22-24o

[killifish1]

thats the temp of my tank as my heaters has broke will the fish be ok or do they need one
cud i put some arm water in occasionly?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes they need a new heater, the temp should be between 24 and 27oC for most standard community fish. They'll probably be OK at a slightly lower temp for a short period of time but not in teh long term.

 

[killifish1]

wat will happen
how loing will they last

 

[Miss Wiggle]

don't know really, what fish have you got and how big is the tank. A larger body of water will cool down much slower than a small one. I think what would most likely happen is the fish would all get very stressed, when they're stressed they will pick up a disease which could easily wipe out your tank as they won't recover properly unless the water conditions are right regardless of how much you treat them. I would go out and buy another heater asap.

 

[killifish1]

ok

its 15 gallon
tetras
fflying fox
rtbs
albino shark
shrimp

 

[Miss Wiggle]

erm maybe someone else who's kept them can tell you a little more, but I don't think a rtbs or the albino shark should be kept in a 15g, I think they'll get too big for it, you might want to consider re-homing them.

as it's a fairly small tank the temp could drop quite quickly. Adding warm water would help until you can get a new heater. But be careful not to add water that's too warm or it'll damage the fish. Your only real option is another heater as soon as you can.

Good luck

 

[killifish1]

i will just there so dear like £15 thats all my money gone

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yup, we always try and keep a spare heater and filter (or 3) so that we have back up if something does go wrong. Cos you can guarantee it's gonna be bank holiday when nothing's open and you've no money anyway and all your equipment's gonna blow at once.

Do a similar thing with my cat's, I always try and keep £60 spare in an acc as that's the excess on my insurance so if something happens they can go the vets straight off and I don't have to worry about the money.

If you take on responsibility for looking after any animal you have to have the back up to look after it when something goes wrong. Your probably not gonna like this suggestion but I would spend what money you have on a heater now, then start saving up for a spare heater and filter just to keep around for if (/when) it happens again. Yeah it's a big outlay now but in the long run it's better to have that back up there when you need it.

 

[killifish1]

yes well im only 14
ill go up soon and get a heater
they have bneen without for weeks
bye and thanks

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I didn't mean that to sounds harsh, sorry if it did. I thought you were young, I do appreciate it can be hard to find the money at your age. I still struggle now for money for all the fishes stuff.

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted and your fish get through OK.

 

[OohFeeshy]

They'll be fine, the lower temperature won't bother them at all, as long as it's pretty stable.

 

[killifish1]

ok well i just got a heater

now u tell me that