Heater

Question
Hi Nicole,
My question is a really easy one for you.  What temperature do you set the heater at?  Any response would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Diana

Answer
Hi Diana,

It's not as simple as you might think! The answer really depends on what kind of fish you're keeping.

Some fish prefer cooler temperatures, such as gold barbs and white cloud mountain minnows....goldfish also prefer cooler temps. These are considered subtropical fish and do best when the temperature is not higher than 72 degrees. Most of the fish you encounter in the pet store or local fish store are tropical, so need the aquarium to be around 75 degrees for them to do well. Some fish prefer it warmer than this - bettas, for example, do best at 78-80 while German blue rams and discus really need "hot" water, 80-84 degrees. So you see, there are variations...

But in general, most tropical fish do best between 75-78 degrees. Keeping them in the upper range will up their metabolism, making them hungrier and more active, so many people think they are "happiest" at 78 degrees. However keeping them in the upper range tends to make them burn out faster than they would at their lower range. I personally keep all my tropicals at 75 degrees, and they do just fine. In the summer it gets up to 80 degrees in the house, and they do fine then too!

I hope that helps, take care.
Nicole