Can Coldwater Fish Thrive In Heated Tanks?

[Caprichoso]

My mom has kept various goldfish for years in an outdoor pond in the summer and in an indoor pond in her basement for the winter. Her fish have always thrived and breed like crazy. The temperature can vary from 10C to 15C. This year she decided she wanted a big tank on her main floor where the temp range is now above 20C. Well let me tell you she has had nothing but problems with her goldfish. They are constantly getting bacterial infections. She did an experiment and put the fish back in her pond in the basement and guess what, the bacterial problem vanished. I would assume it's because of the higher temp as she takes really good care of all her tanks/ponds. So I guess you could say that it's possible to keep them in warmer temps but I wouldn't want to do it after I've seen the problems that can occur.

 

[Mikaila31]

They belong in cool or cold water tanks, not tropical. As others have said it increases metabolism and shortens life span. I also only see negatives from the keepers point of view. That increased metabolism means increased waste production, higher bioload, and therefore you need to stock lighter. Caprichoso also made a good point. I would not be surprised if immune system was compromised at high temps. Humans can regulate body temp, but even we can still suffer hyperthermia or hypothermia if we get too hot or too cold. Its common to get sick after both, especially specific diseases like pneumonia. In humans it takes only a small core body temperature change to cause one or the other.

Why the correct temperature is so important is because it has a direct effect on activity levels of enzymes in the body. This is the reason metabolism increases. Lots of other systems can increase or decrease from their normal activity and this can easily cause problems. Many of which you can really tell until their is an visible or behavioral sign like disease or organ failure.

 

[Bri]

Hi I bought a cold water tank earlier in the year, I asked for very docile fish that wouldnt fight as I had issues with this before, I was sold a 13 liter tank a balck moor and a siamese fighter, 2 danios and 2 minos. Through various difficulties with the tank I have discovered that the people in the pet store are full of crap, now all fish are doing fine but I have to remedy the situation.

How do i move them into a heated tank and just as mr melt i really want to keep my back moor. I need to get cleaner fish for it too and cant find any for cold water that dont die on me.
Im thinking of just counting my loses and buying a new bigger heated tank and trying to start from scratch with the fish in a heated tank..

PS please refrain from giving out about how silly i was to believe the people in the store, they were very convincing and said siamese fighter sometimes do better in cold tanks. I am also new to this fish business and was given very bad advice.

Any help and advice would be really appreciated, i tried posting on another site and just got given out to. I like my fish and just want them to have a nice home.

 

[Juggler75]

Hi I bought a cold water tank earlier in the year, I asked for very docile fish that wouldnt fight as I had issues with this before, I was sold a 13 liter tank a balck moor and a siamese fighter, 2 danios and 2 minos. Through various difficulties with the tank I have discovered that the people in the pet store are full of crap, now all fish are doing fine but I have to remedy the situation.

How do i move them into a heated tank and just as mr melt i really want to keep my back moor. I need to get cleaner fish for it too and cant find any for cold water that dont die on me.
Im thinking of just counting my loses and buying a new bigger heated tank and trying to start from scratch with the fish in a heated tank..

PS please refrain from giving out about how silly i was to believe the people in the store, they were very convincing and said siamese fighter sometimes do better in cold tanks. I am also new to this fish business and was given very bad advice.

Any help and advice would be really appreciated, i tried posting on another site and just got given out to. I like my fish and just want them to have a nice home.

First advice would be to return/find more suitable homes for all the fish apart from the betta (fighting fish) who I would also have in a bigger tank with a heater.
Then decide which fish you like and research, research, research.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there Bri, to the forum.

Really, of all your fish, it's only the Siamese fighter that needs a heater, as long as your house isn't completely freezing during the winter.

I'd be inclined to get a larger tank for the moor, danios (I'm assuming they're zebra or leopard danios) and minnows and add a heater to the smaller tank for the fighter.

If I could mention a couple of things; the danios, minnows and the moor really need a tank that's at least three feet long and 20 gallons (of course, bigger would be better!) and you sohuld add more danios and minnows so you have at least six of each, as they're both shoaling fish that feel safer in larger numbers; but do be aware there is a possibilty of your moor eating them when he gets bigger.

The Siamese fighter and the moor need to be kept separate, as the fighter might mistake the moor for another fighter and attack it.

We have a beginner's resource centre (the link is in my sig) that has loads of great articles that might be of use to you

 

[fluttermoth]

the betta (fighting fish) who I would also have in a bigger tank with a heater.

I agree that a 15l tank is right on the lower end of acceptable; bigger would be better, but I've seen a lot worse...

