[Plinkploop]

I'm thinking of ditching the heater on my dennerle cube. I'm still looking to keep shrimp, and new potentially rice fish. I'm not liking how the heater looks, there is no draft where the tank is located and my room never gets below 74°. Do you think it would be okay?

 

[Stan510]

By coincidence I unplugged my heater on my 240 gallon fish and plant tank. Water temps went down from 80+ ( heater was hard to adjust) down to 73-75 range. Plants and fish seem to be doing even better. I was adding to the heating bill to make things worse? Forget that!

 

[Nicecook]

By coincidence I unplugged my heater on my 240 gallon fish and plant tank. Water temps went down from 80+ ( heater was hard to adjust) down to 73-75 range. Plants and fish seem to be doing even better. I was adding to the heating bill to make things worse? Forget that!

Looks like you guys will be ok without the heater. Have not checked the temps in my house but that is one of the reasons I got the OASE biomaster thermo 600 which the heater is in the canister. No more the ugly look with the heater inside the tank.

 

[Griznatch]

I have had shrimp from 74 degrees all the way up to 78 (pre-set heaters). They do great at 74 but reproduce a bit slower and I'm ok with that. Also seems like they live longer at the lower temps and hasn't bothered my fish any.

 

[Plinkploop]

I have had shrimp from 74 degrees all the way up to 78 (pre-set heaters). They do great at 74 but reproduce a bit slower and I'm ok with that. Also seems like they live longer at the lower temps and hasn't bothered my fish any.

I'm not wanting the shrimp to prolifically breed so I'm 100% ok with anything that will keep population in check. Thank you for the input!!

 

[Griznatch]

The rice fish will also help keep the shrimp population under control. Most fish have a hard time passing up shrimp fry. Otos are the only fish I've found so far that pay no attention to even shrimp babies. Even my chilis and kubotai will eyeball fry once in a while. I was just bragging to my wife a while ago how those kubotai are the perfect shrimp companions. As soon as I said it... a baby blue dream swam right in front of one of them and was promptly swallowed. Stood there like an idiot with my mouth wide open.

 

[Plinkploop]

The rice fish will also help keep the shrimp population under control. Most fish have a hard time passing up shrimp fry. Otos are the only fish I've found so far that pay no attention to even shrimp babies. Even my chilis and kubotai will eyeball fry once in a while. I was just bragging to my wife a while ago how those kubotai are the perfect shrimp companions. As soon as I said it... a baby blue dream swam right in front of one of them and was promptly swallowed. Stood there like an idiot with my mouth wide open.

😂 I don't know how many times my fish have done that to me... Like my single oto suddenly deciding he's going to become a rummynose and he doesn't need a school of oto to be happy. I'm hoping there's some rice fish eggs that will hatch from the water lettuce I picked up (RAOK here- thank you @mostly moss ). I've got a bucket with a diy mature sponge filter going sitting in the sun in my bathroom right now with fingers crossed.

 

[Discusluv]

Definitively ditch the heater. Dont need it with the fish you are keeping or the shrimp.

 

[minorhero]

My newt tank is kept in the mid to high 60s. It has amano, neocaridina, and ricefish. All are doing well. The one time I brought ricefish up to 78 degrees I had 2 die on me in rapid succession. I would definitely recommend going without a heater.

 

[Plinkploop]

Definitely more confident in ditching the heater now. It's been unplugged for 24 hours and my tanks is 70°. Thank you all!!