It was a mere thought that came to our mind during the seafood restaurant discussion with my friends that prompted to check about fish habitat and guppies in particular.
Do guppies need a heater? Some freshwater fish don’t need a heater, but guppies are fish that require a moderate temperature to live in. If the temperature decreases to less than 20 degrees Celsius, the guppies’ need for a heater is mandatory.
In this blog post, we will discuss on the topic do guppies need a heater. Let’s start the article without any further ado.
Do Guppies Need A Heater?
Guppies are one of the favorite freshwater pets of people. These fish tend to live underwater and require a specific temperature to live. And if that temperature decreases, you have to provide a heater for it.
Do feeder guppies need a heater? A guppy’s internal temperature is liable to adapt to the approximately 75-83F temperature.
Being cold-blooded animals, they can’t survive without a sufficient heat supply. So, a mandatory heater is placed near the tank to warm the water.
Can Guppies Live In Unheated Tank?
Do guppies need a heater in an unheated tank? You may get a fish to be your next pet, but there are many things that you need to take care of.
Guppies in the unheated tank will not be able to live properly. First, you need to have a medium topical temperature of 20+ degrees Celsius.
If you can maintain this temperature, you can own a guppy fish and keep it without any problems.
Do Guppies Need A Heater In The Tank?
Tank is the basic place to live for the fish. As freezing air is not healthy for humans, cold water in the tank is not good for guppies. So do guppies need a heater in their tank?
Maintaining the ideal temperature of tank water is very crucial. If you want your guppy not to be cold and sassy, add a heater to it or use an ideal tank that can help your heat the water automatically.
Do You Need A Water Heater For Guppies?
Do guppies need a heater for survival? Buying a fish isn’t the only thing you should care about, but there are many things you need to consider many factors such as food, temperature, and other things as well.
But a water heater is the most important thing you have to make sure you are getting for your guppy fish at any cost.
Guppies And Their Need For Water Heater
Does guppies need a heater? Many guppies are there, but do you think each guppy requires a water heater for their sustainable water environment? Let’s find out this amazing fact here.
Do Baby Guppies Need A Heater?
Do you need a heater for guppies who are just a baby? Baby guppies need extra protection and precaution against cold weather.
When you buy a baby guppy, we must maintain the temperature within the ideal temperature range, so it would not cause any harm to guppies. So yes, your guppies need a heater in very cold water.
Do Fancy Guppies Need A Heater?
Why do guppies need a heater? Fancy guppies are delicate fish, and you have to be very cautious about these guppies.
These fancy guppies require special treatment, and any slight change in the temperature will cause serious complications such as blood clot formation and heartbeat abruptions.
So yes, fancy guppies need a heater to survive the low temperature.
Do Endler Guppies Need A Heater?
What do guppies need a heater for? These fish need heater for temperature maintenance and homeostasis.
Endler guppies also require hot water to get the proper health being in the best way. So always try to provide heat to your guppies even if the gas isn’t there. Try to use the electric heaters so you can help your fish.
Temperature Range For Guppies
Now we have to discuss that what temperature do guppies need for survival. We will also see the ideal temperature for guppies to live without dying.
Keep reading to get the information on the ideal temperature for guppies.
Ideal Temperature For Guppies
If we talk about the ideal temperature, anything above 15 degrees Celsius is good for the guppies.
The ideal temperature at which the guppies live perfectly without any problem and face blood-freezing issues is 20-28 degrees.
However, the lowest range for the guppies to live at is 13-14 degrees. Don’t stake your Fish’s life and keep it at low temperatures, and always keep a heater alongside the tank.
You can also buy a tank with a portable heater that keeps it running with electricity.
Effects Of Cold Water On Guppies
Under what certificates do guppies need a heater and the effects of cold water on guppies? Coldwater can cause damage to the activity of fish, and affect their movement as well.
Following are the effects of cold water on guppies:
- Swimming sluggishly: Fish start behaving weirdly when the water tank’s temperature starts decreasing. Like other animals, you can expect these creatures to slow down the movement. The cold weather slows down life in all the environments, and you will see your fish moving very slowly.
- An Acting lethargic: A fish will not respond to any reflexes and starts swimming at lower levels of the tank. Coldwater will be the major thing causing the guppies to swim at the tank bottom. This will also be very bad for the guppies if you have other fish in the tank.
- Appetite loss: When the temperature is low, it will not cause any fish movement, and you can expect that these fantastic animals won’t eat the food you provide them. This is a very bad initial symptom for the fish living in constant cold temperatures. These Fish are prone to the following diseases:
- Dropsy
- Fin rot
- Swim bladder
Effects Of Hot Water On Guppies
Like cold water affects the activity of guppies, hot water will also be a great concern for your pet fish. You can’t just turn the heater on and be free from the concern that do guppies need a heater.
If you’ve accidentally increased the tank water temperature too much, this means you are careless! You need to fix this as soon as possible!
