Using Thermometers in Your Aquarium

By encasing the heater and thermostat in separate tubes, one is enabled to place the heater in one corner and the thermostat in another. This is supposed to insure a more even distribution of heat, since the heat must travel through the entire tank to reach the thermostat. In theory it is all right, but in actual practice it has hardly proven necessary. Water circulation itself distributes the heat readily enough.

Any type of thermometer can be used in a fish tank that is partitioned into several sections. Judge the wattage required by the capacity of the tank. Place the thermostat and heater in the center section or in adjoining sections. The end sections may be a few degrees cooler than the center, but the difference will not be appreciable.

To make sure that your thermometer is giving the correct reading, place your thermometer alternately in warm and cold water to see if it rises and falls properly. Wash the thermometer carefully, and place the bulb edge under your tongue. An accurate thermometer will read close to 98.6° F., which is body temperature. A variance of 2° or 3° is not important, however, since aquarium temperatures are not that critical.

Check a new thermometer for breaks or spaces in the mercury or “spirit” column. These often occur because of jostling during transit. To eliminate such breaks, place the thermometer on a piece of ice until the indicator has retracted completely into the bulb. When the indicator fluid is allowed to warm up, the column should be continuous.

Tips on Choosing an Aquarium Heater

A submergible heater is usually placed flat along the bottom of the tank. The theory is that as the warm water rises it will cause a mild circulation within the tank, insuring a more even distribution of heat. Whether this particularly benefits the fish in most home aquaria is doubtful. However, with the heat source at the surface of a tall tank, and with no aeration or filtration, you will note a considerable disparity in temperature between the upper and lower strata of water. Whether the difference, except in an extreme case, is enough to discomfort the fishes is problematical. In nature, fishes swim with no apparent signs of discomfort between the sun-warmed surface and the cooler depths. They appear quite capable of adjusting to this type of change with no noticeable signs of stress.

By encasing the heater and thermostat in separate tubes, one is enabled to place the heater in one corner and the thermostat in another. This is supposed to insure a more even distribution of heat, since the heat must travel through the entire tank to reach the thermostat. In theory it is all right, but in actual practice it has hardly proven necessary. Water circulation itself distributes the heat readily enough.
For the advanced hobbyist who can afford it, the most practical method for heating all your fish tanks is a tank room. The temperature in the room can then be thermostatically controlled and heated by the use of a commercial space heater, either gas or electric. A small fan can be used to assure an even distribution of heat within the room.

If this method is impractical, you have your choice of either of two methods, or a combination of both. The simplest way is to get a combination heater and thermostat for each tank. There are a number of low-cost combination units on the market which will give very satisfactory service.

An alternative method is to get a high-capacity individual thermostat. This is placed in the smallest tank of the series to be controlled with the single setup. Heaters with wattages proportionate to the size of the tanks they are put into are connected in series with the thermostat. For the average home, allow 5 watts to the gallon. For a 5-gallon tank, use 25 watts; a 10-gallon tank, 50 watts, and so on.

For example: a hobbyist with four tanks, a 5-gallon, a 10-gallon, and two 20-gallon tanks would use the following: a 25-watt heater in the 5-gallon tank, a 50-wa heater in the 10-gallon, and a 100-watt in each of the 20’s The thermostat to which all the heaters are coupled placed in the smallest tank. Why? Because the smaller the amount of water in a tank, the more subject it is to fluctuation. Should the thermostat be placed in the largest tank, the smallest one might show a drop of as much as 5 to 6 degrees before the temperature of the large one would drop sufficiently to activate the thermostat.

Breeding Traps for Live Bearing Fish

Breeding traps are plastic containers. There are three types: the rod trap, the “V” bottom, and the combination nursery and breeding trap. They are all designed to hang inside an aquarium and receive heat from it. They are also perforated to allow water circulation. Very little actual circulation takes place, however, unless it is helped along by dipping breeding trap. The excess will, of course, run out through the perforations. Usually a breeding trap is set in the rear of the aquarium where its inhabitant will not be disturbed.

The rod trap is a square box about 8 inches long by 4 inches wide by 4 inches high. The bottom consists of glass or plastic rods set a little apart from each other. The pregnant female is confined in this type trap with a few sprays of plants for hiding herself. This is important, because in a bare trap there is more of a tendency for her to thrash around. When the young are born, they drop through the bottom and are protected from the possible cannibalism of their mother. Of course there should be no fishes in the aquarium into which the babies drop. The rod trap that is longer (up to 18 inches), is also used for breeding certain egg-laying fishes, such as Zebras (Brachydanio rerio) and White Clouds (Tanichthys albonubes), which lay non-adhesive eggs.

The “V” bottom trap is shaped so that the bottom comes to a long V. The sides are perforated. Babies, when born, drop out through the slit. This type is also provided with a plastic rod or strip which can be used to close the bottom and prevent the babies escaping. This is used when there are fishes in the larger aquarium which might at the babies. Of course they are still in danger of being eaten by the mother, but putting some hiding plants in the trap will help save at least some of them.

Do not overdo the hiding plants, however; leave room for the mother.

The combination breeding and nursery trap is a square box with a “V” insert in it. When born the babies drop through the opening in the bottom of the breeding trap and are confined in the lower portion of the trap. After delivery, the mother and the insert are removed, giving the young ones a nursery to swim around in. As might be expected, this type is somewhat more expensive.

Since all of these breeding traps are comparatively small, it is inadvisable to keep large females in them. They will suffer from the confinement. And of course never keep two females in the one trap. Cover breeding traps, because even baby fishes can jump.

A trap is not so satisfactory a method of raising babies as a separate nursery tank is. It is, however, of great value to the person who cannot keep more than one tank and still wants the thrill of breeding his own fishes. A breeding trap may also be used in conjunction with a baby tank. Obviously you cannot keep an adult gravid female with the babies while she is awaiting delivery. A breeding trap is placed in the baby tank and her babies join the others as they are born.

Whether in a trap or a tank, babies must be fed. To accomplish this, use special baby foods. Feed small amounts, but feed frequently. Do not give the little stomachs a chance to get empty. Do not make the meals too big, as the excess will spoil before the babies have had time to eat it.