Plecos and high temps?

[pLaurent1251]

I have one tank in the main area of my house which has no a/c. There is a little albino BN in there, and we've been having a few hots days. I see the temp in his tank is hovering around 85F. How serious is this for this species?

[MatsP]

They'll be OK to about 30'C (86'F). I've had mine up to about 32 (90F) for a few days at a time. Rio Xingu plecos are more tolerant to high temperatures. Not sure if any Ancistrus species are commonly exported from Xingu.

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Mats

[pLaurent1251]

Oh, thank you! I didn't want to have to move him to another tank. I"ve added more air stones and am doing more frequent WCs as well.

[MTS]

you could also try and cool the tank by adding bottles of frozen water/ opening the lids and blowing a fan across the top.

[pLaurent1251]

you could also try and cool the tank by adding bottles of frozen water

I think I'm going to do that since the temps are now near 30C, although perhaps just cold water and not ice since I"m afraid a sudden temp change may be worse than steady high temps?

[MatsP]

I think I'm going to do that since the temps are now near 30C, although perhaps just cold water and not ice since I"m afraid a sudden temp change may be worse than steady high temps?

Don't worry about that. A 1-4 liter (quart to gallon) bottle of ice will not reduce a tank of a that is many tens times larger. Obviously, a 10g tank, don't put a gallon jug of ice in there.

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Mats

[Awugod]

One thing to keep in mind about high water temps is that the higher the water temp the less dissolved oxygen it can hold. This will only cause you issues if you have an overstocked tank or do not have some good surface agitation. I had an issue with this last week (Southeast U.S. been having a heat wave of >95degF temps for almost 2 weeks), I lost 3 fish 2 of which were plecs. Normally my filter output cascades down (like a water fall) a good inch or so, so water agitation is good, but I had just done a water change and didnt really pay attention to the water level when putting fresh water in. It was filled up to the bottom of the outlet, thus not creating enough surface agitation and 3 fish suffocated to death due to lack of oxygen. Emergency actions (addinf bowls filled with ice to cool the water) saved the other occupants.

I fixed my issues with the room getting hot by finishing insulating the room and adding a portable A/C unit. Room now stays 76degF, vice the almost 90deg it was getting to last week.

Hope this helps a little.

[pLaurent1251]

So sorry about your losses, awugod.

I did go ahead and use the ice cubes in a plastic container, refilling it quite a few times. I think I'm okay for oxygen. I"ve had to lessen the filter cascade since my rainbows are distressed by too much current, but I've added a large airstone. I also left the feeding lid open and am keeping lighting to a minimum. It's a dilemma, since this tank is fully planted and I don't want the plants to die.

This tank is only 10 gallons but not overstocked. There are 7 blue eyed dwarf rainbows and one, 2" pleco in there.

As a last resort I could move the tank to my a/c basement, but obviously this is not something I contemplate with pleasure.

Thanks for all the tips. They're helping and the temp is down by a degree or two!

[drpleco]

honestly, 85 isn't going to hurt a BN in the short term. Just hook up an airstone or powerhead with venturi attachment and you'll be fine.

Remember that plants use O2 when the lights are off - so give them some light that they can use to make O2.

The fewer changes you can make here, the better. Just add aeration, let your plants keep working, and everything will be OK.