Do goldfish need a HEATER? Please help.

Hey everyone.

It's approaching winter in Australia and I have noticed the temperature
in my fish tank has dropped as the weather is getting colder. In the
warmer months the temperature ranged from 25C (77F) to 27C (81F) and
the fish didn't have a problem with this fluctuation. Now the water
temperature is about 21C (70F).

I have noticed that a couple of the fish (I have three) are hanging out
in the little cave ornaments (just sitting in there)and are not as
active- I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the temperature
but it could, as no other conditions have changed and they have no
other signs of illness.

Before buying a heater I decided to read up on the net about whether or
not this is necessary and there are many varying opinions:

Some say the temp should be kept steady or the fih will be shocked.
Some say the temp can fluctuate from warm to nearly freezing and the
fish can easily cope with this.
Most say a heater is not necessary.

So I would like your opinions- please tell me what is successful for
your fish and also if you have any knowledge about why/why not a heater
should be used?

Thanks for your help!

Alex.

P.S. The tank is kept in an area where there is sunlight however it is
NOT direct sunlight. It just so happens that the house gets a bit cold
in the winter time. So the position of the tank isn't the problem here.

I always keep a heater on. Wild fluctations can kill fish.
Mild longer changes are fine.

Changes in the temperature can also bring on breeding behaviour which
isn't necessarily a good thing if you don't have the tanks to cope.

Yep, I second that, I always use heaters in my goldie tanks.

Lucky,

First of all Goldfish are cold blood animals, not cold water, but cold
blooded. This means as the temp decreases so does their activity.

I have been keeping, raising and breeding Goldfish for about 40 plus years
and one of the nice things about Goldfish is that do not need heaters. In
the winter here in North Central Oklahoma water temps in my tubs and tanks
hover around the 60 degree range and the fish are fine. Now, for bubbling
activity that decreases. That is the nature of cold blooded animals.

Personally, I think fish live longer when they go through a cooling off
period in the winter. Unless you have a very small tank, water flucuations
are usually slow. If the tank is in a drafty area or next to a cold window
then the tanks temperature may fall quickly.

In my expereince they don't need heaters. My fish are health and live long,
In my ponds outside the temperatures this late winter ranged from 40 to 70
degrees as Spring approached, and several times these temp changes occurred
in one day.

So I say no to heaters.

Tom L.L.
"Lucky" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey everyone.

It's approaching winter in Australia and I have noticed the temperature
in my fish tank has dropped as the weather is getting colder. In the
warmer months the temperature ranged from 25C (77F) to 27C (81F) and
the fish didn't have a problem with this fluctuation. Now the water
temperature is about 21C (70F).

I have noticed that a couple of the fish (I have three) are hanging out
in the little cave ornaments (just sitting in there)and are not as
active- I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the temperature
but it could, as no other conditions have changed and they have no
other signs of illness.

Before buying a heater I decided to read up on the net about whether or
not this is necessary and there are many varying opinions:

Some say the temp should be kept steady or the fih will be shocked.
Some say the temp can fluctuate from warm to nearly freezing and the
fish can easily cope with this.
Most say a heater is not necessary.

So I would like your opinions- please tell me what is successful for
your fish and also if you have any knowledge about why/why not a heater
should be used?

Thanks for your help!

Alex.

P.S. The tank is kept in an area where there is sunlight however it is
NOT direct sunlight. It just so happens that the house gets a bit cold
in the winter time. So the position of the tank isn't the problem here.

Nope goldfish are coldwater, I can remember years ago, when i was a kid, in
the UK, many,many years ago . My old man had a fish pond, and many a
winter the pond was frozen , and the fish where trapped in the ice, My old
man would crack the ice with a hammer, and the fish would get out and go
deeper in the water.
I,m in Oz now, and also have friends with goldfish, they also don't bother
with heaters.
bassett


Lucky" wrote in message
It's approaching winter in Australia and I have noticed the temperature
in my fish tank has dropped as the weather is getting colder. In the
warmer months the temperature ranged from 25C (77F) to 27C (81F) and
the fish didn't have a problem with this fluctuation. Now the water
temperature is about 21C (70F).

