Which Fish At Room Temperature?

[Deleted member 107737]

Hi All.

So ive given up with tropical fishkeeping because im away from home at times and my family are willing to do water changes but not mess about plugging in heaters to matching water temps say 25 C etc.

So ive decided to go for room temp fish. My tank thermometer displays 19.5 - 20 degrees C 99% of the time. I do not want a heated tank.

Which fish will suit my tank?? goldfish/ rosy barb ???

P.S. I have 150 litre tank with sand substrate, canister filter, some bogwood, java moss but no plants as want to keep maintenance down for when im not at home.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[the_lock_man]

150l is too small for goldfish, and too small for something like zebra danios or white cloud mountain minnows.
 
Some say platies can thrive at that kind of temperature, but I wouldn't want to confirm or deny that, to be honest.

 

[Deleted member 107737]

i was thinking 2 fancy goldfish
 
do you have any suggestions what i can put in??


150 litre / 40 gallon too small for white cloud minnows??

 

[fluttermoth]

I think TLM must have misunderstood somewhere along the line!
 
Most of the danios (zebras, leopards, pearls) would be fine, as would WCMM (as long as your tank is three foot or longer), but your goldies might eat them as they get bigger, or you might find the faster fish upset the goldies and steal food from them.
 
There is  subspecies of platy; the variatus (Xiphophorus variayus) which does well in unheated tanks; they're usually not that hard to get hold of these days; much as I hate to promote any particular shop, P@H usually have them.
 
Personally, I think fancies do best in a species only set up.

 

[Deleted member 107737]

thanks fluttermoth,
 
such a big decision with which to go for.
 
my tank is 74cm long so should be ok to house any of these.
 
one thing i should of mnetioned earlier is:
 
1) i have sand substrate
2) 3 pieces of bogwood with moss attached - no other plants
 
would goldfish and danios appreciate not having plants?? its just I dont want to mess about with lots of dead plant matter as I did in my last tank

 

[fluttermoth]

Both would appreciate plants, yes, but goldfish will eat a lot. Java fern and anubias (apparently!) taste bitter, so you could try those.

 

[DerpPH]

Id beg to differ. White clouds can do well in a 40 gallon so a group of 10-12 would be enough for that tank. Just add a powerhead since they love fast flowing water.

You can also try some bitterlings maybe?

 

[MBOU]

Rosy Barbs
Odessa Barbs
Variatus Platies
WCMM
Golden WCMM
Zebra Danios
Golden Zebra Danios
Leopard Danios
Dwarf Danios
Firering Danios
Pearl Danios
Yellow Hikari Danios (few of as they get a bit bigger)
Gold Barbs
Peppered Cory Catfish
Amano Shrimps
 
There are lots of species available
 
If it were me, I would have (depending on how good filter is and whether they get weekly water changes)...
 
3-4 Peppered Corydoras (I know everyone says have 6 or have none but honestly I have never seen negative behavioural problems from having 3+)
3-4 Amano Shrimp (help keep tank clean!)
8-10 Golden White Cloud Mountain Minnows
3 Odessa Barbs (1 male, 2 female).
 
Would also make sure of basic plants like Anubias and Java Fern if possible or at least plenty of plastic/silk plants as no matter what the fish is, they all appreciate having lots of cover to feel safe in the tank.
 
I personally would avoid danios in such a short tank, I think they belong in tanks 4ft (120cm) and upwards. That said, I had a shoal of 25 Glowlight Danios in 125L (with big tetratec external on it and tank got 50% weekly changes along with rest of tanks anyway) and they looked incredible, especially against the black background. Ooops, this is of course not counting the dwarf danio! This is a lovely species if you can find them!