Large gold fish and hot temps...

[silkiechicken]

So a question for anyone who raises gold fish.

Do you have A/C in your house where you keep the gold fish? If not, how do you keep them cool?

I know they can withstand cold water temps since I have ones outside in a pool, and can live in deep ponds that are frozen for winter, but from past experience, they couldn't take the heat. Ponds are outside, but I know that a large in ground pond isn't going to reach 80F if the air temp is 90F, unlike a fish tank in a house which is a much smaller volume.

I had gold fish who lived pretty well between 65-75F due to A/C in the house....then the A/C broke for a few weeks and all the fish died, despite extra water flow in the tanks in attempts to increase dissolved oxygen content. Day highs of 90-95 seemed to just not go with them and they all eventually got sick or something and jumped out of the tank... in under two weeks. I was maybe 14 at the time so I don't remember details so well.

I now have other gold fish that have lived many years in the temp controlled house and are anywhere between 6-10 inches long now so are doing rather well. Do I risk moving them to a non air conditioned living establishment? Reason I ask is because I wonder if what I had experienced in the past was a fluke, or if they really just can't stand the heat.

Thanks!

 

[talos321]

They are just more active when it is warm and eat much more than usual. I keep them upstairs in my house which is over 100yrs old and isn't air conditioned yet. I would just make sure they aren't near a sunny window. A lot of water will evaporate which actually helps out as a reminder of water changes. On the extremely hot days like 100f + I float some ice cubes (like a handful or so). Always have a cover on your tank. The water won't get quite as hot as the room. 55 g tank and 75 g tank.

 

[Critter Crazy]

I kept my 75 gallon goldfish tank in my finished basement, cause it always stays cool down there. But on rare occasions, especially during the winter, with the woodstove going, the tank temps did rise, but the fish were fine with it.

 

[Moonwalker]

You can turn a fan on the tank to increase airflow around the glass. For some of our animals, we freeze gallon jugs of water and set them near or where a fan blows across them.

 

[showme31]

I run tropicals in the house, the require warm water. I have a large koi/goldfish pond outside. It sits in the full sun and while it does get really warm I haven't had a problem with them and the warmth.

What size tank are you looking at putting them in? You are looking at anywhere from 84" to 140" of fish. You should have 1 gal/per 1 inch of adult size fish. With that number of fish you are looking at a nice sized tank.

I would say was a fluke, but if you are concerned you could add frozen bottles of water or ice thru out the day. Just remember temp swings cause stress and parasites can take hold and can eventually lead to death also.

Good luck
Smiles
Jul

 

[lurky]

Since you brought up the subject of goldfish........i like to share this info in the hopes of helping one fish
out there somewhere. Most goldfish get some type of problems from the dry flake food clogging their tiny systems. I learned a trick.....you keep a bag of frozen peas handy. You put a bunch of them into a little warm water to thaw for a minute.....then mash it up a little with a fork or whatever works......and dump it into the tank. They love it BIG TIME and it helps their digestive tract. Its also cheap and easy to store. Brine shrimp does the same thing, but its expensive, stinky, dont last as long and is not as easy to find.

 

[talos321]

Lurky.

I feed my goldfish actual pond type color pellets sometimes broken up if the fish are smaller and stopped having problems with food. I don't suppose I've used flake food in many years because the fish always had problems with it.


Showme31: Don't remind me about the fish pond I've got to start this year as my 2 koi is getting too big for the aquariums.

 

[silkiechicken]

Thanks for the ideas. I am debating on whither or not it would be too harmful to their health to move them to a non air conditioned living space later this year, or just leaving them home where they have been for a number of years.

They are fed a pellet food since I think flakes are wasteful. Bought them a few... maybe more now years ago as feeders for the turtles pool outside, and they survived the whole summer without being eaten, so I brought them in for the winter along with the turtles as the water freezes. By the time winter was over... I thought they were too pretty and big to put back out in front of the jaws of the turtles (too big for a quick death in one bite) and so they have been inside ever since. Three are in a 30 and one is all by it's self in a 20.

Silly guys swim up to the sides and splash around till you go over there and feed them. The blind one just senses food and goes to the top when you drop in a few pellets so gets fed when the others beg. I don't quite think their systems are too tiny anymore either... They can swallow peas whole no problem. The biggest one could probably eat multiple peas at once.

Hearing that it can be done though makes me think it might be doable for these guys too.

Thanks again!

 

[showme31]

Here ya go Talos321, a little motivation for ya.

Smiles
Jul

 

[EllyMae]

depending on how big your tank/pond is...I always froze 2 liter drink bottles with water in them and put them in my tanks. Goldfish like it cold, lol. I also do this for my bunnies and they like to lay against them in the summer.