Before buying a heater I decided to read up on the net about whether or
not this is necessary and there are many varying opinions:

Some say the temp should be kept steady or the fih will be shocked.
Some say the temp can fluctuate from warm to nearly freezing and the
fish can easily cope with this.
Most say a heater is not necessary.

So I would like your opinions- please tell me what is successful for
your fish and also if you have any knowledge about why/why not a heater
should be used?

Thanks for your help!

Alex.

P.S. The tank is kept in an area where there is sunlight however it is
NOT direct sunlight. It just so happens that the house gets a bit cold
in the winter time. So the position of the tank isn't the problem here.

They don't need them but I feel better knowing that their environment
is stable : ) I remember a story from another goldfish keeper who did
not use heaters in her tanks. She went on vacation in the heat of the
summer and while she was gone the house sitter turned on the air
conditioning. She arrived home to find all her fish had ich due to the
temp. change. Just to clarify, when I said I use heaters in all my
goldie tanks I meant in my fancy goldie tanks. I find my commons to be
much more hardy and do not use a heater in their tank.

bettasngoldfish wrote:

Just to clarify, when I said I use heaters in all my
goldie tanks I meant in my fancy goldie tanks. I find my commons to be
much more hardy and do not use a heater in their tank.

Agreed!

Bettasngoldfish,

Sorry, I would surmise that your friend's fish probably had ich due to some
other reason other than temperature change, especially if the house
environmental system was the reason for the temperature change. The
temperture changes that usually bring on ich in fish is if you raise the
temperature of their environment in a 30 minute period 10 to 20 degrees are
dump a fish in a cold bag of water in to a tank where the water temperature
is 80 degrees. A house system does not change the water temperature that
fast unless the tank is sitting on top of the deliver duct.

As I pointed out, in my pond I have seen the fish go through a 30 degree
temperature change and back again in a two day period and the fish have
never gotten ich or any other disease for that matter.

If your friend was using a fish sitter, that was her first mistake. This
individual probably did something unknowingly that caused the ich. That
would be my guess and the temp differential was blamed.

As far as Fancy (Ornamental) Goldfish go I have Two kinds of Phoenix, Philly
Veils, Ranchus, Orandas and Fantials with double length tails and they are
all treated in the same way. In fact, the Fantails are left outside all
winter.

The individual asked if it was needed, and in my experience it is not.
Whether you use one or not that is matter of convention. Personally, I
think fish live longer if they are given a cooling in the winter, but here
again that is my experience. The last time I had a fish die on me it was 7
years old and after 5 years had been living, off and on, as a serious
floater. At present I am housing approximately 90 fish. The approximation
is because I really do not know how many Bristol Shubunkins I have at the
moment.

Tom L.L.
------------------------------------------------
"bettasngoldfish" wrote in message
oups.com...
They don't need them but I feel better knowing that their environment
is stable : ) I remember a story from another goldfish keeper who did
not use heaters in her tanks. She went on vacation in the heat of the
summer and while she was gone the house sitter turned on the air
conditioning. She arrived home to find all her fish had ich due to the
temp. change. Just to clarify, when I said I use heaters in all my
goldie tanks I meant in my fancy goldie tanks. I find my commons to be
much more hardy and do not use a heater in their tank.

bassett wrote:

Nope goldfish are coldwater, I can remember years ago, when i was a kid, in
the UK, many,many years ago . My old man had a fish pond, and many a
winter the pond was frozen , and the fish where trapped in the ice, My old
man would crack the ice with a hammer, and the fish would get out and go
deeper in the water.
I,m in Oz now, and also have friends with goldfish, they also don't bother
with heaters.

They live in coldwater, but hardly thrive. A dog could be kept in a cage, but it
wouldn't be classed as a cage animal.

Tom,

Your pond fish are probably torpedo shaped fish (i.e. common, shubs or comets).
They tend to be more resistant to disease than fancies (from my experience).

What I have found in the past is severe swings, highs to low to highs
due to heating in house going off and on over night that fancies
will get ich due to this more frequently.