Looking At Getting Tropical Fish

[danb]

Hi,

I currently have a cold water fish tank and everything seems to be okay for the last 6 months, fish are healthy etc. Im looking at getting another fish tank, a larger one and was wanting tropical fish.

Now ive heard conflicting statements from people saying tropical fish are much harder to keep but then other people saying they are much easier, things can go wrong with them, but far less often than cold water fish. Which is true?

Also, im in an area potentially liable to power cuts, although i have only had 1 this year. Normally the power is out for anything from 1 hour to 12 hours. If the power was out for 12 hours, would this kill the fish? Bearing in mind there will be no heating either as the power is out.

Thanks,
Danny

 

[waterdrop]

Hi danb and welcome to TFF!

I'd not really exaggerate either way - I think there's very little difference to the skills of keeping coldwater or tropical. Yes, when heat is needed, its needed, but acquiring, maintaining and knowing about heating is trivial compared to filtration skills and coldwater and tropical share the same filter bacterial species and filter knowhow.

General rule of thumb is 5 watts of heater power per US gallon and to try and not overpower too much in case of a thermostat failure, although they've become so rare that many of us end up overpowered for one reason or another and don't worry about it. Good flow to distribute the heat around the tank is also a good thing.

I don't know the best things to say to you about the possible power outages, that's a difficult problem and hopefully the members will remember some of the better ways to be prepared or to deal with it. There's always the small gas-powered electrical generator option, but I'm sure you're aware of that. Fish vary by species in how sensitive they are to temperature shock but one universal thing to know is to not overreact and re-heat them too quickly if they've been subject to overly low temperatures. They would need to eased back up very slowly. Besides power generators (batteries won't cut it with heaters for long) another idea, I believe, is to basically float a "hot water bottle" in the tank. This can be implemented in various obvious ways. Insulation around the tank or containers can also be important in these situations.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

For a short power loss like you are describing, I focus a lot more on keeping my filter going and avoiding ammonia build ups than I worry about temperature. If your tank is in your home and you can stay safe in that home, the water will not get cold enough in a few hours to cause any problems for the fish.