Nice Cold Water Fish Suggestions Req'd Not Gold Fish

[wombat1100]

Hi there everyone, I am setting up a forest tank with live geckos and fish in the bottom of it and have been told that the humidity created by a tropical set up will be too high for my geckos , so I'm after suggestions for cold water fish that have nice colouring perhaps that aren't gold fish.
the tank section will not be huge, approx 50 litres, any suggestions please?
Dazz

[sharkybubba]

hey dazz,

danios are generally pretty flexible and dont mind colder water, approx 18 degrees or so...however ive had danios in colder water (not on purpose!) and they were fine with it! they will school up and swim round together too if you get a few! looking forward to some pics!

[volenti]

Wouldn't the heating that the geckos require cause the water to rise to tropical temp anyway? (with resulting high humidity)

Regardless there's not a lot of options for really colourfull cold water fish, native Empire gudgeons get some good red/white/black colour on the males and are incredibly hardy, some of the smaller rainbows may be suitable also.

[bettamuse]

Whitecloud mountain minnows, both wild colour and gold are a nice small attractive fish. I have heard of people keeping clown killi fish in these kind of tank/cage setups as well.
As Volenti has said, I would expect the overall cage temp to bring the water temp up and produce a higher humidity. You may have to make sure there is adequate ventilation to compensate for it.

BM

[wombat1100]

Wouldn't the heating that the geckos require cause the water to rise to tropical temp anyway? (with resulting high humidity)

Regardless there's not a lot of options for really colourfull cold water fish, native Empire gudgeons get some good red/white/black colour on the males and are incredibly hardy, some of the smaller rainbows may be suitable also.[/b]


Thanks for the replies guys and gals, i had already thought of white clouds and danios but was hoping for a little more colour! as for the humidity, from what was explained to me in the reptile store, the southern geckos don't like hight heat and humidity , so thats y the heated water was a problem, the even said they would only require the heating in my home and no additional heating , so thats y i was thinking cold water.
had toyed with the idea of heated water and rainbows as a preferred set up and to put a small exhaust fan like a computer fan in the top of the hood to extract the excess heat and humidity, work in progress , will keep u informed of what I'm doing and some pics soon too!

[Aussie]

hey dazz,

danios are generally pretty flexible and dont mind colder water, approx 18 degrees or so...however ive had danios in colder water (not on purpose!) and they were fine with it! they will school up and swim round together too if you get a few! looking forward to some pics![/b]


Danios are a cold water fish, so don't stress if you put them in cold water again :)

[sevrum]

I have kept paradise fish in an outside pond. There are three types The normal wild type with red and blue stripes, the black with black and grey markings and the albino with red eyes and red and white stripes.Males should not be kept together as they will fight.
You could also try the rosy barbs as I have kept those in an outside pond. You can also get a long finned variety as well as the normal type. Males in breeding colours are spectacular.

[silkieboy]

Murray river rainbows (Melanotaenia fluviatilis) They are native, and their green/gold sheen looks awesome when reflected. i've got a few outside and they are great looking fish.

[Woodsy]

I agree with Sevrum, that paradaise fish would be a great way to go. Beautiful fish that don't get quite the exposure in the hobby that I, personally, think they should, and for a few good reasons. They are anabantoids, so small volumes of water are less of a problem; great behaviour to observe, especially in breeding condition; and they have the filimentous fins and magnificent colour that would have people raving about them if they were in any other family of fish! The only problem I think you'll find if you want to keep them, is that females of the species are no longer an acceptable import, and as such you might find it hard to get yourself a few unless your LFS is purchasing them from a private breeder. In any case, you can expect to pay anywhere from about $5-$9 per tail from what I have seen. Definitely check them out ;)

[junior_aquatist]

mate im doing a reptile course and keep gekos having room temperature for gekos is a load of shit you need heat mats plus your geckos will drown in the water really dumb idea man you need a heat mat for gekos but if u want to kill the fish and gekos be mi guest

[Marc]

Lose the attitude dude! You'll get along with everyone a lot better then! :)

[wombat1100]

Thanks Marc, I was just about to give him a serve!
any advice is always welcome , and if you are doing a course i would love to know more, but as Marc said, without the attitude!
Dazz

[Marc]

All good :)

[aquafarian]

I would also choose paradise fish (http://www.e-aquarium.com.au/paradise_fish.htm). They are interesting to watch breed and will thrive in your water temperature. You can get apricot, albino or black in addition to the usual blue type.