Heating

So, being in Canada, it gets kinda cold in winter... and my house can get a little chilly. Right now my fish are all getting kinda pale and showing stress lines (horizontal lines from head to tail) because they're colder than they're used to. They're all in small tanks, so it's not as easy as turning up the heater - I can't even put a heater in with them for the most part. Last time this happened, I floated them in a heated tank - but I don't currently have the means to do that. So I put them as close to the heat vents as I could manage... and they seem to be doing a bit better.

If you're having heating troubles, too, here are a few ideas that might be useful:

-Get a larger tank or just a big container of some sort - a Tupperware container works fine - and put your smaller tanks in that. Then fill it up with water so that it's near the top of the smaller containers and stick a heater in (remember the thermometer!). It will warm up the larger container of water, which will warm up the smaller ones.

-A spacial heater, if you already have one lying around the house, might be the most cost-effective solution, just make sure you're around to keep an eye on the temperature.

-You can get heating pads that are meant to be used for reptiles, but work fine for fish if you keep an eye on them (or so I've heard). Just make sure you have a thermostat attached to it and it's set up properly so you don't cook your fish.

-There are also lights and mats used for heating germinating seeds that would work for heating tanks - but again, keep an eye on the temperature.