luvmyreef
Active Member
I always read how people increase their tanks temp to combat ick. I recently read an article about the effects that warmer water has on our tanks. Let me quote it
"each species of fish or coral has a particular range of water temperature within which it is most comfortable living. And because fish are exothermic, they rely on the temperature of their environment to regulate body functions. Thus, it is important to maintain this range of water temperature to keep your aquarium inhabitants alive and healthy. When water temps begin to exceed a species' preferred range, a number of things can occur:
*warmer water speeds up the metabolism of your fish, causing them to be more active, often referred to as hyperactivity.
*The increased metabolic rate of the fish will require the fish to receive more oxygen, but there is less oxygen available because warmer water does not hold dissolved oxygen as well as colder water.
*the decreased oxygen levels will also affect the aerobic bacteria in the nitrogen cycle. thus making the biological filtration less effective and causing an increase in ammonia.
Add to that the increased waste production of the fish as a result of their increased metabolism and you will have the makings for a water quality disaster."
So, my question would be, is it really a good idea to increase temps when combating an illness such as ick? Or are we doing more harm to our tanks by doing so? Any thoughts??
"each species of fish or coral has a particular range of water temperature within which it is most comfortable living. And because fish are exothermic, they rely on the temperature of their environment to regulate body functions. Thus, it is important to maintain this range of water temperature to keep your aquarium inhabitants alive and healthy. When water temps begin to exceed a species' preferred range, a number of things can occur:
*warmer water speeds up the metabolism of your fish, causing them to be more active, often referred to as hyperactivity.
*The increased metabolic rate of the fish will require the fish to receive more oxygen, but there is less oxygen available because warmer water does not hold dissolved oxygen as well as colder water.
*the decreased oxygen levels will also affect the aerobic bacteria in the nitrogen cycle. thus making the biological filtration less effective and causing an increase in ammonia.
Add to that the increased waste production of the fish as a result of their increased metabolism and you will have the makings for a water quality disaster."
So, my question would be, is it really a good idea to increase temps when combating an illness such as ick? Or are we doing more harm to our tanks by doing so? Any thoughts??
