In a new article at The Aquaponic Source, Joe Pate expands on the idea of water temperature in an aquaponics system, and describes how temperature affects water quality and its relation to fish and plant growth.
Temperature is a measure of how fast the molecules in a substance are moving; the faster they move, the higher the temperature. Fish and invertebrates are poikilothermic or “cold-blooded” animals. This means that they are unable to regulate their body temperatures like humans or other mammals. Instead, cold-blooded animals must rely on their external environment to regulate their body temperature.
Typically, fish are classified into 3 categories: cold-water, cool-water, and warm-water. Cold-water species prefer temperatures <60, cool-water 60-68, and warm-water >68. This is a general classification.