megsiup
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi everyone,
New member, longtime amateur freshwater fishkeeper. I have a unique situation and am searching for some good advice
I have a "basement cat" named Precious who lives alone because she does not like our other cats. We spend time with her when we can, but she is bored and lonely a lot. In her previous life as our neighbor's cat (before he dumped her and moved to Tennessee), she absolutely loved watching his fish and spent hours lounging in front of the tank. In an effort to improve her quality of life, I'd like to set up a tank in the basement for her.
I have a 1.5 gallon office desktop-type tank. I originally purchased it to keep a betta that has since died. But I am stumped as to what kind of fish I could buy that would thrive in water temperatures in an unheated basement (not freezing, but probably into the low 50's or even high 40's). I have a small heater for the tank but I think it's only rated to increase the temp by 5-10 degrees tops. I also have a filter and bubbler and various plants and ornaments.
Also keep in mind it probably gets into the high 60's to low 70's down there in the summer. So we are looking at water temps that range 25 degrees or more throughout the year.
My first thought is that goldfish are fine in cold water, but that's an awfully small tank for a goldfish. A friend suggested White Clouds, and since they are tiny I could probably keep 4-5 in that size tank comfortably. Does anyone know if they or another fish can tolerate these kinds of conditions, or am I barking down a dead end?
I also have an old decrepit 10 gallon that I can set up, but would rather go with the 1.5 gallon since it is much nicer, and the 10-gallon has a busted lid and I can just see Precious having a fish snack
New member, longtime amateur freshwater fishkeeper. I have a unique situation and am searching for some good advice
I have a "basement cat" named Precious who lives alone because she does not like our other cats. We spend time with her when we can, but she is bored and lonely a lot. In her previous life as our neighbor's cat (before he dumped her and moved to Tennessee), she absolutely loved watching his fish and spent hours lounging in front of the tank. In an effort to improve her quality of life, I'd like to set up a tank in the basement for her.
I have a 1.5 gallon office desktop-type tank. I originally purchased it to keep a betta that has since died. But I am stumped as to what kind of fish I could buy that would thrive in water temperatures in an unheated basement (not freezing, but probably into the low 50's or even high 40's). I have a small heater for the tank but I think it's only rated to increase the temp by 5-10 degrees tops. I also have a filter and bubbler and various plants and ornaments.
Also keep in mind it probably gets into the high 60's to low 70's down there in the summer. So we are looking at water temps that range 25 degrees or more throughout the year.
My first thought is that goldfish are fine in cold water, but that's an awfully small tank for a goldfish. A friend suggested White Clouds, and since they are tiny I could probably keep 4-5 in that size tank comfortably. Does anyone know if they or another fish can tolerate these kinds of conditions, or am I barking down a dead end?
I also have an old decrepit 10 gallon that I can set up, but would rather go with the 1.5 gallon since it is much nicer, and the 10-gallon has a busted lid and I can just see Precious having a fish snack
