Cool water aquarium fish

[elinore]

When I was in middle school, my science teacher kept lots of different endlers in unheated tanks full of java fern. She would let us separate the colors and patterns we liked and breed them, so they were great classroom pets for 6-8th graders. They were super lively and certainly prolific breeders, so I don't think the lack of heat bothered them. I've never tried this myself, but it certainly seemed to work out ok for my old teacher.

 

[pbeemer]

I'm with Frigginchi -- look into native American fish.

there are a lot of very pretty, small natives that would work in a 10. look at rainbow and orangethroat darters for bottom action, and various minnows (redfin, golden topminnow, etc.) for the top of the tank

besides Zimmermans there is http://jonahsaquarium.com/JonahSite/fishlist.htm and probably a dozen other sources, including AQUABID

 

[Mr.Catfish]

Blue fin killies would do well in a 10 gallon tank. They stay small and the males are beautiful.You can almost always find them on aquabid under the native section.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Native species are a good thought but they do live in large bodies of water that cool and heat much slower than a 10g uninsulated.

It really depends on the fish. That are several species that practically live in puddles during certain times of the year and can deal with very large temperature swings.
You have to remember that various native fish get trapped in isolated waters periodically (when waters rise and then go down during drought, etc.), so many of them have to be pretty adaptable to survive.
Top minnows (a type of killifish) for instance are used to low oxygen bodies of water where temperatures and water parameters may change fairly quickly. Mosquitofish are pretty hard to kill, though they are aggressive and not compatible with a lot of other fish.
Rosy reds are a hardy fish, but my main problem with them in a 10g is that they are actually very active and that's not a ton of room. But they are actually pretty personable little fish. I had one for 3 years as a kid and she would hand feed and actually jump out of the water to take food from my hand. So they would probably be a fun choice for the kids to watch.

I recommend to purchase them as it is getting too cold already to get your feet wet, lol.

Hey, we went out in November, Dec, and Jan, one year to go netting. Had high rubber boots but we wandered out a little too far and ended up with water in them anyway.
I guess it depends on how bad you want to net something :.

On the plus side, if you net when the water is cold then the fish are moving a little slower and easier to net.

 

[acevudoo]

i see no problem w/betta.. i've kept them for years.. if you're comfy, they should be fine

 

[Racersk]

+1 on the rosy reds, they are able to go into cold water pond applications from my research.

one dojo loach to go with the rosy's and your stocked.

Betta's come from rice patties in south asia, there is a reason that they are kept in cups at the lfs...They do not REQUIRE heat to thrive.

Or a breeding colony of guppies, get about $2 worth from the feeder tank and let them breed away!

GL.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Betta's come from rice patties in south asia, there is a reason that they are kept in cups at the lfs...They do not REQUIRE heat to thrive.

First, they are not kept in cups because they don't need heat, they're kept in cups because they can breathe air, therefore don't need dissolved o2 that would be provided in a filtered tank.
Second of all, surviving in a cup at a store doesn't reflect their necessary long term housing since many fish will survive in inadequate conditions for a short amount of time.

You cannot compare the temperature needs of captive bettas, which have been bred in temperature controlled tanks for years and years to wild bettas.

Captive Betta splendens are generally bred in tropical environments and that's what they're used to. They have not been selectively bred to tolerate cold temperatures, and there has not been natural selection, like in the wild, weeding out the weaker ones that will not survive temperature drops.
Breeders that keep their bettas in unheated tanks still tend to keep them in rooms that are fairly warm, or they are bred outside in regions where temperatures do not fall all that far.

Even if wild bettas can tolerate lower than tropical temperatures, it does not mean that they can tolerate temperature drops that would be present in a 10g tank in an unheated class room in a northern region of the U.S.
The OP is in New Jersey and it gets frigidly cold there.

I don't see a betta handling below 60 degree temps for very long, if at all.

This is all a moot point in regards to the OP though, because they seem to know better than to keep a betta in the conditions they've described for this classroom.

 

[Jim Evans]

A nice little fish that would do nicely is the White Cloud Minnow. Very pretty, does well in cool water and is undemanding.

 

[ianab]

Another vote for the White Clouds.

A friend of mine used to keep them outside in an old aquarium. Night time temps would have been down to near freezing in winter, didn't bother them.

10gal tank, 6 minnows, plenty of Java Moss and they will probably breed in there.

Ian

 

[user_name]

get 5 white clouds and a pair of rhinogobuis wui. She has to be prepared to feed the gobies live food though. Good luck!