Inside our quarantine room
Why every fish waits 14 days behind the shop, and what we watch for in that time.
Keeping a tank through a Nashik summer
April and May push tank water past 30 °C. How to keep fish comfortable without an expensive chiller.
In April and May, a tank in a Nashik flat without air conditioning can reach 31 or 32 °C by evening. Most tropical fish are happy between 24 and 28 °C. Above 30 °C water holds less oxygen, and fish start to gasp at the surface by late afternoon.
The simplest step is a small clip-on fan blowing across the water surface. Evaporation cools the water by two or three degrees. You will need to top up with dechlorinated water every second day, so keep a bucket ready. A fan costs about ₹900 and is the most useful thing you can buy for summer.
Shorten the light to five hours and run it in the morning instead of the evening. The light itself adds heat. If the tank sits near a west window, move it or cover the window with a pale curtain from noon.
Add an air stone, even in a planted tank. In summer the extra oxygen matters more than the small amount of CO2 it drives off. Feed a little less, because fish digest more slowly in warm water and leftover food fouls it quickly.
If you go away during the May holidays, ask us for a holiday visit. For ₹400 we check the tank twice a week, top it up and feed the fish. It is far cheaper than a new set of tetras when you return.
