Oscars at 70F?
- Thread starter Frank Castle
- Start date
The fish definitely slowed down at 66F. If memory serves correctly, i trialed 66F for 2 wks & fish were fine but i got sick of bugger all activity in the tank so i gave in & bumped the temp back up. The point is in my exp 66F will not harm your fish, certainly not over the short winter months we have in Queensland.
Just another point of interest, a friend of mine keeps a 6" heater of unknown wattage in a 6' tank & does not have any dramas. I'm not sure what the water temp is in his tank but it can't be too cozy for his fish so while it's one thing to say you should mirror a fish's natural environment, i wonder what the temp is exactly?.
I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be a constant nice temp of 77F.
My point was not a temperature at which fish can survive for 2 weeks. I was pointing out that the fish evolved over millions of years to thrive in specific temperature range and if you don't provide that range it is likley cruel treatment to keep fish uncomfortably cold in order to save a few bucks on electricity.
I would say if a person cannot or will not provide a similar environment then they should be keeping fish that are adapted to the conditions they can provide. It's like keeping brackish fish in freshwater. Will it kill them quickly? Probably not. Is it a moral way to care for pets? Absolutely not.
I would say if a person cannot or will not provide a similar environment then they should be keeping fish that are adapted to the conditions they can provide. It's like keeping brackish fish in freshwater. Will it kill them quickly? Probably not. Is it a moral way to care for pets? Absolutely not.
Last edited:
1. I'm sure the local aquarium store owner will be saving more than a few bucks as would a lot of people in here that have multiple tank syndrome.
2. Lower temps may not be ideal but I certainly don't interpret it as being cruel. We are warm blooded & they are cold so while you may find cooler climes uncomfortable I don't think fish feel it the way we do. I've seen an oscar with burn marks from sleeping on a heater so go figure that out. Fish have different physiology to us so you can't determine something may be cruel because you would find it uncomfortable.
Big fish in tiny tanks with foul water is my interpretation of cruel.
2. Lower temps may not be ideal but I certainly don't interpret it as being cruel. We are warm blooded & they are cold so while you may find cooler climes uncomfortable I don't think fish feel it the way we do. I've seen an oscar with burn marks from sleeping on a heater so go figure that out. Fish have different physiology to us so you can't determine something may be cruel because you would find it uncomfortable.
Big fish in tiny tanks with foul water is my interpretation of cruel.
