Small unheated tank fish ideas

[Harry Muscle]

I finally convinced my niece to give up the gold fish she had in a tiny 5G (or maybe even smaller) tank. So now I have to figure out what to replace it with.

The tank is quite small, at best 5G, I'm thinking more like 3G. All she has is a little light and a decent size internal filter. No heater unfortunately which limits the choices. I'm more into high tech tanks (I have a very complicated low tech planted tank ) so I'm sort of drawing a blank as to what would be suited for such a tank. If anyone has any ideas feel free to share them with me.

Thanks,
Harry

P.S. I should add, the fish have to be quite hardy ... for obvious reason (young niece ...).

P.P.S. The first thing that comes to mind is a Betta fish, but I'm not sure if they should be kept with no heater ... if anyone can confirm what should (not could) be done that would be great.

[jasa73]

As i recall white clouds are quite hardy and can live in unheated tanks though im not sure how many you can keep in a 3G.

[Asgard]

As mentioned before, White Clouds are hardy sub-tropical fish, you'll need a least 6-8 of them as they are schooling fish.
But in a 3G tank? I'd go for shrimp.
I keep RCS in an unheated, unfiltered 1G bowl and an unheated unfiltered 15G tank out in the garden. Some moss, some Eleodora or Myriophyllum noting else is needed, btw my kids love the shrimp they think they're cute.

[lauraleellbp]

Depending on how much your temp fluctuates (in well insulated homes sometimes heating isn't necessary), a betta would be fine.

You could check out the list of nano fish posted at the top of the Nano forum, but I agree that shrimp would probably be the best choice.

[NeonShrimp]

I have several nano tanks that range from 1 to 6 gallons and I have heaters in each one of them. Most of them have either a 7 inch 25 or 50 W Hydor theo heater (from Petsmart) in them. I also use a Visi-Therm Deluxe 50 W that is 7.5 inches long. I am also using a Whisper mini heater (from Walmart) that's only 5 inches tall but it is preset to 78 F.

Here is a link to the Visi-Therm Deluxe page:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2754054

I hope all goes well with your nano

[rasetsu]

I have the same 25W Hydor in a 2.5 gallon. I have it unplugged as the water pretty much stays at ambient room temp. I'll probably use it in the winter.

[froghair]

You could try golden topminnows. I had them in an unheated tank and they did great. Just google them and you'll see how colorful they are.

[jphan]

u should try 2 male guppies. i have 2 male guppies in my 2.5 mini bow that is planted and with out a heater and they are thriving in there

[nonamesleft47]

6 white clouds would work. I've kept them outside up until November here in Kentucky. I've got a school in an indoor pond where the temp averages 70 degrees. They are actually increasing in number.

A paradise fish would be a better choice than a betta. Bettas are tropical and do best at a temp of 78-80 degrees. I had a paradise in a 2 gallon bowl on my desk for 3 years. He's now living strong on someone else's desk since I moved up to a bigger tank. I have also had them outside from May 1 until November 15th or so. Actually I have 2 pair outside now, water temp is 55-60 degrees.

Right now my desk tank has minami shrimp, they are doing fine at 72-74 degrees. I don't know about shrimp for a child though, there isn't alot of action going on in my desk tank. Most people walk by and ask me when I'm getting fish.

[bluelobster]

Gold Fish

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by bluelobster

Gold Fish

Sorry but goldfish is far too small for a 5g, let alone a 3g. Fancy goldfish need a 20g bare minimum whereas shubunkins and comets need 40g and over.

[zoggin eck]

Some ideas include the already mentioned White clouds (three different strains to choose from), medakas, paradise fish (though I keep mine in a larger tank, variatus play (xiphophorous variatus, not x.maculatus) and so on. If the room is fairly warm all year round (unlike mine which is about 10 Celsius at the moment ) then maybe something like glowlight danio (danio choprai).

[Homer_Simpson]

A few Endler's Live Bearers would work too. 3 of them in a 3 -5 gallon would not create huge bioload issues as they are so tiny. IMHO, they are as attractive as neon tetras but more hardy.

[@marko@]

white clouds and gold clouds are your best bet IMO. but avoid temp flux, that will kill any fish.

[James From Cali]

I would stick to either a paradise fish or Danios/WC. But the only problem I see ia going to be space for any schooler fish. So a Paradise fish would be best. I personally keep them in a 10g unheated tank.