BenAquatics Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 Hi! I want to buy a few fish tanks this coming Black Friday to make a small fish area in my basement. What kind of fish can I keep that will tolerate water down to say, 50 degrees Fahrenheit? I live in New York. I'm willing to use a space heater on the occasional days where the weather is extremely cold, but I can't afford to heat my basement on a continuous basis, nor can I afford to insulate my entire basement. I might insulate one or two fish tanks with rigid foam board, but I would also prefer not to insulate all of my basement aquariums. Some cold-tolerant fish that I'm aware of: Fancy goldfish North American native fish -- shiners, darters, and sunfish look so cool 🙂 The fish mentioned in https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/coldwater-fish Uruguayan fish like gymnogeophagus and australoheros which I've read are far south enough in South America to experience cooler temperatures. Are there any other cold-tolerant fish species that I should be aware of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 White cloud minnow, ricefish, a handful of barb species, and most danio species. You can use a low watt heater in the tank. Heating to 68 F doesn’t take a lot of electricity. And if your basement is 50 ambient the tanks will probably sit around 58-62. Water is a thermal insulator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Craft Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 I favor white clouds. They are very, um, durable. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 There's a guy on YouTube that does basically exactly this. The channel is called Coldwater aquatics! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 (edited) On 11/2/2023 at 4:35 PM, BenAquatics said: Are there any other cold-tolerant fish species that I should be aware of? Not a fish, but axolotls need to be in cold water. They are usually sold small but get fairly large. I do agree with the previous post that a heater inside the tank should be used also. Cold is ok for some fish, but fluctuating temperatures can be a problem. Try to keep it consistent. Edited November 3, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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