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Re: [Killietalk] Cold water killies


Rusty rscalf at jps_net wrote:

Might there be a distinction between truly cool or cold water fish, and those that tolerate cooler temperatures during winter? A species like Jordanella floridae would have to tolerate cool temperatures during cold snaps in Florida; Doesn't mean they thrive in continuously cool water.

How are cool/cold water killies defined?

     Rusty Scalf
     Berkeley, CA

There's no one answer to that one, Rusty. Some shallow-puddle killies have adapted to take wide, sudden changes in temp., while big-water fish like *lamprichthys* like it rather constant.

The fishes of the Gabon highlands live in year-around even-temperature cool waters, while coastal fishes of either Africa or SA tend to suffer more heat and are often less cold tolerant. My BIV Funge refused to even make eggs at below about 78F, which was more than warm enough to stop my Diapterons from reproducing. Both are from the same part of the world, right on the equator, but from different elevations.

Some rules of thumb I have tended to follow are that equatorial fishes tend to want more constant conditions, while temperate zone or sub-tropicals like and may even need more cyclic temperatures on either a daily or seasonal basis. Many of our NA natives won't spawn unless they have had a "cold" cycle that emulates their winter.

Like pH and hardness, it is best if you can get good info on the specific species from someone who has had success with them. [I have concluded that the best general rule is that there are no general rules. :-)]

Wright



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