 

[snake007]

Well I wouldnt do it, Their so messy and your limiting your self to the tropical fish you can have.
Like ive always said, If you want coldwater - get a coldwater tank, if you want tropical, get a tropical tank.
Dont mix the species, they were not intended to be mixed.

 

[fishguy2727]

There is no natural habitat for a black moor, that is like asking what is the natural habitat of a chihuahua.

24-26C (74-78F) is fine for fancy goldfish. That IS room temp in some houses.

Fancy goldfish are bred on the exact same fish farms as all of our tropical fish, they can thrive in tropical conditions.

Yes, it boosts their metabolism system which means you are slightly more likely to have water quality problems. All this really means is you need to keep up a good water change schedule and double check your nitrate from time to time to make sure you are still on track.

As far as it reducing their lifespan goes: there are simply WAY too many factors that effect this to worry about temp in particular. Diet will play a much bigger factor than temp and people don't pay nearly enough attention to that, so go figure.

Although I do not oppose goldfish in warmer temps, their tankmates do need to be chosen very carefully. Many fish can be very nippy towards fancy goldfish. Mollies are one of the worst in my experience. Some types of plecos can destroy a fancy goldfish overnight.

There is also the issue that many fish that are thought of as tropical will actually do just as well if not better at room temp, so you can setup a tank that includes goldfish and many other fish. These fish include but are not limited to: platies and other livebearers, many types of danios (white cloud and all variants, zebra danio and variants, and others), weather loach, bristlenose pleco, hillstream loach (normal and reticulated), and many others.

 

[ShaedM]

Oh i'm at the moment running a tank at around 26-27 degrees, it has an oranda,fan tail, black moor, 2 cory cats, 2 platys, they seem do be doing fine and are behaving normal. During the summer the tank was around 25 degrees and then the temp fell to about 19 as Autum approached...slowly started raising the temp and i've had no problems. It has 2 fileters in it, one with a spray bar to keep the oxygen level up as well as being planted. Water changes around once every two weeks i change 30% of the water.

 

[onidrase]

I was reading a thread very similar to this one not long ago, this is the conclusion I came down to:

Yes, goldfish can thrive in a heated tank, and no, I still wouldn't put one in a heated tank, even if I did like goldfish. Here's why:

The metabolism is picked up drastically on a fish that is already very messy. They'll have to eat a lot, and granted, they'll poop a lot, more than goldfish normally do so it'd likely be smart to do constant water changes or significantly over filter your tank. I believe the increased metabolism may result in a heightened chance of getting bladder diseases, but this is a hunch, not a fact.

I dunno if the higher temp will stress them out, as I believe I read an article somehow that they do have some sort of method to sort of handle the higher and lower temperatures, which is also connected to why their metabolism is faster in warm water. but that's going back to the 'you can do it, but why would you want to?' factor.

I'd honestly just aim for a goldfish only tank to sit by your tropical tank, in the end.

Also, a comment on the side from reading another comment on here: I don't think black moore goldfish are really a species of wild goldfish. I thought they were just another species caused out of selective breeding mutations.

 

[ShaedM]

It's a messy fish so feed them less? one day during the week don't feed them. Goldfish are scavengers, they will find food and keep the tank clean, keep up with the water changes and you shouldn't run into problems. I've had 0 problems so far. The main reason i threw a heater in there was because i started this tank at the start of summer and they were used to temps of 25 degrees, i just more or less maintained what they had got used to. If any problems develop i'll post them on here.

 

[onidrase]

It's a messy fish so feed them less? one day during the week don't feed them. Goldfish are scavengers, they will find food and keep the tank clean, keep up with the water changes and you shouldn't run into problems. I've had 0 problems so far. The main reason i threw a heater in there was because i started this tank at the start of summer and they were used to temps of 25 degrees, i just more or less maintained what they had got used to. If any problems develop i'll post them on here.

Underfeeding a goldfish with a heightened metabolism because you want it to live with tropical fish and you don't want to change the water more often sounds like a god awful idea, honestly.

 

[ShaedM]

i wouldn't quite say 'underfeeding' i'm very careful as to how much i feed my fish, some people just over load on feeding and throw some in everytime the fish comes to the glass.

 

[onidrase]

i wouldn't quite say 'underfeeding' i'm very careful as to how much i feed my fish, some people just over load on feeding and throw some in everytime the fish comes to the glass.

But if a fish has a higher metabolism, it needs to eat more, and it will process the food faster. So no matter what, it's gonna be more significantly more messy than a goldfish in a cold tank, unless you underfeed it.

 

[ShaedM]

even tho most household room temps vary from 19-25? Goldfish are scavengers so they will always find left over food thats bound to be in the tank. Cold water or not i've found water changes in a cold tank should be done more regulary than warmer tanks anyway. Like i said so far no problems and it's all looking good.