Extremely Cold Water?

[tarynator 0]

Alright, so there's a bit of backstory to this one. I rent a room during the school year for university where I have my fish. I've been away for about 4-5 days and I come back to find the heat in my room turned off and to some very cold and sluggish fish. I don't have a thermometer or a tank heater so I can't tell you exactly the water temp, but I can tell you that my finger goes numb if it's in there for more than 15 seconds. If the fish are in this type of environment for prolonged periods, will this be bad? Or will they just go into a dormant state? It took them a while to realise that I was here after I turned the aquarium light on and just seem very slow... They ate a couple of small pellets each, but that's all they seemed interested in even when not being fed for a few days.

I don't exactly have the money for a tank heater, will they die if they're in such cold water for the next few weeks?? And I'm starting to wonder if they'd be okay during a power outage these days since it is very cold here.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Tarynator

[ashlee18 1,169]

Well they are cold water fish so it shouldn't hurt them too much. Though they will be less active so feed less since their metabolism will be slower.

[tarynator 0]

So I guess I shouldn't worry much about the feedings then? I'm only here for tonight, then I'll be away again for another 5 days. I was going to give them a good feeding before heading out again, but they're not interested.

[number20121 2,663]

Then don't. Feed them only as much as they eat, and they will be fine for 5 days.

[bodoba 2,980]

So your tank isn't heated but your house still is right? That puts them in the 60-65F range. My tank (fishless for the moment) stays around 66F. With colder water their metabolism will slow down. As long as your house is still being heated I think your fish will pull through fine. It's the sudden changes in temperature that can cause issues more than the colder temperature.

[seheap 12]

Once fish get sluggish like that you MUST NOT FEED them until the temperature gets high enough to get them active again. They will be perfectly fine going even for months with no food if the temperature is cold enough. If you don't have a heater, you NEED to invest in a thermometer.

[tarynator 0]

Thank you guys for the info. It makes me crazy because I worry a lot about stuff like this, I just need someone to tell me it's going to be fine! lol I'm hoping they'll be okay until I check on them again next week.

So your tank isn't heated but your house still is right? That puts them in the 60-65F range. My tank (fishless for the moment) stays around 66F. With colder water their metabolism will slow down. As long as your house is still being heated I think your fish will pull through fine. It's the sudden changes in temperature that can cause issues more than the colder temperature.

My tank isn't heated, and my room was without heat. It was super cold when I got in. Someone must've thought I wouldn't be returning any time soon and shut it off to save energy.. but my poor fish!

Once fish get sluggish like that you MUST NOT FEED them until the temperature gets high enough to get them active again. They will be perfectly fine going even for months with no food if the temperature is cold enough. If you don't have a heater, you NEED to invest in a thermometer.

I'm not ballsy enough to try the months with no food thing, I'm just hoping they can go another week or two. I'll deffo be looking for a thermometer, odds are they're much cheaper than the heaters