Re: [Killietalk] Killietalk Digest, Vol 49, Heat Losses

[Gary Elson or Mary Frauley <fraulels at videotron_ca>]

Larry, KC and everyone,

All right, so I suggested expensive air conditioning... not original and
beyond many budgets. But I fought nature for many years in many ways, with
apartments like ovens in summer, cold basement rooms and now a concrete slab
house with a garage too warm for many of my killies without the old AC the
house thankfully came with. Even here in Canada, we get hotter summers than
many African killies ever have to deal with.
For nine years I had a basement that rarely got above 70f, and I kept
killies that flourished there. Now I have a well insulated, more modern room
with the furnace and water heater in it. It never gets below 73f on the
lower rack. With no AC, it'll get to 95 easily in June, July and August.
I've rebuilt racks to keep tanks low to the cooler slab, and have arranged
the room so I can see those tanks and still enjoy them without needing back
surgery. It helps, but without AC, two months of summer heat would limit me
to Chromaphyosemions, a few coastal aphyos and Epiplatys. As is, there are
no more native Canadian fish in my room.
Larry has it right - he's stopped fighting nature and rolled with it. I've
done something similar with keeping Geophagus beside my killies. I still
have species that wait out the summer hovering, but Canadian summers are
short. To me, it's either expensive technology, or only keeping fish that
get through the extremes healthy and can do well in your yearly temperature
range.

Gary




I have had to almost give up on Killies since moving back to Eastern WA from
Seattle. Only a very few can make it through the worst weeks when its 115F
plus outside. I have air conditioning but it still reaches up to 88F inside.

The suggestions to get air conditioning is so original. Not everyone has a
few spare grand to have a modern climate control system. I just try to work
with species that demonstrate the ability to live through the worst of the
heat. This one of the reasons I specialize in Discus since they thrive in
high temperatures. Still, I miss not having to worry about my Killies in the
Summer.

Larry Waybright




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