Aquarium Fish that can survive in a temperature range of 70°F-95F°

[Birchir@007]

I've almost finished cycling my 70G tank now, and was originally going to buy some Oscars or Birchir or Barbs for it but when I tried sticking a thermometer in my tank today it reads 93°F. It would probably get up to 95°F on a hot summer afternoon. It's summer now, and in winter the water could probably get as cool as 60F.

Wikipedia says that Oscars, cardinal tetras and Denison's Barbs prefer water temperature in the 70°F to 82°F and 65°F - 79°F range respectively. So my tank is definitely too warm for them.

I'm willing to get an aquarium heater for the winter, but getting an aquarium chiller is out of the question because they're either too expensive, too big or too noisy.

So my question is, what kind of Fish can survive in a temperature range of 70°F-95F°? (I can raise the lower end to with a heater if I need to but I can't lower the high end).

Thanks in advance, your opinion will be much appreciated.

 

[GaryE]

That is a tough one. In warmer water, oxygen dives.

India is a vast country, but what's local or regional to you? I've seen very few importations of Indian fish to Canada, but they've always been interesting when they came. Could it be that there are local species that can handle the high end temps?

Low end is easy.

You might be able to find some air breathing labyrinth fish that could tough out 35 degree temperatures, but the only Cichlids I know for those temps are rare and expensive. And those ones would not like the low end temps.

 

[Wills]

It is going to be more than a bit tough especially given some of the high temperatures you have in India over the summer.

A couple of options you could try would be to have a fan running over the surface of the water which would cool it - some people say it can lower the tank by 10-15F.

One route I was thinking about was Discus and perhaps some other warm water cichlids like Blue Rams or Threadfin Acaras but not sure if they would thrive like this. Other option could be Madagascan fish like Pinstripe Dambas and Madagascan Rainbows. I know that Sun Catfish are native to India so could be an option for a catfish.

Though I have to wonder if you are buying your fish locally then they are going to end up in a home in that kind of heat either way so would they not be better off with you who will hopefully keep up on all the maintenance, feed them right etc? Just one thing to think about though.

Wills

 

[Back in the fold]

93 degrees Fahrenheit at room temperature ! That's totally the opposite of most people but I would think a well placed fan should solve your problem.

 

[Colin_T]

A fan won't make much difference when the air temp is 35C.

We have a similar issue in most parts of Australia and we use air-conditioners to cool the house or room. Portable/ room air-conditioners are cheaper to buy than an aquarium chiller and keep you cool along with the tank. Set the air-conditioner's temperature to 28-30C and the tank will sit on that during summer. Then have a heater in the tank to stop it dropping below 20C.

You can buy portable refrigerated air-conditioners (use a compressor, gas and cooling fins to cool the air) for a single room.

Or you can buy portable evaporative air-conditioners (use water and a fan) for rooms too and these can be even cheaper but do increase the humidity in the room.

I have kept Australian and New Guinea rainbowfish outdoors in ponds and the water temperature fluctuated between 10C in winter to 40C in summer. There was aeration and plants in the ponds to keep the oxygen levels up.

 

[Stan510]

Paradise fish. Black Skirt tetras. Look up fishes from southern Brazil. They tend to be subtropical and into Argentina the tetras there take 60f for weeks if not months. At least they are imported. Other subtropical countries might not be in the hobby with fish collections exported.

 

[Birchir@007]

Tetras does seem to be appealing fish, How many can i put in 70G?

 

[Birchir@007]

It is going to be more than a bit tough especially given some of the high temperatures you have in India over the summer.

A couple of options you could try would be to have a fan running over the surface of the water which would cool it - some people say it can lower the tank by 10-15F.

One route I was thinking about was Discus and perhaps some other warm water cichlids like Blue Rams or Threadfin Acaras but not sure if they would thrive like this. Other option could be Madagascan fish like Pinstripe Dambas and Madagascan Rainbows. I know that Sun Catfish are native to India so could be an option for a catfish.

Though I have to wonder if you are buying your fish locally then they are going to end up in a home in that kind of heat either way so would they not be better off with you who will hopefully keep up on all the maintenance, feed them right etc? Just one thing to think about though.

Wills

I only use Hikari food

 

[Back in the fold]

Hey @Colin_T You ever hear of evaporative cooling ? A fan will work like a champ if the water isn't covered.

 

[Stan510]

Buenos Aires tetra are used to hot and cool temps. The whole deep South America has many interesting fish to seek out.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Assuming you have water which is on the soft side and in the neutral pH range, you can keep fish from the Big bend of the Rio Xingu in Brazil. This is the only place in the world where zebra plecos live. The water there can get into the low 90sF during the dry season. The water is pretty fast flowing and there are lots of rapids which keep such warm water well oxygenated.

I have had a heater mishap which took the water to 104F wiped out a tank except for the 6 Hypancistrus L450, The discus pair and school of rummynose tetras all died.

I also do summer tanbks outside on a screened terrace. The outside temos often go into the 90s and higher. The tank water can get into the low 90s. But all the fish out there are petty much from the Big Bend. However, the fish are not in this temp water either for the whole summer and not for a whole year. They are also never in direct sunlight.

 

[dhjaksu]

Assuming you have water which is on the soft side and in the neutral pH range, you can keep fish from the Big bend of the Rio Xingu in Brazil. This is the only place in the world where zebra plecos live. The water there can get into the low 90sF during the dry season. The water is pretty fast flowing and there are lots of rapids which keep such warm water well oxygenated.

I have had a heater mishap which took the water to 104F wiped out a tank except for the 6 Hypancistrus L450, The discus pair and school of rummynose tetras all died.

I also do summer tanbks outside on a screened terrace. The outside temos often go into the 90s and higher. The tank water can get into the low 90s. But all the fish out there are petty much from the Big Bend. However, the fish are not in this temp water either for the whole summer and not for a whole year. They are also never in direct sunlight.

I also had a heater malfunction and go up to the same temp. only fish were my albino kribs and their week old babies. luckily all survived and showed no sign of discomfort. only realised the issue when i put my hand in to drop the food in the water so it didnt float and realised it was very uncomfortably warm so i unplugged the heater and put the thermometer in