Panaqolus sp. (L403) Water temperature

[torusle]

I have a juvenile Panaqolus sp. (L403) in my tank.

Since I'm about to change the heater in the tank I decided to optimize the tank temperature to find the sweet-spot for him and all his tank-mates. Unfortunately research on the preferred temperature of this species yield no results (or I'm not able to find it).

Currently the temperature is between 22°C and 24°C. (that is 71.6° to 75.2° Fahrenheit). My feeling is that this is a bit on the cold side for a Panaqolus. Do you have any idea of its preferred water temperature?

The fish is healthy and is very active. Eats a lot, swims a lot, poops a lot Also the most fearless fish I own. He doesn't even mind much if I do cleanup work in the tank right next to him.

[bekateen]

Hi torusle,

Did you read the breeding reports on the

L403

CLOG page? One report mentions spawnings between 23-28.5C; the other report says spawning occurred between 28-30C. My guess is the middle and warmer end of this range is better. I've never kept this Panaqolus variety, but I'm keeping four others (P. albivermis, P. albomaculatus, P. maccus, and L397). I keep mine between 78-84F and they do quite well. Just be careful at the higher temperatures to keep the water well aerated and circulated. If your pumps or filters clog, the warm water will quickly become hypoxic and kill the fish.

Cheers, Eric

[Jobro]

http://www.l-welse.com/reviewpost/showp ... roduct/707 (german)

26°C should be fine, going higher is usually not too good for a lot of the planted community tanks.

[torusle]

Thanks a lot everyone. So my instinct was correct and the temperature was on the low side.

And yes, I'm aware of the oxygen issues and that raising the temperature also has an effect on water quality. Fortunately I have holidays so I have plenty of time to can check the parameters regularly during the next two weeks.