Loaches Online Forum

The little Hydor Mini-Heater I got for my ADF is too efficient to leave on all the time, so it's on a timer, on at 9 AM and off at 4 PM. His water temp goes from 75 to 85 F, rather like it might in the wild.
He definitely notices when the heater comes on, because he flattens himself between it and the tank wall for awhile. Must feel good.

Just an observation. I was thinking maybe my kuhlies might like some temp variation. Anyone ever do this intentionally?

Is the lowest setting on the heater too hot for him?

Surely water temperatures in their natural habitat do not change that greatly everyday, water temps change much less than air temps. I would also be curious about seasonal temperatures, as I'm sure they vary.

Unless the fish or frog is living in a very shallow and small body of water the temperature does not usually vary that much between night and day. There may certainly be that much or more seasonal variation in temperate zone waters.

If your timer will do multiple on-off cycles round the clock that might make a better, more stable temperature for the ADF. Otherwise, get a better heater.

The heater has no setting, it's just a little flat thing. But the timer can handle more than one on/off program, so I'll try giving him three small warmup periods instead of one long one.
THANKS!

Those little flat ones are nice for small tanks, but sure would be better if there was a better way to control it.

I use a couple of heaters without thermostats and seem to be very busy plugging them in and unplugging them. The light over the tank can contribute a lot of heat to the water. Keep a sharp eye on it, but you might think about setting those 3 on/off periods for times when the light is off.

Before I got the heater, his tank stayed at a constant 72 F (the room temp.) The fluorescent light above him warms the shelf above it, but doesn't help his 2.5 gallon glass fishbowl 10" below it.