Cold water tank ideas

[Stan]

Hi

I'm thinking of setting up a cold water tank but I dont like goldfish and am looking for something interesting and unusual. I already have two young red shiners but thats all. Which loaches are cold water room temperature 15-20C species?
I know about weather loach already and im not really into them but I like the hillstream loaches but think they might be a bit difficult to keep?
What others are there?

[starsplitter7]

We need to know more about your tank. How big is it? How long has it been established? How much flow is there? Decore?

PS. If you don't really care for Dojos, you don't know any Dojos. Like having water puppies.

[Stan]

I don't even have a cold water tank set up at the moment. I put the red shiners into a really useful box for the time being. I have a 3'x18"x18" that I was thinking of having for cold water so starting from scratch. I may give the red shiners to my brother to put in with his goldfish but I'd prefer to keep them as I know more about keeping fish than him so can look after them better.

[Diana]

There are a lot of tropical fish that actually come from temperate or subtropical water.
Look into most Barbs, as a group there seem to be quite a lot that are fine in room temperature water.
Rosy, Red Line and Gold Barbs come to mind, but there are others. Most Barbs are schooling fish. Get enough to make a reasonable school. I would not suggest Red Line Barbs for a tank only 3' long. They get pretty big.

Some Catfish thrive in cooler water. There are several Corydoras, for example, and some of the Loricariads. Again, research. Planet Catfish is a good site for this fish group.

White Cloud Minnows are great in a cool water tank. They are pretty small, so do not keep them in a tank with larger fish that might eat them.

Many Danios prefer water a bit cooler than most tropical fish, though it does vary with the species. Zebra Danios are one of the cooler water ones. Room temperature is just fine for them.

[Dojosmama]

White Cloud Minnows, Zebra Danios, Glo-fish Danios, Rosy Barbs (if your tank is large enough) are species which thrive in colder water (68F to 70F). White Clouds can thrive in temps down to 55F, the Rosy Barbs down to 65F.

Once you've had dojos, you'll wonder why you never had them before. They are really cute little loaches -- active, energetic, friendly. They prefer to be in groups of at least three, preferably more.

I would do some research on Weather Loaches and find out as much as you can about them. They're easy to keep, and lots of fun to watch.

-- dojosmama