AC out

[nursemelody]

Okay.. so our AC has been out for two days, and we live in Florida... the house has been getting to like 89 degrees.. I am a little worried for my notos.. Usually their water is like 68 degrees.... Its up to the high 70s for 2 days now. I have an aquarium chiller fan, and keep putting bags of ice in the tank... I am not sure how many more days it will be until the air is fixed.

Advice? Opinions?

 

[Jennewt]

If they are doing OK so far, I think they'll be fine for a few days. Which variety or locality of Notophthalmus are they? The southern varieties may be more temp-tolerant than the northern ones. There are populations of Notos that live in water that is surprisingly warm in summer.

Another approach would be to move them into temporary housing inside a large cooler. Put ice in the bottom, then a separating layer of material (like bubble wrap or something) to separate them from the cold and keep them out of the melt-water. Keep them in a tupperware tub with holes and wet paper towels. They could be kept this way for several weeks if necessary, but they would require daily attention (change ice, change paper toweling, hand-feed, etc).

 

[nursemelody]

Notophthalmus viridescens... they tend to get out of the water and on to the cork bark where the fan is blowing if the water rises above 70.

Maybe I could stick the whole tank in a giant cooler with ice at the bottom.

Hopefully the AC will be fixed today though...