[klockz]

hi guys, i have a 2 rapheal cats and a pleco in my 55 with a bunch of goldfish. since the goldfish are coldwater, i was gonna just stop using the thermometers to save on the electric bill. will the catfish be affected by this or not? i wasnt sure if they liked coldwater or not.

 

[Judazzz]

Most catfish are tropical fish.
Pleco's and raphael cats naturally live in tropical S. America, so I strongly advise you to keep the heater in their tank!

 

[piranha45]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.c...&view_records=1

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.c...&view_records=1

none of their suggested temps go below 70 degrees... if their room is 70 degrees tho, u shouldnt have a problem

 

[Innes]

keep the heater!

some catfish are coldwater - but not the ones you described

 

[hastatus]

Tropical Fish is a catch-all phrase going back to the beginning of the hobby. My personal preference has always been exotic fish, since that phrase would include both cold and warm water species.

 

[unxchange]

Keep the heater in there, or return your cats back to your LFS.

Your Pleco and your two striped raphael catfish do need warmer water than your goldfish. Colder water can cause them to get ICH/ICK.

 

[yonderway]

Most catfish are tropical fish.

What are you basing this on?

There have got to be a gazillion coldwater species out there.

But the raphaels are warmwater fish, yes.

 

[Judazzz]

Just have a look at planetcatfish.com and pay attention to the species locality. Most species come from (sub-)tropical regions (I think just the pleco and cory families combined [400+ species] surpass the number of coldwater catfish out there), but I agree there's a number of coldwater species as well...

 

[traumatic]

goldfish can live in a heated tank, no reason to lose the heater at the expense of, for the lack of a better term, nicer fish. Goldfish are a dime a dozen. In my opinion, goldfish suk