No filter or too small filter?

[fishiemama18]

i have a 40 gallon running with 4 tiger barbs and 5 Cory’s. Will they be fine without a filter for a week or two or would it be better to but a filter that I have on had for a 10 gallon?

 

[Colin_T]

All fish need a filter to help keep the water clean and most fish will die within a week or so if you start feeding them and don't have an established filter to keep the water clean.

You can keep fish without a filter if you only feed them 2 times a week and do a 75% water change 4-8 hours after feeding them.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Aerate the water to circulate it and keep oxygen levels high.

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If you have an established filter on another tank, you can put it on the big tank for a day and then move it back to the first tank for a day. Basically you run the filter on each tank for a day and keep feeding down and do regular water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0.

 

[fishiemama18]

All fish need a filter to help keep the water clean and most fish will die within a week or so if you start feeding them and don't have an established filter to keep the water clean.

You can keep fish without a filter if you only feed them 2 times a week and do a 75% water change 4-8 hours after feeding them.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Aerate the water to circulate it and keep oxygen levels high.

-------------------------
If you have an established filter on another tank, you can put it on the big tank for a day and then move it back to the first tank for a day. Basically you run the filter on each tank for a day and keep feeding down and do regular water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0.

Can I run a filter for a 10 gallon on it? And be okay for a week or two?

 

[Colin_T]

yep

 

[fishiemama18]

yep

You said most fish will die within a week without a filter. How is that true? Bettas and goldfish do it. Not the best conditions but they don’t just die in a week

 

[Colin_T]

If you feed fish in an aquarium without an established filter, you get ammonia building up in the water. The more food you put in, the faster the ammonia levels build up and the higher the levels get to. The ammonia does severe damage to the fish's gills and internal organs. If the pH of the water is above 7.0, the ammonia is even more toxic and does more damage than if the pH is below 7.0.

Goldfish and Bettas regularly die in unfiltered tanks or bowls.

People sometimes get lucky and manage to get tough fish that survive in unfiltered bowls, but most fish die within 1-2 weeks of being in an unfiltered tank or bowl unless you do lots of big water changes and keep feeding down to a minimum (1-2 times per week).

If you have lots of plants growing in the tank or bowl, the plants use the ammonia and help keep the water cleaner.