# How cold can my platys be before they die?



## drewrainey (Feb 21, 2010)

My heater bit the dust and my tank temp is now 68-72, or whatever the room temp is at the time..how long will they survive in the cold water until I can buy a new heater?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

They'll be fine. Room temp is good.


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## HypnoticAquatic (Feb 17, 2010)

as mr.green said they should be fine. you would prob be suprised on how resilient species are, they did a test on red belly piranha to see if they could live in a lake in michigan i think. they took a few and put a chiller on the tank and slowly droped it down to 55deg and documented there behavior. most people cant even belive that they could withstand those temps. back to the op, i would feed a lil less though there metabolism will slow down some but will be fine until u get a new heater.


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## sajata (Aug 21, 2009)

how big is your tank, you would be amazed how long it would take to cool off a big tank. I had a 48 hour power fail a couple of years back. my 55g took something like 30 hours to drop form 80 to 65 with a blanket thrown on the top of it.


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## drewrainey (Feb 21, 2010)

thanks guys..yea they are fine so far..i am headed to the lfs to get a heater tomorrow


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

I would keep an eye on them for a while because ich can pop up when the temp drops like that.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

wendyjo said:


> I would keep an eye on them for a while because ich can pop up when the temp drops like that.


only if the ich parasite is in the tank in the first place. Ich doesn't appear because of lower temp.


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## Rod Hay (Feb 11, 2006)

Platies can tolerate quite a bit of cool temps. I frequently house Platies in unheated tanks. Those tanks near windows will fall to 68F overnight and rebound to 72 -74F during the daytime. (I'm sure in the coldest winter they even get near 66F.) Judging from the continued reproduction and healthy growth of fry they do not seem to have any problems. 

I also put Platies outside in whiskey barrel tubs in early June. We can still get some cool temps during the overnights, sometimes to mid 60's. Never really lost any. I use the Platies because of their ability to handle those temps. Endlers also do quite well in outdoor tubs w/ cool temps & temperature swings.

Now your plants on the other hand may be a different story. Some plants will sulk at lower temps, while others are even happier!


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