Perfect temp

[NickG83]

Hey all, having a bit of a tank change round, and my 110L (about 30gallons) tank is going to be becoming a medaka (rice fish) tank, it also has numerous Malaysian trumpet snails, x2 nerite snails, x3 Amano Shrimp, and some cherry shrimp. I just wondered what people’s thought were as to what the perfect temperature for the tank would be? I know I could get away with no heater, but there’s a good heater in there, so I may as well use it if in means creating the best possible environment for the inhabitant. Thanks in advance for any input! 

[Kirsten]

Might depend on the variety, but it sounds like temps in the 70's F are ideal for most ricefish and your shrimp, and your snails certainly won't be picky either. So if you have an adjustable heater, maybe set it at 74 in case the room gets really cold in the winter or you want to leave the heat down when you're on vacation? But I don't expect you'll need it much. But, hey, that just means you'll be able to use it for another tank or QT if you ever get any other fish!

[Daniel]

My rice fish in the outdoor pool survived mid 90°F water temps and air temps as low as 15°F over the last year. The rice fish bred prolifically when water temperatures were mid 50°F to mid 80°F. My cherry shrimp in another pool survived the pool being iced over but seem to prefer mid 50°F to mid 80°F.

16 minutes ago, NickG83 said:

...but there’s a good heater in there, so I may as well use it

But personally I would skip the heater for one very good reason. The rice fish and cherry shrimp don't care what temperature it is, but the heater is a well known point of failure. Many forum members have posted about killing all of their fish when their heater got stuck in the on position.

[NickG83]

@Kirsten @Daniel thanks very much for the advice and quick response, heaters breaking down had also crossed my mind as a reason not to use a heater, but my only concern was the amano shrimp?

[Daniel]

Just now, NickG83 said:

@Kirsten @Daniel thanks very much for the advice and quick response, heaters breaking down had also crossed my mind as a reason not to use a heater, but my only concern was the amano shrimp?

My memory is Amano shrimp are happy with mid 60°F.

[Kirsten]

Yeah, a little research seems to indicate they're about the same as cherry shrimp. Mid-60's to 80's. So as long as you keep your house around 68-74, you'll be providing all the heat they'll want or need.