How to stop my fish getting too hot and dying?

Question

I have just come back to the UK from a 2 week holiday. When we were there, we heard that it was record temps in UK (36.5 C to be precise) and I was worried about my tropical fish. I have 2 tanks, both which usually have to be kept at 25 C but because no one was in our house to keep the windows and doors open which would let the tanks cool down a lot, I thought I was going to loose all my fish. Luckily I only lost 2 out of 24 but I am worried about them for when I go out to visit my Nan or something for a whole day, weather they would be ok or not. I can't ask my neighbours to open our doors and windows while we are out because that is just plain irisponsible. Besides, my neighbours out a lot anyway. Please help because I don't want to loose anymore of my fish and I was even thinking of buying some new ones soon because I still have room in one of my tanks. Is it a bad time to buy new fish? Also, I heard you can put ice cubes in tanks. Is this true? Do you have to mix special water?

Answer 1

Make sure you keep the light off as much as possible. I wouldn't put ice cubes in the tank. However here is an idea. Take a used plastic 20oz soda bottle and fill with water. Freeze it in your freezer and then float that in the top. If they don't like the cool spot they will stay away from it.
Here is another tip... Rock Salt-(sold at fish stores/NOT the supermarket) can reduce stress. Many times when fish are stressed out or put in difficult situations a couple of teaspoons can prove to be a life saver.
One more thing...Keep in mind that higher temps. cause a fishes metabolism to increase so they will want to eat more. Be cautious not to over feed and more feeding means more cleaning.
Good Luck

Answer 2

You can use ice cubes to keep your tank a bit cooler for a few hours. You need to enclose the ice cubes in a plastic bag (Hefty Sandwich bags) and float them in your tank. Just add about 6 or 8 ice cubes at a time because you don't want to drop the temp too severely. (Make sure the Hefty bag is zipped locked tightly or they will leak and the chlorinated water will seep into your water) They will slowly melt during the day and provide some temporary cooling. Since it is a slow temperature change as the ice melts, it should not be enough to shock your fish and kill them.

The higher the water temperature, the less dissolved oxygen is in the water, so you can also make sure you have adequate water agitation by adding an air stone.

Hopefully, this will get you through the heat wave.

Answer 3

A bag of ice is not so great an idea. A fish swimming close to it could get stuck, just like a tongue on a flag pole.. a bag of icy water is a lot safer, but even then, the temperatures would be unreliable, and a big temperature change is about as bad as a continuous, but exessive temperature. If you have an aquarium heater in there, the ice bag and the heater might counterract each other enough to prevent drastic, and dangerous changes in temperature.

Some places actually do sell aquarium chillers. They tend to be very expensive, and are more for cold water temperatures though... but if you've got a really good pet store, you might ask about it, and see what they know.

Answer 4

I think you'd have to be careful doing something like adding ice cubes to the tanks. Depending on the size it might shock the fish with a sudden temperature change.

The easiest way to make sure the temp of the tank will be okay is to make sure the room they're in is kept at a reasonable temperature. Do you have air conditioning that you could put on a timer for a period during the day?

Answer 5

make sure your tank isn't near any windows, or where natural light would cause the water to warm. and if you have a light for your tank, and aren't going to be at home to monitor the temp., turn the light off.i wouldnt recommend putting ice made from tap water in there because tap water, of course, isn't safe for fish. i guess you could get some water in a container, treat it with whatever you use to remove harmful chemicals, and then freeze it.
the safest way to cool the water down is to siphen about half of the water out of the tank and replace it with slightly cooler water. but if you can't do that, then the ice thing might work. the only thing i'd be worried about is if the freezing temperature of the ice would make the surrounding water too cold. fish do better with warmer temperatures than the shock of swimming from a warm area to a very cold area. hope this helps!

Answer 6

I have never done this with tropical fish, which tend to be very sensitive to sudden changes in their environment. I have used ice with goldfish on hot days, with no ill effects.

Make sure the tank is in the coolest part of your house for as long as these hot conditions prevail. You could try suspending a clean mesh bag full of ice over the tank; as it melts slowly the water will drip down into the tank, and provide a cooling effect with less of a shock than floating a bag of ice in the tank, or just loose ice.

Answer 7

no you do not have to mix special water. and yes you can put ice into the tanks but only one or two cubes. no it is not a bad time to buy new fish. i am a learner on fish and i have studied this. depending on how hot the day is depends on how hot the room is depending on how hot the tank is. it makes perfect sense. if you were to leave the windows cracked it will cool down the house or you can turn down the thermometer on the tank. just be careful not to turn down the thermometer to much.

Answer 8

most fish can tolerate the tank temp being up.
my tanks are also set on 25 but went up to about 28 and they were all fine. (im in uk too)
are you sure some thing else didnt killed them.

try moveing the tank to the coolest part of the room or house and keep it out of direct sun light.

but the temp going up a bit shouldnt hurt them

Answer 9

ofcourse, the environment counts a lot when you are maintaining and growing fishes in the tank. as you know, a tank is a thing which can be too small for the fishes when compared to an ocean. same like humans, fishes incline towards the cool surface as they are in the deep water. try to keep them in a warm cool atmosphere as much as possible, i think you can keep your windows open, even when you go out, if you have a tight security in your building.

Answer 10

Hi emmie,
To keep the water cool you can use the water jets or pumps which will circulate the water and mix the water and keep it cool, but be sure that you dont open it fully as too much cool water can also kill the fish.
These pumps will be available at all aquariums and it would be better to switch off any lights if you are using to light the aquarium when you are away so you can stop the water from getting heated.