Keeping fish with no electricity

[Otunga]

I'm wondering what types of fish there are that I could realistically keep with no heater/filter/lights/anything. Just water changes and water conditioner. The reason I ask is because I have a cabin and I think it would be cool to keep fish in it, but without any equipment other than the tank I am wondering if it is realistic to keep fish.

The other possible issue is that the room temperature is a steady 60-65 degrees. A little colder than most.

Possibilities? Bettas, Goldfish (too messy without a filter probably), Plecos. White Cloud or Rosy Red minnows. Anything else? Also, how realistic do you think it would be to keep these fish without a filter?

 

[joe jaskot]

I'm wondering what types of fish there are that I could realistically keep with no heater/filter/lights/anything.

Dead fish. LOL! You could keep fish with no filters if you had plants in your tanks. But without lights, you can't grow plants. Your cool temperatures don't give you much choice in tropical fish.

 

[Otunga]

Dead fish. LOL! You could keep fish with no filters if you had plants in your tanks. But without lights, you can't grow plants. Your cool temperatures don't give you much choice in tropical fish.

People keep Bettas without any of those things.

Yes I was wondering about the oxygen issue. With very frequent water changes I think it could be done, at least in terms of keeping the tank oxygenated.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; A couple of the early tanks I kept around 1959 or so did not have any sort of filtration. This was not uncommon. A tank set near a window has grown plants without other light. (I think this may be called the Walstad method. I did not know what it was called back then.)
Many tanks over the years have had only a bubbler and water changes.
Bettas are ok as far as getting enough O2 but likely will not do well at 60 degrees. Plecos and gold fish are nasty eaters and may require a fairly large tank. The white couds may be the best suited from your list. Perhaps zebra danioes?

The trick is low density stocking so that there is enough gas exchange at the surface. Cooler water will hold more oxygen than warm water so that is a plus. The bigger the tank the better I suppose.

All this being said, I did not stay with filterless tanks any longer than I had to. I soon managed to mow enough lawns and such to have lights, heaters and at least air driven filtration of some sort.

It can be done if you are willing to do the work. Are you going to be there each day to feed and take care of things without power to the cabin?

 

[Otunga]

It can be done if you are willing to do the work. Are you going to be there each day to feed and take care of things without power to the cabin?

Yes. If need be I could realistically do 3 water changes per week. That's why the oxygen issue seems solvable. And now that you mention it, I have grown anubias on window light alone (when my lights broke and it took several weeks to get new ones), so that may work.