Interesting Thing I Read About the Usefulness of Heaters

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Do you agree with the article? How do you feel about heaters?

  • Yes, many fish do better without heaters.

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • No, heaters are important for keeping a good fish tank.

    Votes: 4 57.1%
  • It doesn't make much difference if there is a heater to most fish.

    Votes: 1 14.3%

  • Total voters
    7
Sep 1, 2015
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Texas
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Brian
I was browsing around seriouslyfish.com and I found this article about heaters. The general idea of the article is that heaters are often unnecessary, at least for most fish, assuming you don't live in an unheated house in Alaska. I was wondering if anybody else had seen anything to this effect, and what you thought of it or if you had any experience.

Brian
 

Tifftastic

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Sep 9, 2008
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Tiff
Hmmmmm I'll disagree on this article, though I have to admit I skimmed it because it irritated me a lot.
For one, I live in Scotland right now and though it was 10C outside, I could see my breath in my flat . . . Would I keep a topical fish in there without a heater? Ummmm no. I'm endothermic and my muscles hurt so bad from trying to stay warm while sleeping that I would never do that to an ectotherm.
Second, for the African cichlids, yes they have extensively sampled all three rift lakes for temperature and pH and dissolved O2 and maby other factors at all times of the year. Additionally, yes scientists do sample for temperature at regular intervals when they describe species. This person has no idea of what the scientific method actually is. . . Or how science works or how journal articles (where new species are described) get published.

PS: yes fish can live at lower or higher temps but it interferes with reproduction and significantly decreases life span. This has been shown scientifically
 
Sep 1, 2015
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Brian
Ah, good to know. Just a poorly researched thing I guess. Probably a little less of a problem most of the year down here in Texas, but I'll stick to the status quo of keep fish warm.

Thanks,
Brian
 

fishorama

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Jun 28, 2006
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Well, I think the PF article was entirely too breezy & without hard facts...But I too don't heat as much as is often "recommended" for some fish. There's a lot of temp fluctuation over the course of a day & season to season. & yes, fish do tend to live longer at their lower rather than higher temp range.

But, unlike Tiff, I don't see my breath in winter either here in NorCal or in Mass. My winter sleep temp is & was 62*F, day 68*F...but higher in summer of course. But filtration & any powerhead-type devices also raise tank temp & tank water mass keeps it from dropping very fast, even in a 10g RCS tank, IME. Lighting raises that even more during "daytime". So, yes, I believe most fish can handle some temp range daily & seasonally...a drop can often bring on breeding too. I need native natural temps ranges over time to even begin to make sense of this issue.
 

Narwhal72

AC Members
Aug 13, 2009
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I think the point the author misses is that in large water bodies temperature changes very gradually. Lakes, ponds, streams, rivers change temperature seasonally often taking days or weeks for just a 3-4 degree change as seasons change.

A smaller body of water such as an aquarium can change very rapidly. Often in hours.

While it is possible to keep fish at cooler water temperatures than what is often recommended, keeping the temperature stable is far more important and can only be accomplished with a heater.
Andy
 
Sep 1, 2015
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Brian
Ok, so a follow up question. Since this article is not the best as far as accuracy of information, is Seriously Fish a good site in general? I'm referring particularly to the species profile data on the site.

Thanks,
Brian
 
Sep 1, 2015
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Brian
Yes, SF is 1 of the more accurate sites around...this was the first times I'd read anything other than fish profiles
Yeah, me too. Good to know everything else they have is accurate.

Thanks,
Brian
 

Sploke

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Oct 20, 2005
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Matt
The article also seems to assume that any time a heater is plugged in, it's on, which is generally not the case. Most heaters have internal, adjustable thermostats, so there's really no need to go around unplugging your heaters in the summer if its warm...the thermostat just won't turn them on.
 
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pbeemer

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Apr 27, 2010
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i suggest that it depends on the fish. we don't suffer here (so Cal) from that icky white stuff falling out of the sky, so our winters aren't terrible cold, and we try not to let it get too hot inside in the summer.
my tanks have sunfish in them, and haven't had heaters for years -- if anything, the water is warmer than i would like, but i'm not investing in a chiller
 
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