SDROBBIEFISH Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 I have a fluval 9 flex and I noticed the filter reservoir was not filling to the top. I have the heater where the pump is and when the water level is not at the top the heater will turn off. I didn't think of that until after the fact. The heater was turned off for a couple days. I noticed my guppies were swimming lethargic. I checked the heater. I turned it back on. I did a water check. Everything was good. I did a partial water change. Most of my guppies look fine except for the two males and one female. One male just passed away and the other looks like it has something white on it or it's a gash. The female is slowly coming around. Can a heater not on for a couple days affect my fish in such a way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisher Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 What temp was the heater and what is the ambient room temp? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 (edited) Depends. I've got tanks in the upper 70s in my basement which is in the low 60s this time of year. And a discus tank at 85 on the main floor and we only keep the house at 64. So, yes, a heater out for a few days can really have a detrimental outcome for fish. The extent depends on what the tank normal temperature is vs what ambient is... as well as the type and overall health of the fish to begin with. Edited March 29, 2023 by jwcarlson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDROBBIEFISH Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Room temp was probably 65f and heater was set 80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 I don't have heaters in any of my guppy tanks, and the house gets down to 60° at night during the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Vercetti Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 I have guppies in an outdoor fountain that gets down to the low 60's in the winter. There are still a couple hundred in the fountain today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDROBBIEFISH Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 I'm thinking it was poor filtration that made my guppies sick.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 I agree, those temps don't seem outrageous for them to live through. Though it could have been a contributing factor if something else was already stressing them... could have pushed them over the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Last night I noticed that my Pea Puffer tank water was chilly. Grabbed the temp gun and it was ~70°. I turned the heater up, but didn’t see the light come on. Checked again this morning and it was about 67°. Today while doing maintenance I realized the heater was unplugged 🤦♂️. I must’ve unplugged it doing maintenance last week, but thankfully the Pea Puffers seem to be alright. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KermitLyn Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 (edited) I had something similar happen beginning of winter. 15 gallon tank by a north facing window- no sunlight plus heat loss from the window. The heater had been set to 78f. I noticed the guppies being lethargic and I lost a few. The temp in the tank during the day was 60f. After replacing the heater and slowly bringing the temp up they all went back to normal. It could be they were stressed before and the heat loss was just contributing factor, I’m not certain. It did prompt me to replace my other heaters at the same time for peace of mind though. Edited March 30, 2023 by KermitLyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 On 3/29/2023 at 10:06 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: Last night I noticed that my Pea Puffer tank water was chilly. Grabbed the temp gun and it was ~70°. I turned the heater up, but didn’t see the light come on. Checked again this morning and it was about 67°. Today while doing maintenance I realized the heater was unplugged 🤦♂️. I must’ve unplugged it doing maintenance last week, but thankfully the Pea Puffers seem to be alright. That's why all my heaters are low enough in the tank that I don't need to unplug them when doing water changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 On 3/30/2023 at 6:23 AM, JettsPapa said: That's why all my heaters are low enough in the tank that I don't need to unplug them when doing water changes. So are mine. I normally unplug something else to plug in the pump for water changing the tank next to it. Must’ve accidentally unplugged the heater that time and not plugged it back in. First time that’s happened to me in 3 years lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisher Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 On 3/29/2023 at 12:40 PM, SDROBBIEFISH said: Room temp was probably 65f and heater was set 80. It’s a 25 degree change. It depends on how fast that drop was. I have fish outs side that get that drop basically that everyday for a few months each year. If I have that same drop when the they are in house there is occasionally a death but I think that is due to the stress of the drop combined with already existing problems. So I think it could be the temp change, filtration, and/or an unknown underlying condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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