Heater Broke - How cold can the water get before Discus die?

[CammieTime]

So my heater broke in the middle of the night last night. I live in Minnesota and it was 10 degrees below zero outside last night, which makes my basement where the tank is like 55 degrees.

The tank water temp plunged from 84.2 to 68.2 degrees overnight.

This morning I immediately replaced the heater with a spare.

The discus were still alive, kinda sluggish, but looked okay this morning.

How cold can the water get before the discus die? Will this temperature plunge hurt them in the long term? (at least it was very gradual cooling...)

[rickztahone]

So my heater broke in the middle of the night last night. I live in Minnesota and it was 10 degrees below zero outside last night, which makes my basement where the tank is like 55 degrees.

The tank water temp plunged from 84.2 to 68.2 degrees overnight.

This morning I immediately replaced the heater with a spare.

The discus were still alive, kinda sluggish, but looked okay this morning.

How cold can the water get before the discus die? Will this temperature plunge hurt them in the long term? (at least it was very gradual cooling...)

you were probably on the cusp of them reaching that coldness level where they might die off. that's why it is always necessary to keep a spare heater. check if you have a warranty on the one that broke

[CammieTime]

you were probably on the cusp of them reaching that coldness level where they might die off. that's why it is always necessary to keep a spare heater. check if you have a warranty on the one that broke

The replacement heater had the temp up a degree already in half an hour.

[LizStreithorst]

I've seen them survive a temp of 58. A big drop in temp isn't too detremental to them as long as they are brought back to the correct temperature gradually as you are doing.

[Porkchop]

That's why from now on I'm using 2 heaters per tank. I'm setting up a 75 gallon this weekend hopefully and it will have two 200watt heaters. I'm also gonna order a couple heaters for my 55 gallon and take out the 300watt one that is in there.

My heater for my 25 gallon QT just went out this weekend and I didn't even have it for a year. The only problem is I don't have a receipt and I didn't fill out the warranty card.

Cammie,

If you had one heater and your basement is 55 degrees, your heater was probably constantly running and that's why it burnt out. I would buy 2 of the same heater and keep the spare as "the spare."

Anthony

[poconogal]

I've had Discus delivered to me in 60 degree water and they were fine. In fact, the owner of one place I purchased Discus from told me that he routinely gets Discus in from Asia in water between 50-60 degrees and its not a problem, so your Discus should be just fine.

[Roxanne]

They do get a little cold during transportation I noticed, especially if their flight is long/delayed. I think this is why they get a little fin rot after being transported. An LFS recently lost power and all the tanks were cold, all his fish had fin damage also.

But then, there's a cichlid breeder who says he lost every tank of africans he had due to power out at night, tanks outside, temps plunged, all dead..

You're lucky! Go buy a lottery ticket

[Darrell Ward]

I agree, you're lucky you caught it in time. Last week I replaced the heaters with new ones and a brand new controller, on a 125gal. with 15 young discus in it. I rushed thru programing the new controller because I had an appointment. Several hours later I returned to find the tank temp. at 95F. In my rush to leave, I overlooked that the controller was on the chill setting instead of heat, so apparently the heaters never turned off. No harm done to the fish, but I guess I too was lucky that no fish were harmed. A few more hours of this could have resulted in "Discus stew". Anyway, If I had a tank in an unheated basement, yes I would use two heaters, on a controller.

[ShinShin]

If your discus start to show any sign of clamping or darkening, I would treat with a formalin/malachite green product ASAP. Oppurtunistic protozoans are quick to show when this occurs.

Mat

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Just watch them over the next week or two. Down here in Tampa we hear from farmers all the time surviving a cold snap in their ponds, only to lose half of their stock weeks later (especially this time of year). Mostly because of stress related diseases. Since they are in an aquarium, it shouldnt be a big deal. Just keep up with water changes and as Mat suggested, keep an eye for stress related disease such as external parasites and be ready to treat.

-Ryan

[CammieTime]

I came home last night and they are all fine, and ate like pigs when I fed them.

It took the heater around 15 hours to bring the tank back to 84 degrees.

So far so good. I will keep an eye on them to see if there are any negative long term affects.

Thank you everyone for your input on this - it was pretty scary but I am glad everything came out okay.

[Roxanne]

If your discus start to show any sign of clamping or darkening, I would treat with a formalin/malachite green product ASAP. Oppurtunistic protozoans are quick to show when this occurs.

Mat

That's a great tip Mat...that one is going in my medical notes!!

[Alfred]

I came home last night and they are all fine, and ate like pigs when I fed them.

It took the heater around 15 hours to bring the tank back to 84 degrees.

So far so good. I will keep an eye on them to see if there are any negative long term affects.

Thank you everyone for your input on this - it was pretty scary but I am glad everything came out okay.

I'm curious, Why would you let your fish be cold for 15 hrs when a simple water change would have brought the temp back up.
If that's not possible, just take some of the tank water and warm it on the stove and slowly add it back over an hour or hour and a half to temp so as not to shock the fish.
Waiting for your heater to bring it back up seems like the wrong way to go.

[gotfish?]

can i ask what kind of heater you have?

[alpine]

Alfred , like Harriet said is Best to bring the temperature slowly.
A thing I would like discus keepers to believe in is keeping two heaters of a smaller wattage in the tank . No Cooking-No 50* Temp
it is really a good insurance !!!!

Roberto.