[Grah the great]

Hi all! If I used a pop up greenhouse, could I keep genuine tropical fish outside for the summer without a heater? I was hoping to keep Microctenopoma fasciolatum, which prefers temps no lower than 68 degrees (no clue what its lower lethal limit is). I live in zone 5, so even in the peak of summer nighttime air temps frequently drop into the low 60's; I was wondering if the greenhouse could mitigate that. Thanks!

 

[FishRFriendz]

Hi all! If I used a pop up greenhouse, could I keep genuine tropical fish outside for the summer without a heater? I was hoping to keep Microctenopoma fasciolatum, which prefers temps no lower than 68 degrees (no clue what its lower lethal limit is). I live in zone 5, so even in the peak of summer nighttime air temps frequently drop into the low 60's; I was wondering if the greenhouse could mitigate that. Thanks!

I very much doubt that fish will live through a winter in zone 5 without a heater.

 

[Grah the great]

I very much doubt that fish will live through a winter in zone 5 without a heater.

I know...I was asking about summer, though

 

[tamsin]

Air temps and water temps can be different - you could try setting it up and then monitoring the water temperature to see what range you actually get before introducing fish.

 

[Rnasty]

I mean possibly. If anything I'd be worried about cooking them during the middle of the day rather than the tank cooling down too much at night in a greenhouse

It sounds like it would be really difficult. Assuming it all worked perfectly, one cloudy day and everything is thrown off.

 

[Grah the great]

Hmmm...I guess I can open the ventilation on the greenhouse in the morning and close it before nightfall? Would that help? (And of course I could leave it closed on a cloudy, cool day)

 

[PlantedRich]

Greenhouses are a separate world just like fish tanks. They all take some figuring what will work but when I tried them in the St. Louis area, I decided it not worth the effort as it just got too cold to really enjoy the heating bills to keep them up to 45 which was what my plants felt okay. Now that I'm way South, we have the greenhouse and it's not too bad with setting it up full time and using an automatic vent opener from Harbor Freight ($25 ish?) We did hit ninety last week!!!
But in your area and adding the fish question, it looks really tough. I think you are more likely to be needing a full blown heater and running quite a lot, so that means thermostat to control and pretty tough bills--- Sometimes we have to admit it is just not THAT much fun?

 

[Grah the great]

Guess I will stick to more cool weather tolerant fishes outdoors then...thanks though

 

[PlantedRich]

I know it is a dangerous subject to even open but I will anyway as weather is an old time subject with me. My Air Force job was "weather observer" and I still like it!
But as fish keepers we get to observe some detail things closer than lots of folks do. Things like how the water moves when we heat one side of a tank and the water goes up in that spot and comes down in another? Air moves much the same way, so as we see some spots on the globe get heated more, air will go up in that area and also see that air move down in the cooler spots like around the poles. So when I see it getting 90 degrees in Texas, I have to assume there will be lots of cold air pushed out from the poles and the Northeast United States will get a big hit from snow and cold!
That makes it really hard to cope with the weather because it becomes much more common to have the radical changes. Folks with greenhouses may find they are not heated enough one year and not cooled enough the next! Still being February, I had not considered connecting the vent opener yet and we nearly cooked the plants we had moved inside to protect from the cold!!
Not meant to start the silliness of the political argument, just something we may need to think about if we keep our fish/plants outside at times.

 

[Raith]

I honestly wouldn't do it if temperature falls under 50s but that's just me. I have done it with guppies before but that's all.

 

[reddhawkk]

I kept guppies outside in an 18 gallon tote and they were fine through mid October, which I think was pushing it a little. My biggest issue was keeping them shaded enough during midday sun and heat. They produced quite a few fry. It was a learning experience. You should look at Rachel O'Leary's YouTube's on summer tubing. I am planning on either a 40 gallon or 110 gallon stock tank tub this summer and plan on trying platties. The plants will go in the tub long before the fish but fish will go into it. Good luck!

 

[RWaters]

I kept guppies outside in an 18 gallon tote and they were fine through mid October, which I think was pushing it a little. My biggest issue was keeping them shaded enough during midday sun and heat. They produced quite a few fry. It was a learning experience. You should look at Rachel O'Leary's YouTube's on summer tubing. I am planning on either a 40 gallon or 110 gallon stock tank tub this summer and plan on trying platties. The plants will go in the tub long before the fish but fish will go into it. Good luck!

