DaveO Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I am setting up a tank that will be heated only by the ambient air of the house. We went through the recent cold snap and the tank temp went down to 70°. My question to you is, 'in your personal experience' what is the lowest temp that otocinclus will be healthy? I am not interested in video suggestions or internet wisdom. I would love to hear your real world experience on the topic. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I would seek @xXInkedPhoenixX advice as the only actual oto breeder I know. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) Dave! Well you know me and follow my pages. I strongly believe Otos are fine at 70 degrees and may even be fine at 68 on a regular basis. My tanks are in constant flux because I have no heaters. I keep my house generally at 72 but my Oto tank is in the warmest room in the house with some ambient heat from an antique gas stove. My tanks there flux from 70-78. I think this plays a big part on why my Otos breed. I personally think this is a trigger for them. Being as how most Otos are wild caught and where they come from is even colder I think they're fine in unheated tanks. Edited January 24 by xXInkedPhoenixX 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Thank you soo much for your response @xXInkedPhoenixX. Your advice is definitely noteworthy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) It would be interesting to see someone summer tub some and see what they do in there. I would never do it in my area it gets far too hot. Edited January 24 by xXInkedPhoenixX 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 That would be cool to see. That has me thinking ahead to warmer weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack.of.all.aquariums Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 My zebra ottos have been doing great in my unheated tank for a couple years now. I keep my house around 68F in the winter and 72F in the summer. Laser thermometer shows the water temp is 70F right now. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 On 1/24/2024 at 7:50 AM, DaveO said: My question to you is, 'in your personal experience' what is the lowest temp that otocinclus will be healthy? I am not interested in video suggestions or internet wisdom. I would love to hear your real world experience on the topic. Mine have been in low-mid 60's. As far as if it's safe for an extended period, below 65 a lot of those types of fish struggle and start to shut down. 64 or below is basically when they might have some real issues and just freeze. It's been 2 years or so since that happened and so I don't recall if they specifically froze or were just new. I have 3 left, had 4 (one got stuck in sponge prefilter when moving the tank), so I had lost 2 during the acclimation/cold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted January 24 Administrators Share Posted January 24 Low 60s at least. The way they are stored in Peru at the wholesalers, they get pretty chilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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