Recommend some cold water fish for a desk setup

[jonnythan]

Jonnythan, don't sprain your brain on the issue! THIS IS VERY SIMPLE. I have a limited amount of outlets, and they already have power strips on them. I can't add any more. Period. This is a work environment, and I can't just unplug work-related items in order to have an aquarium. Most everything that is plugged in is computer-related, so I can't just plug and unplug stuff without having to reinstall it later.

So... as I have said several times... there is one plug available. I'm not sure what it has to do with making a recommendation for cold-water fish, but hopefully it ends your preoccupation with how many outlets I have left in my office.

Plug a second power strip or extension cord into the single plug you have now.

What is preventing you from doing this? My only preoccupation is running a happy aquarium. Life would certainly be easier if you didn't have to choose between a light or a filter.

 

[GentryRacing]

What is preventing you from doing this? My only preoccupation is running a happy aquarium. Life would certainly be easier if you didn't have to choose between a light or a filter.

The outlet that is available is on the power strip. You don't add extension cords or power strips into another power strip.

 

[jonnythan]

Eh? Why not?

 

[GentryRacing]

Eh? Why not?

1. It can cause a fire.
2. It will likely blow the fuse/ trip the surge protector on the strip.

Jonnythan, you have sufficiently hijacked this thread. Could someone PLEASE get it back on track with some suggestions about good fish for a cold water tank?

 

[jonnythan]

1. It can cause a fire.
2. It will likely blow the fuse/ trip the surge protector on the strip.

Jonnythan, you have sufficiently hijacked this thread. Could someone PLEASE get it back on track with some suggestions about good fish for a cold water tank?

It can cause a fire if you exceed the rated capacity of the power strip or extension cord. A heater + filter + light would be under 50 watts total, which will be a small fraction of the rated capacity of the cord or power strip. I suggest you consider it.

I just want you to have a happy, healthy aquarium. You and your fish be much better off in the long run if you just use an extension cord and actually have a filter, light, and heater. This would also mean you wouldn't have to limit your fish selection to one or maybe two species.

 

[Drewbie]

Go with the light as it will give off some heat to help with no heater.

Your gonna have to do water changes but I don't think 2/3 a week if the bioload is not to heavy 1-2 fish..

Plants can help with the bioload as well.

If you have a friendly neighborhood with a extra plug you can get the filters that run off pumps and just run a longer air hose that what i do.

I believe I read that killifish do well in cold.

And even though its not best Betta can survive in cold they just do as well as they can and are more likely to get sick and die.

 

[verucaproduce]

If you have an extra usb plug on your computer you could buy a notebook/laptop light and rig it up over the tank. It wouldn't give you tons of light, but more than nothing. Maybe something like this.

I also second the endler's livebearers. They are tiny and if you got males only you could have a few in the 5 gallon. The white clouds look neat too.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

1. It can cause a fire.
2. It will likely blow the fuse/ trip the surge protector on the strip.

Jonnythan, you have sufficiently hijacked this thread. Could someone PLEASE get it back on track with some suggestions about good fish for a cold water tank?

Jonnythan is correct, especially if you leave off the heater. There is nothing wrong with plugging an extention cord or power strip into another power strip IF the 2nd power strip isn't using much power. As other's have attempted to point out that even without a heater, an Eclipse tank still has two power cord, one for the light and one for the filter. So even if you do an Eclipse tank with cold water fish, you will still need an extension coard or additional power strip to plug into the one outlet on your power strip.

If you limit yourself to an Eclipse tank without adding extras (such as heater or air stone pump), the light is going to be a 15 watt (Max) light bulb and the filter is going to use about 4 watts or less. So as long as you limit plugging only the two power cords from the Eclipse tank into the extenstion cord, you will NOT be creating any sort of fire hazard running 20 watts through an extension cord plugged into a power strip. And if you specifically get a 5 gallon corner tank, you could "hide" the pair of cords and the pluging part of the extension cord in the small pocket behind the tank. That way, anyone looking at your power cords would only see one cord leading way from your tank going to the power strip (unless they look behind the tank).

Otherwise, on the subject of cold water fish, what about guppies. From what I've read, they are supposed to be good from 64 to 82 degrees.

 

[GentryRacing]

Wow... Why is it that I came here looking for advice on fish, and half of you want to try to give me lessons on electricity? You are wasting your time and mine. I come from a family of firefighters and electricians, so I'm not going to listen to you incessant badgering to do something stupid. Burn your own place down if you want, but I'm going to be safe. A fish tank isn't worth risking either a fire or problems with surges/ fuses/ etc. I've repeated multiple times that I'm not willing to go that route, but it seems that half of you are too thick-headed to understand that. It really makes me doubt the credibility of information on this board when those offering advice can't listen in the first place.

Thanks to the handful who took a moment to listen and make suggestions on fish! Your help was appreciated!

 

[happygirl65]

Hi there GentryRacing,
I can fully understand your dilemma here and let me tell you what I would do if it were me within your given constraints...

