Emerald Rasbora Temps

[Lifeisgood]

Has anyone kept emerald rasboras at 68 degrees F?  I see rasboras listed at different temperature ranges.  Just wondered what experiences people have had with them.

[nabokovfan87]

I've had some similar species pretty low, but not that low.  I think in winter on a cold water change, I've had things at mid-high 60's, but pushing below 68 you can see some behavior where certain fish will start to go dormant and just sort of shut down. (speaking specifically of minnows, barbs, rasbora, etc.... cypranidae species)

[Lifeisgood]

On 11/8/2023 at 2:12 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I've had some similar species pretty low, but not that low.  I think in winter on a cold water change, I've had things at mid-high 60's, but pushing below 68 you can see some behavior where certain fish will start to go dormant and just sort of shut down. (speaking specifically of minnows, barbs, rasbora, etc.... cypranidae species)

Since having a heater malfunction that nearly cooked my fancy goldfish, I have shifted my other tanks to running with no heaters.

I have a 125 that was stocked with rainbow fish and Hillstream loaches but am now wanting a smaller schooling fish that would do well in cooler temperatures.

The background Ian’s substrate are black and I was hoping to find a smaller fish with some color.

But living in Michigan maybe danios are my best option if I do not want to use a heater.  

[nabokovfan87]

Check out Coldwater aquatics on YouTube. Things like NANF species would be better fits for that setup, but it does depend on what the temps are in the summer too.

I don't run heaters for a few months out of the year and you can get quality heaters as opposed to ones that tend to be prone to failure. Check out the fluval E-series and start there. Cory has a video on them from when the co-op sold them and I highly, highly recommend them.

I use them as a floor because air temps can be in the 50s during the winter for me here.

Cc @Fish Folk has a lot of NANF information and keeps some of those fish as well. A great resource if you're interested.

[Fish Folk]

I'd suggest that keeping Emerald Rasboras at 68-F would be at their _bottom end_ parameter. Sometimes you can "cheat" and get a few degrees by putting the tank up near the ceiling. The closer to the basement floor, the colder the tank will stay.

I definitely keep a LOT of fish with no heaters. North American Native Fish (NANF) come in loads of glorious colors. They'd all _love_ a 68-F tank. Here's a random bunch of photos from NANF species I'm currently keeping. Feel free to ask any questions...

Edited November 8, 2023 by Fish Folk