# About temperature and African Cichlids



## Mikelodeon (Aug 6, 2008)

I would like to know about the effect of cold water (about 70 deg) in African Cichlids, for some reason my heather is not working properly (just broken) and I am worried about my Yellow Labs, I am going to buy a new heather when I have time for doing this...

What can I expect?
What should be their behavior?
I've been told they can tolerate this temperature, certainly they are not going to die, but I would like to know what to expect tomorrow.

Thank you


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

They won't be active and they won't be aggressive.
They are going to be slow to say the least. One of my tanks has dropped to 70ish and the fish were pretty much not doing anything. 
You may even see them hanging over one another in some caves or rock structures.
It almost seemed like my yellow lab forgot how to swim.
Can you raise the temp of the room?


----------



## alexrex20 (Aug 26, 2005)

there's a saying, 'the only thing that can kill an african cichlid is another african cichlid.'


----------



## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

:lol: @ alexrex20
We all know that's an exaggeration but it does seem about right. They *are* tough little boogers. The common pleco is pretty tough too. I found one of mine that had got out of the tank and was laying on the floor. It looked dried out and wasn't moving but when I picked it up it made a noise  bout scared the bajeebus out of me. He's fine.


----------



## alexrex20 (Aug 26, 2005)

i once had a tank crash on me, so i removed what i thought to be all the fish and placed them in another tank. the tank sat for 3 months with no lights and no filter, until i finally got my lazy ass to clean and redo it. as i'm siphoning out the water and removing the rocks, i find a leleupi in the tank! it was fat as **** with great coloration! lol

i have no idea what it ate for 3 months, but it was healthy as could be, and is actually still alive and kicking in one of my community tanks. it is about 8 years old now!


----------



## Mikelodeon (Aug 6, 2008)

SmellFishy1, you are totally right !
I was watching my fish for a couple of days since I knew they won't dye for cold water. They were totally lazy, inactive, they didn't eat well, it was weird for me but it looks to me they were "sleeping" together in the same caves... normally they are "messy" and agressive, interesting behavior.
Now I have a new heather, they are in 79-80 again, they are normally agressive, very active and they are eating well again.

Thank you fellas !


----------



## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

when the temperature gets low, the fish's metabolism slows down, thats all.


----------