I would get a 5 gal tank and a cover of some sort, (you dont want any jumpers making it out) a 5-15 w bulb over the top and some natural colored gravel on the bottom...make the gravel deeper in the back (sort of sloped) and plant a crypt. I would get a piece of driftwood and tie an annibias nana to it (for variety of leaf shape) then I would stock with a couple of shrimp and one dwarf gourami.

The plants will help act as a filter, even a weak bulb will keep these plants alive and no need to use fertilizers, just maybe a root tab under the crypt every few months or so.

You could also sub the dwarf gourami for a betta. It is my personal opinion that while every fish has "ideal" conditions regarding temps and pH if you keep it stable they will thrive even if conditions are a little off.

As stated this is a 24 hr workplace so it is doubtful that the temp would go below 70ish anyway and will be quite a bit warmer when the light is on.

I would caution you to limit the light to 7-8 hrs max depending on the wattage of the bulb. That will help you limit algae.

as the main fish though I would say a betta, or a dwarf gourami.
Have fun and hopefully you can post a pic when you get it done. I think it sounds like a fun and challenging little tank.

 

[betta4me]

You mentioned the eclipse systems. I had a small eclipse 3 sitting on my kitchen counter with 3 male guppies in it for the longest time. The light and closed top kept the water plenty warm and the temp in my house never dropped below 72, so it worked out good. HTH.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Based on what betta4me is talking about, as well as my own experience with a 10 gallon tank at home, you might not have to limit yourself to cold water fish.

I started a recent discussion here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/unexpected-heat-source-109545.html where I pointed out that I apparently have something heating my fish tank. I was letting water for PWC sit to warm to room temperature, but when I would go to use it, I noticed that the water in the fish tank was always warmer. Now my 10 gallon tank at home has both an in-the-tank filter and an air stone. But as a group, we ruled out the extra heat coming from either the filter or the air pump, and that it must be coming from the light source.

Basically, if you have a tank dedicated light, it can raise the temperature of the water by as much as 5 degrees (depending upon how long it's left on every day.

However, you're left with the issue of the filter. As someone has already pointed out, if you use the filter system that comes with an Eclipse system, it has to run 24/7, otherwise the biowheel will dry out and kill the needed "good" bacteria. If you keep the bioload VERY LOW, you can follow happygirl65's advice, which is to basically get lots of surface area inside the tank to allow "good" bacteria to grow on surfaces rather than in a filter. What you want is stuff with LOTS of nooks and cranies to have LOTS of surface area (i.e. you do NOT want smooth decorations). Plants are also good because they will have lots of surface area relative to their volume.

From there, you just need SMALL fish so that you won't have a large bio-load on the "surface filter". So perhaps tetra's would work real well for you. In the case of Cardinal Tetra's, they might need temperatures from 73 to 81... perhaps a bit iffy if your office stays below 70. But there are others like the Neon tetras that range from 68 to 74 degrees. (Note, temp ranges base on what I could find at www.liveaquaria.com).

So if you want a tank limited to a single plug, then I would suggest you use that plug for a light, get lots of stuff inside the tank, and then limit yourself to about 3 or 4 tetra's.

Otherwise, if you try to go with any fish larger than tetras, I think you would have to limit yourself to either a single fish or dedicate your single power source to the filter, and you would loose the light, discount the possibility of live plants.

 

[Zagz]

Google white cloud minnows and see if you like them. A planted tank will be a good filter alternative with water changes I do agree with that.

A warning to all in the thread, no more discussion on plug in's etc. The op has stated with no confusion what the options are available. Any further comments on that portion of discussion will be deleted.

 

[GentryRacing]

Wow- suddenly a windfall of great info! Thanks, everyone! This is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm going to have to hit some fish stores on my next days off work, and look for some of the items you have mentioned.

Thanks, folks!

 

[dimmy32]

I have had a cold water office tank for about 3 months. My office is fairly warm though. I just put in a tiny basic filter, and have been successfully keeping neons, and a khuli loach. Theyre doing great. My office temp is around 75 degrees. I do have to change the water weekely though, about 30 % of it, since the powerhead doesnt really filter out anything.

Its a nice distraction.

 

[gazelle]

I have had a 37 gal in my office for about 5 years. In it I have Angel fish, neons, and danios and I do not use a heater. I bought one for the tank but found that the office typically stays between 73-75 in the winter. In the summer the temp increase and my angels lay eggs.
I do not use any lights either and successfully grow java moss, java fern,a and some typ of plant that looks like tall wide bladed grass. I do have a filter though. That said I think you could have a decent setup if you used your one outlet (have you thought about a power strip?) for a filter.

Not sure if mine is the best setup but I can not argue with the success over the past five years. I have started to lose some of the neons but I think that is simply a function of age. My biggest worry is having to set up a hospital tank to resuply the neons and danios once they reach their age expectancy.

 

[verucaproduce]

(have you thought about a power strip?)

Ooooh, please read the whole thread. OP is against using a power strip, which is why they are asking for alternatives. We should respect their wishes and only offer solutions.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

The fancy double tails are dwarf goldfish! They only grow to 8" (instead of 24"), and can be kept in a 40 gal tank instead of a 200 gal pond ....

yeah I know but 8" is still pretty big...

a dwarf goldfish that says about 2 or 3 inches would be really cool.