I second the recommendation to look at Rachel O'Leary's YouTube's on summer tubing. She keeps shrimp in tubs in her greenhouse (in PA).

 

[AbbeysDad]

I kept an outdoor tropical tank last season spring->summer>fall in zone 5 (no greenhouse!). HOWEVER, I had an 800w Titanium heater w/external Finnex controller to ensure that the water temp never got below 70F (Actually had it set to 75F.) I think it would work fine in a greenhouse in zone 5 with proper ventilation and shade cloth if/when necessary...BUT for most fish, I say you need a heater for backup. You can find some really good deals on 500w heaters.

 

[reddhawkk]

On the other hand, there are a number of fish that we keep in warm waters that can stand, and prefer, cooler water. Cory's come to mind. While not cold weather fish by any stretch, there are some that prefer cooler water than what we keep them in. Also, I believe that the biggest issue is in temp changes. You might not be able to put your fish out until say June, but then they get conditioned to the temperature and with a large enough tub the temps do not swing that drastically. Having said that, there are always exceptions. Here in the Northeast we just had snow in mid May. Unusual but not unheard of. So, give it a shot, keep an eye on the placement of your pond (shade/sun) and the temperature in it, both mid day and say first thing in the A.M.

 

[AbbeysDad]

@reddhawkk makes a good point. I had a 110g stock tank, but a 300g tank would be even more thermally stable. With very small tubs, temperature swings will be close to ambient.
A couple of other thoughts. When I moved my tank into the basement for winter (55F), I used some old carpet padding to wrap the tank (like a koosie) to insulate it. In a greenhouse you might create a heat sink with containers of water (absorbing excess heat during the day and releasing it during cooler nights).

 

[Blue Ridge Reef]

I have an approximately 1200 gallon outdoor pond that I've bred quite a few tropical fish in (zone 7b here). I've had mixed luck. I've grown 6" swordtails in a single warm season so the conditions seem to be on point, but I've also lost everything in the pond more than once. One year it produced more CPDs than I thought I could ever find homes for, but I put them out early my second attempt and lost every one. I've had my best luck with cory cats and white clouds. Long finned white clouds are always in demand and they seem to breed as readily as the standard form. With a dozen adults you could easily produce many hundreds of fry in a season. They tank breed readily but nowhere near the numbers as in a pond. I don't know whether it's sun, water volume, live food or a combination of those but you tend to get larger fish than in the aquarium with great colors.

Obviously your season to duplicate temperatures of the Congo is going to be limited, but I bet they'll go. My concern in a greenhouse would partly be that there might not be quite the food source as in an open air pond. But I feed flake daily when tropicals are in mine in addition to what they forage for. I'd say at least fill it up and keep an eye on temps and see if you feel safe adding your Ctenopoma.

 

[reddhawkk]

Blue Ridge Reef, what types of Cory's did you keep?

 

[Blue Ridge Reef]

Pandas, julii, and metae (never at the same time). Considering some pandas this year, but not sure what impact they might have on the LFWC's eggs. Already have those in the pond so no turning back.

 

[reddhawkk]

I was thinking of trilineatus.

 

[reddhawkk]

I just broke down my 110 gallon stock tank. All summer long I had my Nannacara anomala and Corydoras elegans in the tub. It was an interesting endeavor. I had water lilies, water lettuce, and various aquarium plants in the tub. The Crypts I had in there did awesome! None of the plants I had in the tub did poorly. The dwarf water lettuce has roots over a foot long. The coloration on the fish was just amazing! While I did feed the fish, they also had lots of live food. Mosquito larvae were abundant, but not for long as the fish made short work of them on a daily basis. Of course there were some issues. The tub did get to 90 degrees during the summer. It also got down to the 50's when the weather started cooling off. An interesting thing though, the fish did simply excellently. Unlike when in aquariums, they handled the change in temps with no issues. However, I did add a 300 watt heater the last three weeks the tub was operating as air temps were getting down into the 40's and upper 30's. Did I mention the coloration on the fish? I am thinking that I will likely have more than one tub next year. I'm thinking angelfish! If you have not tried tubs outdoors in the summer I would highly recommend it.