The water temperature in your aquarium has a bigger role than you may think. Since fish are cold-blooded creatures the slightest change of even a few degrees to result with dramatically different behaviors and actions.
If you understand how temperature affects your fish, you can use temperature to your advantage, and your fish will significantly benefit from it. First of all, let’s talk about the obvious if your water temperature gets too high or too low it can be lethal these lethal.
Temperatures range greatly depending on species then it is highly recommended to stay within 5 degrees of their ideal temperature at any given time.
Fish Tank Temperature Too High – How To Lower The Temperature?
Now let’s talk about what happens when the water temperature is too high for the fish living in it. One of the most immediate consequences that you will notice is called hypoxia, which is also known as oxygen starvation.
This occurs because warm water can contain less oxygen, you will notice your fish struggling and gasping for air often they may look like they’re trying to breathe at the surface. Many people get confused that their fish on the surface is actually able to breathe the oxygen; however, if they are not a labyrinth fish their bodies do not accept oxygen in that form unless it is dissolved.
These fish towards the surface because there’s a slightly more oxygenated band of water towards the top, due to little surface agitation. This behavior will quickly exhaust the fish and potentially lead to its death. It is essential to keep a close eye on your room temperature surrounding your aquarium as well.
Oxygen levels in the water are low at night because the algae in the aquarium stop photosynthesis, and therefore stops producing oxygen.
Many owners of fish do not notice that the fish are experiencing hypoxia in the middle of the night. And after an extended period, the fish can end up drowning because they are too exhausted.
How To Lower The Temperature in Your Tank?
You can simply avoid this by reducing the water temperature. You can lower room temperature, turn down the heater, add more surface agitation to aerate the water, turn off lights, or for short term emergencies only; you can even add ice.
Fish Tank Temperature Too Low – How To Raise The Temperature?
On the opposite side of this, is low-temperature water. Unless the water is really really cold, which will kill the fish quickly, the low water temperatures can lead to some horrific long-term effects.
The start, the cold temperatures will slow down all bodily functions, including the immune system, which will make them more susceptible to diseases. The fish will grow slower and have their growth limited greatly. The fish will not be active and seem to be resting all the time.
This is because they lose control of their body and slowly start to shut down. The brain will be too cold to active, and they may slip into a coma. This very often leads to death.
Check The Heater in The Aquarium.
Sadly, many people do not know when their water temperature is too cold, because it usually occurs when the heater breaks. Many people rarely check water temperatures and whether or not their heaters are still working.
That is why it is essential to check your heater daily, or at least every other day. Just a glance at the thermometer when feeding is all you need.
Recovering From High or Low Temperatures
To help fish recover from high or low temperatures, slowly adjust the temperature over a few hours back to normal, to avoid shocking the fish with dramatic changes. If the temperature is extreme, the fish is in urgent need of help, and it is acceptable, so try to change the temperature immediately; however, it should never get to the point.
The suggestion I have to regulate your aquarium temperature is to use two heaters because if one breaks, another will start working. I always set one to one degree below the other, so that if I see the lower one working, I know that the higher set heater is broken, or not powerful enough.
Hi, my name is Sean, and I’m the primary writer on the site. I’m blogging mostly about freshwater and saltwater aquariums, fish, invertebrates, and plants. I’m experienced in the fishkeeping hobby for many years. Over the years I have kept many tanks, and have recently begun getting more serious in wanting to become a professional aquarist. All my knowledge comes from experience and reading forums and a lot of informative sites. In pursuit of becoming a professional, I also want to inspire as many people as I can to pick up this hobby and keep the public interest growing.
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