Do you need heaters in guppy tanks

[IOU1]

Hi guys, You probably don't this time of year because they only need a temp of about 20-22 degrees but thought I would check. They are currently in a 40L tank and the heater has just broken (kept heating up the water) so I unplugged it, now the only heater available to use is a 100W heater, what do you guys reckon, keep the tank without a heater or put this one in? The housing is only temporary and I will be getting new heaters and tanks hopefully in the next few days. Thanks 8)

[vindy500]

100w heater will work fine

[IOU1]

Thanks for that, but I am a bit hesitant of putting such a large one in such a small volume of water incase the thermostat breaks again, with a heater like this the water would quickly boil.

This is probably a dumb question, its just that this is a new strain of guppy I have bought, $200 for four pairs, and so there is not the numbers to cater for any deaths at the moment until the females drop offspring

My thought was that the water will not freeze without a heater this time of year, and until I get another one leave them out, but I have put it in and will monitor it for a couple of hours and see if the water heats up.

[fish-unit]

why dont you just stop being cheap and buy a quality heater :roll:

[IOU1]

I would but its too late, the shop is closed

[fish-unit]

I can give you the contact of someone in auckland if ou are really desperate?

[IOU1]

Thanks fish-unit but I think I will be OK . The heater hasn't seemed to be heating so I think its working alright, the chances are it will work with no problems. I got these a couple of hours ago and its an initial novely thing to worry about the fish due to the expense, but over time you realise despite the cost they are just like any normal fish and just as hardy :oops: :roll: . This strain is lying completely in my hands, there are apparantely no more in NZ and so it would suck if they all died on me the first night and we lose the strain forever

I need to get over myself :oops: :oops: :roll: :lol:

[Caryl]

Temp should be fine at this time of year.

[Mrs Frog]

Thanks fish-unit but I think I will be OK . The heater hasn't seemed to be heating so I think its working alright, the chances are it will work with no problems. I got these a couple of hours ago and its an initial novely thing to worry about the fish due to the expense, but over time you realise despite the cost they are just like any normal fish and just as hardy :oops: :roll: . This strain is lying completely in my hands, there are apparantely no more in NZ and so it would suck if they all died on me the first night and we lose the strain forever

I need to get over myself :oops: :oops: :roll: :lol:

No way I think its fair enough to be freakin out lol, man I would spending that much money of 4 little fish Good luck

[kd123]

My heater in the guppy tank died last week and i now have about three of the fish dying every day and the rest hovering around the surface. The heater was only off for 24 hours and the tank isnt that large and the water levels are as they should be. I have heard that guppies are quite sensitive to changes and go into a sort of shock..... even the fry are reducing.

[Caryl]

I would suspect something other than the temp in that case. Guppies are basically pretty hardy and a broken heaterstat would result in a slow temp drop. Hovering at the surface sounds more of a lack of oxygen problem. They will live in temps down to 18C.

[cichlid7]

i had a 3ft tank full of guppies and fry i thought i caught all the fish in the tank so i drained all the waterexcept for about 1 cm above the stones and then took the tank outside and left it for a few days and then went to clean it out and saw movement in the water there was still atleast 10 -15 guppy fry and 3 adults in there the temp in the tank was only 5 or 6*c and they are still alive

[kd123]

I have added oxygen for the last 5 days and still finding dead fish....

[IOU1]

kd123 try testing your water, maybe something has entered that the fish don't like :-? If you like you can put up the results and i'm sure someone will help you out

[Ianab]

I have added oxygen for the last 5 days and still finding dead fish....

Do what I do when I dont know whats wrong. BIG FREQUENT water changes. 50% (or even more) per day is fine. Doesn't matter what is actually wrong with the tank water, just change it out. Try that for a few days and see what happens. As long as your tap water is good it will do no harm.

Also check around the tank and under the decorations incase there are dead fish lost in there and rotting. That will give you a chain reaction of dead fish :-?

The gasping at the surface can be a sign of ammonia in the water, it irritates their gills and makes it hard for them to breath.

Cheers

Ian

[kd123]

Thanks for the help.... I have been doing changes every couple of days and still finding little balls of white mould floating around on the gravel....I think they are dead fry. At least they are getting fewer. The big fish are now swimming around doing what guppies do :roll:

Have introduced 2 new males and now one has died a day later. The others are fine. The tests are all ok. I am wondering whether there is a dead fish which has got buried in the gravel during the changes..... I will continue with the changes for now and have continued the oxygen