Cold water...a bad idea??

[Elisabeth83]

I cleaned my 30 gallon yesterday and put my female bettas in it. The heater was set on 24 but I thought it got turned down somehow so I turned it to 26. Well today I checked the temp at it was 30 in there!!!!!!

I didn't realize that the heater should of stayed on 24 because when it was on 24 with my swordies in the tank it stayed around 26.5.

So I'm floating a jar of frozen sweet and sour sauce in the tank at the moment But the temp isn't going down fast enough and I felt worried about my girls so I poured in about 1 1/2 gallons of cold water in the tank. The temp is on 28.8 right now. The heater has been set to 24 again.

I tried to pour the farthest away from the girls...I'm just wondering if they will be ok with that? I hope they didnt get a chill.....

 

[cutechic]

I wouldn't have worried about the increase in temperature. 30 degrees is high, but my bettas have been kept at 30 with no problems. Pouring cold water or ice in the tank will usually create cold patches and can be extremely stressful for the fish. Anything more than a 2 degree change per hour (especially if you're decreasing the temperature) is undesirable.

For now, just leave the temperature in the tank as it is. Add some aquarium salt if you can, though.

Edit: Be sure to keep an eye on the temperature, though.

 

[Elisabeth83]

I mixed the water around gently after I poured the water in. Usually my girls are kept at around 27 but I was just afraid 30 was too high.

I turned the lights off and the temp is at 28.6 at the moment. I took the jar of frozen sweet and sour sauce out now

Yeah I put salt in the tank yesterday to lessen the stress of the move on them.

Hopefully once the temp stablizes it'll stay around 27