What are the best tropical fish to have in a small fish tank?

Question

I want to by a couple of small tropical fish but i have a small fish tank that will fit about 2 gold fish in how many tropical fish can i have and what perticular type?

Answer 1

The biggest problem with keeping tropical fish in a small tank is heating it.  It is hard to heat a small body of water and keep it at a stable temperature and most heaters are made for tanks of 3 gallons and higher.  Tropical fish need to kept in water that is 76-82 degrees F.  For smaller tanks or bowls, a heating pad placed underneath can keep the heat at the necessary temperature, but this is really just a temporary measure suitable for fry or hospital tanks and quarantining fish.  

You don't say how many gallons your fish tank is and as you may have noticed, different people have very different ideas of what will "fit" 2 gold fish.  That's a very bad way to tell us your tank size as goldfish are really pond fish and don't belong in small tanks at all.  The minimum size of tank you would want to keep small tropical fish in permanently would be about 5 gallons.  Even then you would only be able to keep about 2-3 fish at most.  You could keep that many male guppies or a single betta in a filtered, heated tank of that size.  Anything smaller is really only suited to a snail or a few shrimp.  A betta would be ok in a 3 gallon or larger, but really should have 5 gallons.

Answer 2

You can't have any tropical fish with Goldfish. Goldfish are coldwater fish, meaning they prefer coldwater. Tropical fish are...well tropical fish, meaning they prefer tropical water (warmer water). They can't co-exist together.

Plus you shouldn't have Goldfish in a small tank. They grow up to a foot long: http://cellar.org/2002/recordgoldfish.jp...

And 2 Fancy Goldfish require a minimum of 30 gallons. If you keep them in a small tank, then they'll get stunted, which means their body stops growing but their organs don't.

E-mail me for any questions!

Answer 3

rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water but that is not exact. i wonder how big the tank is and if you have lighting, heater, filter, test kits etc. as gold fish are real hardy fish and tropical fish are a bit more fragile. they have more requirements than gold fish. also need to know what your PH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates GH and KH are. Has this tank cycled?

     If you have all this info then we are all better able to assist with your question. I hope this helps you understand the technical side of Tropical fish a little better.

Answer 4

well, a 'small' tnak is no good for goldfish... well, unless you consider 40 to 100 gallons 'small'

on the other hand, i need to know the number of gallons the tank is. go to google and search 'online fishtank voulume calculator' now, get a measuring tape and tell us what size tnak you have! =]

if its 5g you can get a heater and gentle filter along with gravel, palnts and a cave and a add  a Betta  fish. if its atleast a 10g, it can hold a few tropical comunity fish. well, anythting under 5g is too small for even a Betta to thrive in, regardless of what others tell you.