How cold is too cold for RCS?

What is the temperature in the room? More specifically the area that you are putting your tank in. Lights can also affect temperature of a tank.

For RCS, if the tank is in your house, I don't think you need to worry about low temperature, it's high temperature you need to be concerned. My fluval spec (with CRS) gets to about 60F at night in winter and never had any issue, it's when it gets over 80 I get problems.

My tank is on a shelf in front of my window and is powered by the sun. My window, now is open and it gets cool at night here in new york, i did have a heater but im curious to see how it does without it....im not sure what the temp gets to at night but it can vary alot.

I've had them overwinter in my 100 gallon half above ground container pond twice now with no problem :thumbsup:

Rcs can take up to 80~~

Im more worried about how cold it can get before they die...

RCS like warmer water. I'm sure they won't die in the low 70s but I think 60s is probably pushing it. With a tank that small, though, I'd have a heater. It's so susceptible to temp swings, especially if it's in front of an open window at night.

-Lisa

Kunsthure said:

RCS like warmer water. I'm sure they won't die in the low 70s but I think 60s is probably pushing it.

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This is incorrect.

As long as your water doesn't freeze solid, RCS won't die from the cold. My tank spent the winter in my uninsulated basement in the 40's with no problems. CL commented above about overwintering them outdoors in Kentucky, where the water surely iced over. They're temperate shrimp, not tropical, and they do quite well in colder temperatures.

To be sure, their metabolism will slow dramatically in cold periods. My juvenile shrimp basically stopped growing and there was no breeding at all in the tank until I dropped a heater in there to get the temp back up to 70 this June. The juveniles have started growing again and virtually all of the mid to full-sized females are berried now. They won't die though.

I had some Cherry shrimp left out in a bucket and a bit of water (by accident). It got cold that night and the water was frozen over in the morning. After it unfroze the shrimp started to get more active and back to business.

An unheated tank inside is no problem at all for Cherries.

I have kept them in 60F and have read of people keeping them outside in winter like others in this thread have done.

I have kept RCS in temperatures as low 63F and currently have some outside in a flower pot that has gotten as high 82F. They are breeding like crazy.

I wonder if you could freeze one solid and slowly warm it up if it would survive.

10gallonplanted said:

I wonder if you could freeze one solid and slowly warm it up if it would survive.

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Anything's possible, but it's very unlikely that this would work. Most of the animals capable of this sort of thing have evolved special mechanisms that prevent their cells from bursting when they freeze (as occurs in most animals when they get frostbitten.)

Ok, so I was wrong twice in one month. But someone gave me an extra mulligan in another thread so I just used it.

-Lisa