Crazy Question

OscarWilde · Jun 9, 2008

I have a spare 10G tank which I was planning to use as a Marine Nano but no longer need for that. I have no where to put it excpet for one place, the bathroom!

Obvious problem with this is that there is no power in the bathroom so my question is.

Is there any aquatic life that could go in an unfiltered, coldwater tank and have a good life?

Obviously I'll be able to do water changes as often as needed but I guess fish are out of the picture.

Anyway, maybe a stupid question but thought I would ask.

Wilde.

kniesh · Jun 9, 2008

I wouldnt really recommend an unfiltered tank, but if u are gonna do it the hardiest fish u will find for it are Minnows. U would have to keep on top of water changes tho.

backtotropical · Jun 9, 2008

I would think that shrimp or small snails would be the only sensible option.

People do keep things like Bettas in unfiltered tanks, but it is dangerous practice IMO.

I don't agree that Minnows are suitable. They will soon produce enough waste to endanger their own lives in an unfiltered tank.

Cheers

BTT

kniesh · Jun 9, 2008

As a child I had them in a goldfish bowl for over 2 years with no problems. Now bear in mind I was a child, but i never done weekly changes and they were fine. IMO they are a more sensible option than the shrimp, and they are the hardiest fish u will find in a shop.

OscarWilde · Jun 9, 2008

kniesh said:
As a child I had them in a goldfish bowl for over 2 years with no problems. Now bear in mind I was a child, but i never done weekly changes and they were fine. IMO they are a more sensible option than the shrimp, and they are the hardiest fish u will find in a shop.

Yeah, so did I. Obviously I know alot more than I did then and undertsand that your common goldfish can get very big I'm not sure I would do that now. Unless there is some kind of 'dwarf' hard as nails variety?

kniesh · Jun 9, 2008

I meant I kept the Minnows in the goldfish bowl. They are by far the hardiest fish. If u keep on top of the changes and dont keep too many with maybe some filter wool or something u will be fine with them.

backtotropical · Jun 9, 2008

kniesh said:
As a child I had them in a goldfish bowl for over 2 years with no problems. Now bear in mind I was a child, but i never done weekly changes and they were fine. IMO they are a more sensible option than the shrimp, and they are the hardiest fish u will find in a shop.

The fact that your minnows didn't die certainly doesn't mean that there wasn't any problems, maybe just that there wasn't any problems that you noticed?

Minnows will produce enough ammonia to endanger themselves, and yes they are hardy, but that isn't an excuse to subject them to ammonia poisoning. They are absolutely unsuitable for an unfiltered tank unless you are willing to carry out 2 - 3 water changes per day, and even then i wouldn't recommend it. There is no safe level of ammonia for any fish, regardless of how 'hardy' it is.

I'd be interested why you suggest that minnows are more suitable than shrimp, as it sounds totally irrational to me.

Shrimp on the other hand will produce very little ammonia, and so are much more suitable as they will not pollute themselves to death. Just keep a couple of live plants in with the shrimp and everything should be fine.

kniesh · Jun 9, 2008

What plants are gonna survive without lights? Very few. This is now gettin a bit daft. Shrimp need filtration just as much as fish, although granted they wont produce as much waste. With 2 water changes weekly and some filter wool the minnows would be fine and would not be poisoned by ammonia.

backtotropical · Jun 9, 2008

Plants may not survive a long time without lights, but i don't think that is the issue.

The issue is that because shrimp don't produce as much waste, they are in less need of a filter. With a couple of live plants, i could argue that they won't need a filter at all. I don't doubt that any fish can be kept in an unfiltered tank, but as i said above, it is a risky practice, requiring a lot of maintenance work, probably more than most people can or would like to undertake.

Many people keep goldfish in unfiltered bowls for years with apparently no problems, only to find when they actually research it, that the chances are the poor thing will be stunted due to an insufficient tank, and subject to almost constant ammonia and nitrite poisoning. Just because it doesn't die doesn't make it ok.

I believe that you are misleading someone into keeping fish in an unsuitable environment, and i am challenging that. I don't consider that to be daft.

I'm not here for an argument, but i hope the OP looks at both sides of this discussion with careful consideration, and makes an informed choice.

kniesh · Jun 9, 2008

I meant the discussion was daft, not ur opinion. U have given urs an I have given mine. I agree, shrimp would be a good addition, although there aren't many cold water species which this sounds like it would be.