Unheated tank

[ercnan]

Wasn't that his point of posting this thread?
Guess it was, and that's the only feedback I have to offer.
So many questions can be answered by a little research.

 

[KaraJo]

Wasn't that his point of posting this thread?
Guess it was, and that's the only feedback I have to offer.
So many questions can be answered by a little research.

I do my research....but I don't know that I trust everything I read. I just wanted some opinions of actual fish keepers and if anyone keeps a tank that doesnt have a heater. The web is something that has all the info in the world, and a lot of it is pretty much useless. I realize based on where fish come from they can tolerate different temps. In the winter, I will be sure to make sure the tank doesnt not drop in temp due to the climate change. Adding a heater will be done when needed. I'm not just someone looking for an easy way out and wanted you to just straight up answer me with what exact fish I can keep in my tank...I just wanted a variety of opinions based on possibly personal experience or other peoples research. My 55 gallon is not my biggest worry with conditions and what not as other tanks I have have very sensitive fish which need certain temps and params, nor does it house my most prized fish obviously...but it is peaceful and just a nice little tank I got going to save some feeders from being gar food...and I just wanted to add a little mixture to it if possible.

 

[demjor19]

gotta love when people start jumping to conclusions. these threads are also just a way to have conversation and interact w/ one another...not bash them!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I have a lot of tanks if something outgrows the 55. The house is around 70-75 degrees. If I can find a weather loach, I would love to have one of them. I dont think I want to do a pleco, and I dont know what ones would even be alright in cool water.

What types of goldfish do you have?

 

[joespence]

My 75 gallon has been sitting at 78 for the last week or so with no heater in it i will definitly need one come winter but i rarely see my heater come on even in my small tank so i guess it depends where you have it obviously a basement will keep water much cooler then my 3rd floor apt and i'm in canada your a little further south

just curious why you dont want to run a heater???

 

[KaraJo]

It;s not that I dont want to run a heater, but why would I?? They are goldfish and dont need it. I dont even need to add any other fish, but i just anted to find out what else could go in with them. I have no problem hooking a heater up to it when needed, but for now it would be pointless.

My goldfish are just feeder goldfish and one fancy goldfish...only about an inch long right now.

 

[joespence]

do you have a thermometer in there? what temp does it ussually stay at??

you could do guppies thats what i have in mine right now they breed really quickly and are very inexpensive to buy lots then you widen your variety of feeder fish too my convicts love the guppies

have u thought about snails, lobster, crayfish, ghost shrimp??

the ghost shimp also breed quickly and are another good live feeder

 

[KaraJo]

I had 4 baby crayfish in there, but just took them out yesterday...the biggest one had molted again and I dont want any missing goldfish. I also had some little snails in there, but they dug under the gravel and hid all the time, so I put them in a different tank as well. I may get another snail that is a little bigger.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It;s not that I dont want to run a heater, but why would I?? They are goldfish and dont need it. I dont even need to add any other fish, but i just anted to find out what else could go in with them. I have no problem hooking a heater up to it when needed, but for now it would be pointless.

My goldfish are just feeder goldfish and one fancy goldfish...only about an inch long right now.

Feeder goldfish are usually either comet or common goldfish, the largest growing varieties of goldfish (both varieties will grow to over 15inches long easily given the space), you will need to more them into a much bigger tank or pond as they grow.
Fancy goldfish grow between anything from 5 to 12inches long max depending on the exact variety, but regardless of what type of fancy goldfish you have it shouldn't outgrow the 50gal tank like the feeder goldfish will.

I would advise keeping any eye on the non-fancy goldfish, keeping non-fancy and fancy goldfish is a bit risky, as non-fancy goldfish have been known to bully their less robust and quick fancy cousins.


With goldfish stocking, particularly with non-fancy goldfish, they will eat any fish which they can catch and swallow. You will probably need to over-filter the tank at some point, since goldfish are very high waste producing fish (they have the ability to poop out a third of their body weight in a day).
Heating isn't nesarsary for goldfish tanks as long as the tank temperature stays stable- a fluctation of 3-4 degrees in a day is enough to cause some fihs to have dropsy (a lethal condition). Having a heater will help prevent the tank temp falling too quickly at night time, and so will help reduce the stress levels of the fish significantly .