{"id":134474,"date":"2026-01-28T04:32:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134474\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T04:32:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:32:29","slug":"cold-snap-hitting-tampa-bay-area-putting-fish-farms-in-survival-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134474\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold snap hitting Tampa Bay area putting fish farms in survival mode"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fish Fish farmers prepare for cold snap<\/a> <\/p>\n

As we brace for the coldest temperatures of the year, it’s not just humans that are vulnerable to the drop in temperatures. It’s also causing concern for tropical fish breeders. FOX 13’s Blake DeVine reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RIVERVIEW, Fla. – The sudden drop in temperature throughout the Tampa Bay<\/a> area isn\u2019t just affecting people. Tropical fish<\/a> breeders across the region are racing to protect their stock as the winter weather arrives.<\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

At Consolidated Fish Farms in Riverview, the staff is working around the clock to move fish indoors. Second-generation owner Dan Conner said every available space is being used in order to keep fish warm.<\/p>\n

READ: Plant City farmers sacrificing this week\u2019s harvest to save strawberry season \u2014 here\u2019s why<\/a><\/p>\n

“We\u2019ll round them up, throw them in vats in every spare tank and crevice we have,” he said. “Everything is coming indoors, as much as possible.”<\/p>\n

Although keeping these tropical species alive is only part of the challenge for these fish farmers.<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s winter weather slowed shipments nationwide, creating delays that back up orders for days.<\/p>\n

MORE: Sunken Gardens prepares flamingos, plants for cold temperatures<\/a><\/p>\n

“We can\u2019t get orders out shipping fish when airports are shut down and there\u2019s too much snow,” Conner said. “It affects your ability to make profit.”<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Many fish farmers are using emergency measures to keep water temperatures stable. This includes covering outdoor ponds, pumping in warm well water and running heaters around the clock.<\/p>\n

Quenton Tuckett, a research scientist with the University of Florida\u2019s Tropical Aquaculture Lab, said insulation can make a critical difference throughout these cold snaps.<\/p>\n

“They cover them with greenhouse plastic and that will insulate those ponds,” he said. “You get the sunlight that\u2019s going to increase that temperature.”<\/p>\n

READ: AAA breaks down how to protect our cars and homes in this cold snap<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuckett also added that water temperature below about 65 degrees could be dangerous for these fish.<\/p>\n

“Dramatically affects the survival of these fish,” he said. “It affects the long-term mortality of these fish and the vitality of the industry.”<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

Back in 2022, prolonged winter weather during the days leading up to Christmas killed thousands of tropical fish at Consolidated Fish Farms. Conner says those losses forced his farm to rethink its entire operation.<\/p>\n

“The biggest thing we changed was the types of fish we produce,” he concluded. “Not choosing fish that are real sensitive to cold.”<\/p>\n

The Source: Information for this story came from an interview with the owner of Consolidated Fish Farms and an interview with a research scientist at the University of Florida\u2019s Tropical Aquaculture Lab.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough County<\/a>Wild Nature<\/a>Winter Weather<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fish farmers prepare for cold snap As we brace for the coldest temperatures of the year, it’s not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,115,554,135,137,136,628,221,14992,26929],"class_list":{"0":"post-134474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-fl","9":"tag-hillsborough","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-weather","17":"tag-wild-nature","18":"tag-winter-weather"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}