your fish tank?

The water in Letchworth is very hard at about 18dGH so you need hard water fish species only.
The fish also need to be temperature compatible too.

Stephen

[Staceybird2410]

Thanks 😊 It's only a 28 litre aqua one tank. What fish do you recommend?

[Dave Godfrey]

In a tank that size, none I'm afraid. Shrimp and snails only really.

[Mol_PMB]

It would be fine for a single Betta; they make great 'pet' fish.
Alternatively a small shoal of nano fish such as ember tetras, galaxy rasboras or similar might be just OK.


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[Stephen]

It would be fine for a single Betta; they make great 'pet' fish.

Agree with Paul

Alternatively a small shoal of nano fish such as ember tetras, galaxy rasboras or similar might be just OK.

I think the water is too hard for Ember tetras as they are a soft water species.
You may get away with a small shoal of Galaxy Rasboras (aka Celestial Pearl Danio) maybe 10 in total at 23C (73F).

The tank measures 41 x 38 x 26cm (approx.) 28L

Celestial Pearl Danio


Hope it helps
Stephen

[Mol_PMB]

Yes Stephen, you're right
Sorry.


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[Staceybird2410]

😞 I'm wondering now whether to just have temperate fish like my sons tank. The heater I bought seems to turn on when I set the temp but water isn't heating up then it turns off. I've always wanted a tropical tank but it just seems like it won't happen. (Feeling sorry for myself now 😜) thanks for all your help. Will have a look at the fish you have reccomended and may return the heater and get a new one, along with a new thermometer 😩

[Dave Godfrey]

The only temperate fish suitable for a tank that size are Least Killifish (Heterandria formosa), which are actually a kind of livebearer. They're not commonly seen, and usually expensive when you do find them.

Depending on how hard your water is Celestichthys erythromicron (very similar to CPDs, but stripey rather than spotted) might be better. I'd still be wary of keeping fish in a tank that size. Small volumes of water are hard to keep stable, and you'd be better off with a larger tank (54L is a good size to start with if space is limited).

[DoubleDutch]

Agree Dave. Kept Heterandria formosa.
Nice fishies for a smaller sized tank (small group).
After some time the stop getting fry (think it is a natural way to prevent inbreeding).