type of tropical fish for high temp water

Question
QUESTION: I live in Forida and my office tank hovers around 88 to 91 degrees with a/c on. The ph runs around 8.0. Are there any type of freshwater tropicals that will thrive in this type of enviroment. So far, the only one that is left is a female red velvet swordtail. The tank specifics are ammonia 0 , nitrites 0 , nitrates 10 and ph at 8.0. Would appreciate any advice you can give. Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you soon.  Kellie

ANSWER: Dear Kellie,
Most tropical fish are tolerant enough to stand 88-91 degrees just fine. It's very unusual if you can't keep any fish alive for long in your tank just because of the temp.

I know that most all of the Gouramis are adapted to and originate from very warm and oxygen poor water. They have a special breathing organ so they can take gulps of air at the surface when the warmer water they live in is low in oxygen. Gouramis such as the Blue, gold, opaline, and three spot are actually the same species, just different color variants. They are a all-around good hardy fish. Moonlight gouramis are a lovely silvery color. And Pearl gouramis have very delicate white pearl markings on their body. And then there is the Dwarf gourami which is a beautiful little 2 inch fish and the male has blue and red vertical stripes.

Have you made sure that your thermometer is not giving false readings? It seems that if your aquarium is as warm as it is then the office would be a very miserable place. Maybe I'm wrong though. My aquariums here stay at around the mid 80's and all the fish thrive.

Increasing the oxygen content by adding a few airstones really helps battle the affects of warmer water decreasing the oxygen level.

I really hope this helps!
Best of luck!
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your reply. I did not think to check my thermometer, it is several years old and should probably be replaced.  I do have an undergravel filtration system with 2 bubbling towers and another filtration with a bio-wheel. Would a bubble wall be too much and if so, what would you suggest. My local pet store has a great selection of Gouramis and I will try them. I have a crown tail betta(Spike), are they compatible? I wanted to add him to a community tank once I had all going well. I really appreciate all of the advice and if you don't mind, I may have future questions for you. Thanks again, Kellie

Answer
Hi Kellie, you're welcome!
It probably would be good to try a new thermometor. The "stick" kind are usually the most accurate. The thermometors that are the sticker type that are on the outside can give false readings. Maybe your aquarium water isn't as bad as you think it is and you'll be able to keep other kinds of fish.

The Bio-wheel and bubbling undergravel filter system is probably plenty of aeration. Just a note about your undergravel filter, be sure to try to siphon underneath the filter plate. Lots of debris and waste can get trapped underneath the filter plate causing water quality issues. Actually it would be best if you could just do away with the undergravel filter and just use the biowheel. Undergravel filters are OK but they aren't the best filters and the biowheel is much better plus its easier to maintain.

If you find that your water temperature isn't as warm as you thought, you probably wouldn't have to stick to "just" gouramis. You should really be able to have other kinds of fish like tetras or other schooling fish. Spike the Crowntail betta could go into your tank. Although sometimes bettas and gouramis fight, because they are somewhat similar to each-other. It's kind of a unpredicatable thing, it depends upon the individual fish.
If you would like to try other fish besides gouramis, bettas can usually coexist peacefully with small tetras (such as glowlights, ect..) Danios, Rasboras, cherry barbs, as well as  cories, otocinclus, african dwarf frogs, ghost shrimp and snails are all usually compatible. Because bettas can be very territorial, it's usually best to add your betta as the last fish to your tank..with the other fish already being established.
You could try a gourami with your betta. But with my experience, they always would fight. With the betta pretty much being the winner.

I really hope this helps!
I welcome anymore questions you may have!
Karen~