Changing out Heaters

[Jennifer V]

Hi All! 

The temp in my 5g neo shrimp tank is slowly climbing. Was 78 and is now 80. I'm thinking I need a new heater stat -- mine is a Tetra cheaper heater right now. I'm ready to purchase another but won't be able to do so for a couple days.

1. Do I monitor and remove this one if the temp goes any higher and deal without a heater for a couple days? 

2. I cannot seem to find the best practice to swap out the old one and add the new one.

Feel silly for asking but what exactly do I do? 

Thank you so much! 

[DanPlanted]

What's your room temp? Neos like cooler water, so often you don't need a heater at all for them, or only when it's very cool in the room.

 

My initial thought is to immediately unplug the heater. Then I would probably watch the tank temperature to see how cold it gets, like I said there's a good chance you don't need a heater at all if you only have neo shrimp in there.

[Jennifer V]

On 11/1/2022 at 1:03 PM, DanPlanted said:

What's your room temp? Neos like cooler water, so often you don't need a heater at all for them, or only when it's very cool in the room.

 

My initial thought is to immediately unplug the heater. Then I would probably watch the tank temperature to see how cold it gets, like I said there's a good chance you don't need a heater at all if you only have neo shrimp in there.

The room is at about 70 degrees right now. I'm assuming that would be ok for a couple days? I just don't want to shift temperature too much, but I think you're right, 80 is too high. 

[DanPlanted]

On 11/1/2022 at 3:33 PM, Jennifer V said:

The room is at about 70 degrees right now. I'm assuming that would be ok for a couple days? I just don't want to shift temperature too much, but I think you're right, 80 is too high. 

I would permanently keep them much closer to 70 than 80. You could honestly probably permanently keep them at 70F. I believe their lifespan can be impacted considerably based on temperature, the hotter it is the shorter they live.

[Jennifer V]

On 11/1/2022 at 6:20 PM, DanPlanted said:

I would permanently keep them much closer to 70 than 80. You could honestly probably permanently keep them at 70F. I believe their lifespan can be impacted considerably based on temperature, the hotter it is the shorter they live.

Yes! That's exactly what I read! They reproduce faster and die quicker at higher temps. I removed the heater per your suggestion and the temp is slowly coming down so we'll see. Thank you so much!! 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:36 AM, Jennifer V said:

1. Do I monitor and remove this one if the temp goes any higher and deal without a heater for a couple days? 

2. I cannot seem to find the best practice to swap out the old one and add the new one.

it was 68 in my tanks yesterday morning. I dropped in the heaters, now it's 72.  No issues. 

If you're "within range" of the fishes habitat, then you're generally ok.  Let's say it's too hot.  Fish tend to do ok with cooler water compared to water that's too hot.

If you're heater is overheating things, turn it off. Let the room temp control things until you can get a new one.  If it gets on the bad side of cold, then plug it in for a little bit and then go ahead and unplug it again.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I keep my house at 70 and do not have a heater in my shrimp tank. They’ve done very well for me for about 2 years like that. 

[Jennifer V]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I keep my house at 70 and do not have a heater in my shrimp tank. They’ve done very well for me for about 2 years like that. 

Excellent! Thank you for the good news! 

[Andy's Fish Den]

None of my shrimp tanks have a heater in them, they stay in the 70-72* range all year, and they produce lots of babies.

[JettsPapa]

I also don't have heaters in my shrimp tanks.  In summer the thermostat is set at 72°, and in winter it varies between 60° at night and 68° during the day (unless the outside temperature gets higher than that, which it frequently does here in SE Texas).

They also do just fine in my tubs outside.  They're in the shade, but above ground.  Air temperatures range from around 28° in winter to well over 100° in summer.  Last year we had a cold spell where the tubs were iced over for about two days.  The shrimp were fine.

To sum it up, neocaridina shrimp will be just fine in a wide range of temperatures, as long as the changes aren't abrupt.

[Jennifer V]

On 11/2/2022 at 7:27 AM, JettsPapa said:

I also don't have heaters in my shrimp tanks.  In summer the thermostat is set at 72°, and in winter it varies between 60° at night and 68° during the day (unless the outside temperature gets higher than that, which it frequently does here in SE Texas).

They also do just fine in my tubs outside.  They're in the shade, but above ground.  Air temperatures range from around 28° in winter to well over 100° in summer.  Last year we had a cold spell where the tubs were iced over for about two days.  The shrimp were fine.

To sum it up, neocaridina shrimp will be just fine in a wide range of temperatures, as long as the changes aren't abrupt.

That's fantastic! The tank has been without a heater for more than 24 hours now and the temp is at 74 degrees. Based on everyone's experiences, I think they'll be just fine. Such great news! Thank you! 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I saw this thread and everyone had already chimed in but I figured this would happen:

On 11/2/2022 at 1:05 PM, Jennifer V said:

without a heater for more than 24 hours now and the temp is at 74 degrees

My tanks other than my Betta tank (who REQUIRES higher temps not capable in a normal home without a heater) don't run with heaters- everyone is good and I believe the natural fluxes in temps (which aren't huge but clearly happen in the day/nights) are actually better for the fish. 

[Jennifer V]

On 11/2/2022 at 2:15 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I saw this thread and everyone had already chimed in but I figured this would happen:

My tanks other than my Betta tank (who REQUIRES higher temps not capable in a normal home without a heater) don't run with heaters- everyone is good and I believe the natural fluxes in temps (which aren't huge but clearly happen in the day/nights) are actually better for the fish. 

I do remember something about that exact thing -- that fluctuations mimic natural environments so they are better for fish. The house never goes below 70 so I hope it'll work out. I would really like to move away from heaters altogether myself, so this is a great first step! Thank you! 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Jennifer V I tend to like to run a warmer house. My thermostat is at 75 in the summer and 72 in the winter. I run lower thermos in the winter because it's easier to zone heat my house. The room where my fish are I run a Dyson heater/fan and set it to 78 (which actually keeps the VERY large room they are in at a bit over 73 at night). My tanks run now in winter from 72-75 degrees. 

On another thought this may be some of the reason my wild caught Otocinclus spawned- often fluctuations in temps trigger spawning.