When you go swimming, how cold does the temperature of the water have to be, to be too cold? How warm does the water have to be to be too warm? How would you react if you had to live in water that was always too cold or too warm? I imagine incompatable water temperatures would cause you stress and health issues. The same can be said for guppies.
Warmer water will increase activity, which means they will take in more oxygen and food. If follows that cold will decrease activity. The colder the water the slower your guppy will grow and the longer it will live. Again, the reverse happens when your fish are in warm water. If you want your fish to breed you will want your water to be warmer, because cold water promotes inactivity, which discourages breeding. But what is the perfect temperature range for guppies? What should you do when circumstances change or if you want your guppies to behave in a certain way?
Best General Temperature for Guppy Health
The safest and most commonly reccomended temperature range spans from 74°F-80°F (23°C-27°C). Guppies need lukewarm water to stay healthy. Their natural habitat is tropical and warm. This is the kind of environment that you should try to emulate. Their physical and mental health responds best to this kind of environment. That is why this range supports healthy metabolism and immune function. The coldest the water should ever get is 72°F (22°C). The hottest the water should ever get is 82°F (28°C). If the tank water ever gets hotter or colder, get it back to the appropriate range immediately.
Best Temperature for Different Scenarios
Different people take care of guppies for different reasons. If you just want your guppy to live as long and as healthily as possible then you are going to want to keep the water in the tank between 74°F–76°F (23°C-24°C). Your goal might to make your guppy as colorful as it can be. Maybe you want your guppy fry to grow fast and well, or you want them to breed. For all of these goals the best temperature range is 77°F–80°F (25°C-28°C). Once again, the water being colder than 72°F is risky and can lead to stress or illness. If it is above 82°F it can shorten the guppy's lifespan and cause oxygen issues.
Why Stable Temperature is Important
It might seem strange to you that guppies require such exact temperature ranges. After all, humans live through drastic temperature changes with little to no lasting consequences. The better comparison would be getting out of a hot tub and getting into an ice bath. The sudden change sends a shock through you and you end up gasping and tensing. Guppies have a much lower tolerance for temperature changes so they have a similar reaction to a much less dramatic change. This reaction causes them a lot of stress and so increases the chances of disease outbreaks. This happpens because stress causes guppy immune systems to weaken.
How to Maintain the Right Temperature
If you want to make sure that the temperature of your tank water stays stable make sure to monitor your water quality. One way to do this is to buy a high quality heater and fan as well as a thermometer. The thermometer will track the temperature changes. The heater and the fan will then make up for the discrepancies. You could, for ease, buy an aquarium heater with a built-in thermostat.
Keep in mind, that you should not put your tank in a place that can be affected by the outside temperatures or inconsistent air conditioning. One of the most basic and important things that you can do, is to clean and take care of your aquarium equipment. A quick, easy trick is too put on the tank lid if the water is too cold, and take off the tank lid if the water is too hot.
Other things you can do to maintain the temperature are choosing the right wattage based on tank size and choosing the best placement of the heater/fan and thermometer for accuracy. Wattage only refers to heating. The general rule is that for every gallon of water you can use five watts to heat it. If you put the thermometer near the heater/fan it will show the water being warmer or colder than is accurate. To fix this problem you should place the thermometer on the opposite side of the tank from the heater/fan.
Seasonal Considerations
During winter or cold nights make sure the waterin the tank is at least 76°F and keep it there. In summer, or especially warm nights, keep the water tempurature at around 74°F to keep the water from overheating. If the weather causes a power outage their are a few things that you could do.
Get a thermometer that is not attached to a heater or a thermometer that needs electricity to run. It would be even better if you could find a high-quality heater that does not plug into an outlet. If you have no such heater and you are worried that your fish might get cold you wrap the tank in blankets or any other insulating material and secure it with tape. If it is too cold, you should turn all the lights that are still on after the power went out and do not expose the tank to the sun. Add cold water or ice if you need the water to cool down faster. Rember that you can also remove the lid or use a fan that isn't connected to the internet.
Signs Your Guppy is Too Cold or Too Hot
Signs of the water being to hot or cold for your guppies can manifest physically in the environment of their tanks, as well as their behaviors and bodies. If your guppy becomes too hot they will be more active than usual and increase their appetite (funnily enough too hot water can also a loss of appetite in guppies). This increased activity increases guppy stress level leading to a weaker immune system. Hot water comtains less oxygen, so if you see a guppy gasping near the surface or beathing rapidly they could be over heated. Oxygen also helps kill amonia. With a lack of oxygen amonia can build up and cause serious health problems. You should have water test kits or other water monitoring tools to tell you the level of oxygen and ammonia in your tank.
If your guppy becomes too cold they will become less active and will have trouble breeding. Cold water can actively weaken guppies, which leaves them vunerable to fatal diseases. They may clamp their fins like you might hold your limbs when cold. Your guppy might try to get close to the nearest source of warmth by floating near the heater.
Conclusion and Good Will
Keeping your guppy's water in a certain temperature range is necessary for guppy growth, health, and vibrancy. The best and easiest way to know that you are properly monitoring and adjusting the thank water for your guppy is to buy the tools that help. Remember that things like a thermometer, heater, and fan make everything more certain and easier. If you have any questions or requests relating to your guppy's tank setup do not be afraid to reach out. Our team would be more than happy to help.
References
Water Shock Fish Symptoms: Understanding the Signs and Causes – The Fish Keeping & Aquarium Guide. Temperature For Guppies | The Goldfish Tank Guppy Temperature: Important Info To A Sustainable Habitat - JapaneseFightingFish.org Ideal Guppy Water Temperature (Min, Max, What Can Go Wrong)
