wendlle

My fish are used to temps of between 70 and 75, but the last few days have been HOT, i've turned off the heater but the water temp is still 82, my fish keep coming up for air, how hot is too hot??

Time

Youre fine I once almost got to 90 and the fish really hated it. I have gone 86 and sometimes they do fine. Try to keep it max 84

wendlle

OK, thanks, i've been putting cold water and even ice cubes in and just can't get it any lower than 80. One of the cichlids is already dead and my silver dollar isn't coping, he is really gasping.

Time

Try to keep it as close to normal as possible because it may stress the fish. My guppy does stress a lot. Freeze water bottles so you could be ready to add them and it won't add more water to your tank or change it chemically.

iloveengl

The high temperature in itself isn't the worst problem; the problem is the higher the temperature, the less air that's in the water, which is why your fish are gasping at the top. They're essentially suffocating. Add air stones asap.

Rather than add ice cubes (which contain chlorine and are just adding to the problem), the frozen water bottle is a good idea. I believe you can also buy fans to cool the water, but I don't know anything about them.

I imagine you are freaking out (I would be!), so hopefully these idea help. I'm so sorry you lost a fish from this.

Aldric

I agree with iloveengl with the frozen bottle idea rarther than puttingice cubes in there. we had a mini heat wave this summer in the UK and even tho I directed the room sized 18 inch fan at the tank it didnt make much difference at all. the only thing that worked for me was the frozen botles of water. and dont forget dont totaly fill the bottles becouse ice expends and the bottle might leak

aquarist48

So hate to hear about your fish loss and temperature issues. Be careful not to cool the water off too fast. Add the air stone as Ilovee mentioned if you can.
Best of luck!
Ken

Butterfly

Also more frequent water changes during warm weather will help your fish cope with the oxygen issue.
Try not to cool your fish off too fast and chilling can stress the fish and cause them to get sick. ICH is usually the first thing to show up after a chilling.
Sorry for your losses. Welcome to FishLore
Carol

Time

I have never done anything to oxygenate my water only lower the water level and let the plants and filter fall take care of it. My temperature is usually high and freezing water bottles is a good idea. Especially for saltwater tanks. A water bottle lowers my temp by 4 degrees.