# Fish that don't need heaters?



## Curegirl80 (May 1, 2009)

I plan to move Chops from his little tank into a bigger better one with a heater. Poor dude has no heater right now, and I am going out today to get him a cool home.

Are there any little fish who don't need a heater that I can transfer into his home?


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## froglady (Apr 12, 2009)

I think its great your getting a heater and new place for your fish today. Im not sure what fish can be housed without a heater. its not a good idea for fish to get chilled. sounds like you have a good plan in place.


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## Curegirl80 (May 1, 2009)

Thanks.  I wonder if they have a heater for a space that small. If so, I will buy one and keep little fish in there, but Chops is going to get an upgrade! YAY!


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## onekatietwo (Apr 12, 2009)

How big is the smaller tank? There are some fish that like cold water - gold fish, for example. But most of them need large tanks because they're either very big (like gold fish) or they're schooling fish so they don't like to be in small groups that you could fit in a smaller tank.


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## whitedevil (Apr 24, 2009)

Pretty much the only fish that DONT need a heater are bettas and goldfish.

Throw together a community tank. there are tons of fish that are great with bettas.


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## JingleAllTheWay (Mar 21, 2009)

Actually, whitedevil, bettas do need heaters because they are tropical fish; the water should stay at roughly 78-80 degrees. I believe goldfish are supposed to have colder tanks, though I'm not totally sure on that.


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## Campbell (Apr 12, 2009)

whitedevil: Bettas _DO_ need a heater. Period.

I have kept some 'feeder' fish with out a heater when I was younger, but I'm not sure is it was the smartest thing to do. I think they were called rosies?... something like that. You might also look into fish that can be kept in backyard ponds, smaller ones of course.


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## LaniBaby (Apr 14, 2009)

goldfish prefer mid 60s, but generally not above 70. they're also very tolerant of cold temps. my dad has a koi pond with some goldfish in it and they all survive just fine every winter in chicago. as long as the water doesn't freeze solid, they'll live thru some pretty harsh winters. so yeah.. i don't think goldfish need a heater but i think they do prefer larger tanks. unless you have some really tiny ones. i think goldfish generally grow to their tank size, although i've heard of some getting quite large. they're also a really long commitment, sometimes upwards of 10 years or even decades if well cared for!


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## vampyrii (May 3, 2009)

gold fish cant be housed with betta's ,firstly they are cold water fish,secondly they could start nipping at the betta,thirdly they need at least a 10 gallon tank each and fourthly and most importantly they are dirty fishes,really dirty fishes ,ammonia rises extremely quickly when they are kept in anything below 10 gallons.the tank actually smells after about 4 or 5 days of having a goldfish.
so if you dont like your betta house him a goldfish.


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## whitedevil (Apr 24, 2009)

Have anyone of you that keep them in a bowl ever take the water temp? room temperate is what it will read. I dont live in an igloo and my house rarely gets below 70 degrees. When waters get cold fish slow down, they dont die although they will act like they are dead however its involuntary if they were in warm water they would swim away fast anways, they go into a "sleep" its not hibernation their metabolisms slow down.

Fish are ALL the same, some just cant handle colder temps while others can.

If you acclimate them to it correctly they be just fine.


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## whitedevil (Apr 24, 2009)

vampyrii said:


> gold fish cant be housed with betta's ,firstly they are cold water fish,secondly they could start nipping at the betta,thirdly they need at least a 10 gallon tank each and fourthly and most importantly they are dirty fishes,really dirty fishes ,ammonia rises extremely quickly when they are kept in anything below 10 gallons.the tank actually smells after about 4 or 5 days of having a goldfish.
> so if you dont like your betta house him a goldfish.




Uh yes they can. bettas come in two sizes, male and female, goldfish come in MANY and if you take care of the tank knowing that a goldfish produces 1.5x the bioload sometimes 2x the bioload per fish then tropical fish they will be fine. 

I respect your personal opinion on them but not the mis-information.

In my opinions no fish should be housed in anything less then 10 gallons, but thats my opinion.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Fish are not all the same. They have different food and water requirements. Bettas are tropical fish and goldfish need cooler water.


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## whitedevil (Apr 24, 2009)

Physically they are all the same, they all slow down their metabolisms and go into a state of lathargy known as "sleep" ALL fish do this even turtles and frogs and the like. Its nature.

I never said they were the same with food or water I said physically.

A betta can withstand temps down to 62 degrees with no ill effects on the fish at all.


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## onekatietwo (Apr 12, 2009)

I personally would NOT go with goldfish if the tank is below 20 gallons, which it is, seemingly from what you said.

I believe white cloud minnows also like colder water (no heater needed) but they're schooling fish and you don't want to keep fewer than five or six, which is too many for anything below 5 gallons. I've never kept these fish, either, so I really dont' know much about them. 

Your only real option might be to get a small heater and another Betta (depending on the size of the tank.)


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

If you get another betta, you'll need to divide the tank.


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