# Tropheus handling cold?



## ziyaadb (Apr 16, 2007)

Hi all

For the next few years in SA we are facing power cuts and i intend to have my tropheus tank setup by the middle of next month. What i need to know is how fragile are trophs in regards to dropping temp? Should the power go out and the temp drop how soon would it be detrimentle to their health and whats the min temp that they would be able to survive at before they start perishing? i do intend on getting a genny but just for my own knowledge i need to know

thanks


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## jordanroda (May 4, 2006)

I wouldnt risk that...  
trophs are very delicate fishes... :thumb:


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## blobman (Apr 23, 2008)

im going to shoot eskom, well its only 2Hrs a week........


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

What is room temperature most of the time for you when the power goes off? That would be a consideration.
Having as large a tank as possible would help as large bodies of water retain heat better.
If you have access to a tank you could try it without any fish in it to see.


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## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

if its temporary along with a large tank can you do some temporary insulation around it??


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## geoff_tropheus (Feb 13, 2003)

I dropped the temperature from 88 to 78 in one day, long story why it happend, and a number of them came up with cloudy eye. I cured the cloudy eye with Erythromycin.

Living in Texas, the winters are not that cold, and my tanks are all inside. I have a couple of them by windows. Because of some bad experiences with heaters, I typically do not run heaters unless I see the tanks getting below 74F(23C)

I have seen it as low as 72F(22C), but the fish are lythargic.

I would do whatever I could to not let it get below 74F(23C) and not to let it drop more than 5F per day. If it does have some Erythromycin on hand, and be watchful of their eyes.

I could not imagine the pain, I would go thru in the event of longterm power outage. I have about (2) Dozen Battery Operated Air pumps, but those things only last about 2-4hours.

Hurricane Season can be a pain sometimes...

Take care and best of luck!

Geoff


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Its not so much the temp drop that would worry me. Insulated tanks cool slowly. Its the die off of bacteria and low O2 levels and pollution that your filters would generate.

I would go for hang on filters (less bacterial die off when flow stops because they are open to the air and get a little O2 from that).

Maybe get a backup like a battery powered air pump to keep the filters oxygenated.

(oops just noticed Geoff already said that,)


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