Hot water will be more dangerous to fish, as it starts destroying the Fish’s gills and internal organs. You will see that your pet fish will move haphazardly, and that’s not good.
If you see the water temperature increases more than 35 degrees, quickly take some cold water and pour it into the tank.
This will cool down the water, and if you’re lucky, it will save your fish. But it would help if you were as quick as possible, so no permanent damage to your fish organs would happen.
Setting Up Heaters For The Guppies In Cold Water
What do guppies need a heater for? How can you set the heater? This is a very important thing to set the correct temperature of guppies’ tank temperature, as minor changes will risk the fish life at stake.
Also, try making all the recommended changes in the tank, so it would be better to get your fish in a well-pet way.
Checking The Aquarium Temperature Of Guppies
Now, we also must know how to check the aquarium temperature of guppies. This can take a little longer, and you can’t use the mere temperature at your home.
Get a clinical thermometer, and you can dip one end of the thermometer in the tank and then measure the temperature.
Keep the ideal temperature limit and see if the temperature is in the range of 20-26 degrees Celsius temperature.
Types Of Aquarium Heater For Guppies
After discussing whether guppies need a heater, we will discuss the types of aquarium heaters suitable for guppies.
Here are the three guppies’ aquarium heaters that we believe would be the best for your pet fish and make the room hot enough so you can get your fish healthy and alive.
- Hang-on Back
- Submersible
- Substrate
Hang-On Back Heaters
These types of heaters are ideal to use for freshwater tanks. You would be able to use this heater to get the right temperature of your fish guppy tank. We can hang them on either side of the tank, and some part of the heater is submerged in water to provide warmth.
Submersible Heaters
As the name suggests, the whole heater would be submerged into the water tank. You would place the heater inside the aquarium and set it there to operate automatically. Adjust the heater properly to get more accurate readings of the heater.
Substrate Heaters
The third type of heater you will be looking at here is the substrate heater. These heaters will provide heating when you place them below the aquariums. They are also good to use with these fish guppies.
The advantage of using substrate heaters is that they provide even heating of aquariums. That’s why they are most selling and with positive reviews.
Guppy Aquarium Heater Size Guide
There’s a perfect aquarium heater sizing guide for you. If you don’t want to refer from here, we can tell you a basic rule. Always aim to get a heater as follows:
Choose 5 watts per gallon tank water.
Tank Size For Heater | Heater Wattage Capacity |
5 Gallon Per 20 Liters | 25W |
10 Gallons Per 40 Liters | 50W |
20 Gallons Per 80 Liters | 100W |
25 Gallons Per 95 Liters | 125W |
40 Gallons Per 150 Liters | 200W |
50 Gallons Per 190 Liters | 250W |
65 Gallons Per 250 Liters | 2X200 W |
5 Gallons Per 20 Liters | 25W |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can A Guppy Live Without A Heater?
Do guppies need a heater, or can they live without a heater? That’s a good question with a very specific answer.
If your fish guppy lives in the temperature range of 20-26 degrees, you won’t need any heater. This temperature is normal in summers, and you won’t need a heater.
But in winters, the temperature falls below 5 degrees and is minus in the snowfall season. So it would be best if you had a heater.
Can Guppies Live In Cold Water?
Guppies live in freshwater, and the temperature there isn’t very cold. These pets are cold-blooded animals, and you have to keep track of the recommended temperature for the guppy fish.
These FishFish can live in water with temperatures as low as 15 degrees. But if the temperature falls below this temperature, you will need to provide a heater to adjust it to 20-26 degrees. (Note that we’re talking about Celsius temperature and not Fahrenheit).
What Temperature Is Too Cold For Guppies?
Temperature ranges for guppies are very clear. Bear in mind that anything below 15 degrees is freezing for the guppy fish. It’s just a small creature that you need to take care of and be keeping an eye on.
Likewise, 30 degrees Celsius plus temperature will be too hot for these guppies, and then they will need a cooler.
What Fish Don’t Need Heaters?
There are many fish that don’t need heaters. We will be talking about them here that will also survive in cold temperatures. Here are the following heaters:
- Sunset Variatus Platy
- Celestial Pearl Danio
- Rainbow Shiner
- Hillstream Loach
- Endler’s Livebearer
- Clown Killifish
- Cherry Shrimp
- Dojo Loach
Final Verdict – Do Guppies Need A Heater
Do guppies need a heater? Guppies need a heater for their existence, and if the temperature is decreased below 15 degrees Celsius, they could die. You can expect them to swim in the tank all the time at standard temperature.
Guppies are important fish pets for many people. So, you need to use the best heaters for your fish guppies so they will remain perfectly alright.
As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet fish a good and comfortable life!
Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️
Post Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG OR WEBSITE, "Learn About Pet", DOES NOT PROVIDE YOU WITH MEDICAL ADVICE AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR PERSONAL VETERINARIAN AND USE INFORMATION HERE AS GENERAL ADVICE.
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional veterinary advice, food recommendation, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or for pet food related questions.