My tropical fish are hot :)

@arkaf61 (10881)
Canada
August 13, 2008 5:54pm CST
The weather hasn't been the best this summer. We had plenty of rain and thunderstorms, but it is still quite hot. That heavy storm weather. I've been noticing the the temperature in my tank is increasing and my tropical fish are feeling that. Today I had to resort to drop ice cubes on top. This will cool the water but not too fast so they won't get sick. So now they're swimming away much more comfortably. Do you have tropical fish? Did you ever have to use the ice cubes to cool the water?
4 responses
AntonO
@AntonO (119)
• Sweden
14 Aug 08
You can also try pointing a table fan to the water surface. This will help both cooling the water and it will add more oxygen into the water which is great! Otherwise adding ice cubes or a plastic bottle with ice is good, as you have written :)
2 people like this
arkaf61
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
15 Aug 08
Yeah, I thought about that but I don't have a stable base to set up the fan so I felt it might not be too safe.
1 person likes this
Heather Echola
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
18 Aug 08
You certainly would not want to electrocute them by dropping a fan in accidentally. It does sound like a good solution in the right circumstances.
Fishmomma
@Fishmomma (11658)
• United States
15 Aug 08
I have lots of tropical fish. Sorry your having a heat wave and yes have used ice cubes in the past to coll one of my smaller fish tanks. I have a larger tank now, so no longer have that problem.
2 people like this
arkaf61
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
15 Aug 08
the funny thing is that this is not exactly the hottest summer ever, on the contrary. But somehow the heat seems to have concentrate specially in this room... oh well... ice cubes for now LOL
1 person likes this
Heather Echola
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
18 Aug 08
I guess I never realized tropical fish could get too hot. I have never had them. I am glad you gave the poor babies some ice cubes. It is good to know that it is a slow cooling process.
1 person likes this
Dr. Ann
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
14 Aug 08
No, but I'm thinking of dropping a few ice cubes into the liquid nutrient solution that I grow my plants in as our patio has been around 105 F every afternoon and even in the shade there is a possibility that the roots are getting cooked. On the other hand it is an experiment to see just how heat-tolerant these plants are. I wouldn't want to take a chance with the fish, though. When we had fish, we had to heat instead of cool the water as we lived in a different climate then. Good luck keeping them comfortable.
1 person likes this
arkaf61
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
14 Aug 08
It seems like an interesting experiment with your plants. WE had to do this a few times before when it's too hot inside. It was actually the person in the pet shop that told us it was the best way to do it, because if we just add cold water the change will be too fast for them. During the winter we have a heather that we turn on when we see the water temperature dropping too much.