Hi All, I have discovered a Petshop that is keeping it's catfish (Mainly Cory's) in cold water tanks.
They also keep their CAE's in cold water. What should I do about it? This petshop is in Tasmania Australia. Is there somebody I can report it to? This petshop is ridiculous, because I went in asking for Corydoras and they had no idea what I was reffering to until I said I was looking for Peppers, Bronzes etc. They have a main shop in a different part of Launceston but they're not much better, with their knowledge. CAEs are kept in cold water here, but they at least keep their Cory's in warm water, plus neither store knows that CAEs can be dangerous to other fish. I went in to test them after the reponses to my post about my 2 CAEs, asking if they were ok to go with other cats, both stores told me they were ok with any fish.
Cold as in there are no heaters in the tanks, they are kept just the same as any cold water fish. The water I felt that the Cory's were in the other day, was freezing cold, it was like sticking your hand in side a refrigerator. Also bear in mind that we are in winter here now and the average outdoor temp is 16, plus this shop doesn't seem to have any heating (for humans that is).
Sixteen (I presume you are talking about Celsius and not Fahrenheit) would still be OK for CAEs. I'm presuming the water is just a few degrees below the air temperature (when I asked how cold, I really wanted a temperature reading, since the human skin is the least accurate thermometer I know of).
Anyway, 16 degrees would be considered cool, but not cold. Most tropical fishes would be able to tolerate temperatures this low (although they become a lot less active).
Thanks for the info. The 16 was celsius, and unfortunately I can't give you a tank temp as there are no thermometers in the cold water tanks, but at a guess I would have to say it was less than 16, because the one time each month I do a complete water change, my fish go in a smaller holding tank and sit near the fire to prevent too low a drop in temp, while I wait for the water in their house tank to heat up again after the new water is added. The temporary holding tank has a thermometer in it, which has shown the water to drop to 18 on occasion, and the water in the pet shop tanks where they keep the cory's and CAEs was way colder than that. Obviously the fish are adapting to it, but my concern is for new fish they acquire that wouldn't be adapted to such a low temperature.
Sonia you should NEVER do a complete water change on a tank. It is extremely stressful to the fish to put them through the system you just described. You should just mix in some warm tap water, or fill a couple 5 gallon buckets before you start removing water. You only want to remove 30% of the tank volume at any one time on a normal aquarium set up. That should be done at least a couple times a month. A complete water change causes a huge variance in the conditions the fish are living in, not to mention, can restart the cycling process by killing back the bacteria that digest the waste your fish put off. It's a VERY bad idea.
While the store might not be keeping the fish the way you feel they should be, you have to realize that they are there to make money selling fish. If the fish were dying with their methods, they will be only hurting themselves. Customers always have the option of putting their money where their mouth is. If it bothers you, don't buy fish from them!
