# Good coldwater/freshwater fish?



## karleee

Ok,fire away!|

Tell me ANY fish that lives in a coldwater/freshwater tank (nothing needing a heater)


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## Ghost Knife

Any type of goldfish; Black Moors and Calico Butterflies are my personal favorites. Some snails and plecos can tolerate coldwater. The best bottom feeder for a coldwater tank is a Golden Dojo Loach.


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## karleee

cool,i'm going to set up a NEW tank soon (it's already cycling) and was looking for a list...any more sudgestions?


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## Ghost Knife

karleee said:


> cool,i'm going to set up a NEW tank soon (it's already cycling) and was looking for a list...any more sudgestions?


There's not much else you can do for coldwater without ordering online and paying a fortune in shipping. What size tank are you setting up?


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## karleee

a 20g tank


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## Ghost Knife

karleee said:


> a 20g tank


A 20G is not nearly large enough unless you plan on keeping one goldfish by itself.


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## lmb

If you plan on keeping Goldfish in a 20 gallon tank, Fancy that is, then you will really only be able to fit one. The general rule to stocking with Fancy Goldfish (Not the pond types like Common, Comet, etc) is 20 gallons alone for the first Fancy Goldfish, and another 10 gallons per additional Fancy Goldfish. So that means you will only be able to add 1 Goldfish in the aquarium (One of the smaller Fancies though, like Fantails, Moors, etc).

Other coldwater fish, Hmm, the only others that I could think of is White Clould Mountain Minnows (10 gallons minimum, Schooling fish) and Dojo Loaches (55 gallon minimum, schooling fish). You could _possibly_ add a small school of 5 - 6 WCMM (White Cloud Mountain Minnow), but if you do then I would make sure to have really good filtration and keep up with the water changes (Weekly).

As far as keeping the temperature, make sure that it's around 65*F - 70*F for Fancy Goldfish and WCMM. Also make sure that the temperature of the tank does not flucuate too much as that could cause stress on the fish.


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## karleee

Ohh,woops,i thought you ment "what size do i have with my fish in it ATM" lol

Oh,I have a tank that mesures 50 cm high X 70 cm long,silly silly me


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## Ghost Knife

karleee said:


> Ohh,woops,i thought you ment "what size do i have with my fish in it ATM" lol
> 
> Oh,I have a tank that mesures 50 cm high X 70 cm long,silly silly me


So 19 inches by 27 inches. That sounds like somewhere around 40 gallons or so. You could keep two fancy goldfish and some Golden Dojo Loaches in a tank that size.


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## lmb

I agree with Ghost Knife, you could add a Fancy Goldfish or Two and a School of Dojo Loaches (Neat little critters).


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## karleee

I think i might get a school of golden dojo loaches 
We don't have them in my town,but in bunbury (a mediumish minor city-about 1h away from perth) they have quite a few pet stores,and some have quite a good selection of fish (one even has stingrays,seahorse's and starfish!)


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## bmlbytes

Many native American species do well in coldwater tanks. Anything that lives in a northern US river or lake. 

How cold does the southern part of Australia get? Anything that lives in coldwater in nature should be good in a coldwater aquarium. Many people will go fishing here and keep what they catch in an aquarium.


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## karleee

In summer,it is usually 35*c-40*c
In winter,it can get as cold as 5*c at night,but around 10-17*c in the day 

I have 3 redfin perch i caught from our dam,but they can't handle aquariums well...so I have them in our 1000L watertrough


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## Ponera

I have had great success with American Flag Fish (aka Florida Flag Fish). They actually prefer it at about 20C/70F or less and have some amazing breeding habits. They are cute. 

I have had success with several Cyprinids. Saying that, it is a long list and I don't really suggest outright that you put a random catfish in an unheated tank. My Black Shark (_Labeo sp._) has grown like crazy, eaten like a pig and found great success in a paddle tail newt tank of all places (PT newts are fish eating specialists). Unfortunately, they can get up to three feet. 

It's kind of limited as to what you can do with cooler water. Goldfish, which are a type of Cyprinid, are jerks...complete and total pigs too, they love being filthy and being mean. However, there are some loaches (cyprinids again) that can do well. I believe Dojo loaches are successful in this temperature, but I'd double check that if I were you. Loaches, in my experience, are tough, intelligent, fast and assertive. They are a lot of fun to watch- I had a Yo Yo Loach that used to lay sideways on a bubbler, a few days a week for several minutes at a time, thrashing around playfully...and then going about its business. 

Several frogs can do well, as can many, many species of aquatic newt. Crustaceans can do well too, I had a mexican dwarf crayfish THRIVE til the newts ripped him apart, as well as vampire shrimp, wood shrimp and long whisker ghost shrimp. 

Bettas can do OKAY, but word has it they prefer some sort of heat (I would ask someone for confirmation of this.) My betta has tried to take over the tank, but luckily the black shark isn't impressed by his displays and there is aggressive balance.

Anyways, I wrote out this long reply for you about unheated INDOOR water. If you want something for colder, I really think you are limited to goldfish and the aforementioned loaches. It really depends on the temps of the water- a large body of water, such as an outdoor pond, has a great deal of thermal inertia which stabilizes fluctuations rather handily.


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## mousey

danios and guppies can tolerate around 68. They also don't mind goldfish water . Some smaller fish may be afraid of the goldfish though.
I tried a betta with my goldfish and he was really scared. My room temp tanks are 72 degrees so that is fine for goldfish as well as danios, guppies, bettas and minnows.


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## Fishpunk

Bettas are NOT okay for cold water. Bettas easily get ill when kept under 76 degrees. They get sluggish and really just exist. They are exclusively tropical fish
Here is a list of coldwater fish. Not all will be appropriate for your tank size, and not all will be available down under.

Goldfish
Koi 
Bitterling
Japanese loach
Three-Spine stickleback
sunfish
shiners
minnows
gudgeons
rudds
flagfish


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## Ponera

My betta is super duper active in my unheated tank.


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## Ghost Knife

Ponera said:


> My betta is super duper active in my unheated tank.


Recommended temp range for Bettas is 75-86° F. My female Betta is in 78° water and she is perfectly healthy.


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## phlyergirl

Ponera said:


> Goldfish, which are a type of Cyprinid, are jerks...complete and total pigs too, they love being filthy and being mean.


:???:

I'm with you on piggy and filthy, but mean and jerky?? Ummmm...


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## Ponera

They are bullies. Just try putting other fish in with them, especially larger goldfish (such as pond ones)


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## phlyergirl

I have seven goldfish. None of them are mean or bullies. Weird.


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## karleee

Don't worry guys...my betta has his own tank with a heating pad and thermometer


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