Fish that are lower maintenance than goldfish

I tried asking this on the rec.aquaria.freshwater newsgroup, but
nobody answered. I figured I'd ask it here too, because most of you
know more than just goldfish.

Anyway, I want to put a small (less than 10G) tank on my desk at
work. I need a breed of fish that

1) doesn't need a lot of water
2) doesn't need as much care as a goldfish (so, no WEEKLY water
changes, if possible.)
3) can go an entire weekend without being fed and still survive OR one
that has a particular plant that is acceptable as food
4) optionally a breed that likes heavily planted tanks.

Any advice? I'd get another GF, but I feel bad about having only one
in a tank, and I'm not buying a 20G tank so I can have an even longer
list of chores.

Thanks,

JS

--
========================= ========================
Jan Sacharuk Member in Good Standing of The Discordian Solidarity
Turn on viewing of the X-Geek-Code header to see my Geek Code
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Black Dahlia: Program-Icebreaker-Killer-1MU-Cost 10-Power 5
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What about a betta?

Check out
www.bettatalk.com

What is it about bettas that they need so little water. Can they live in
very acidic
low PH, water? Can they put up with more ammonia, nitrite, nitrate than
other fish?
Do they need less oxygen? Can i put ONE in a big tank full of Goldfish?
....Kodiak

"GiveMeABMW" wrote in message
...
What about a betta?

Check out
www.bettatalk.com

Kodiak wrote:

What is it about bettas that they need so little water. Can they live
in very acidic
low PH, water? Can they put up with more ammonia, nitrite, nitrate
than other fish?
Do they need less oxygen?

The biggest answer to the above is they have an organ called a labyrinth
that allows them to breathe air from the surface. (Neat, eh?) So they
do not solely rely upon dissolved O2 in the water for their oxygen.

Can i put ONE in a big tank full of
Goldfish?

"Can" denotes "physically possible" so the answer is "yes." ;-)

Is it a good idea? Probably not.

-D
--
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving
that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the
proof." -Galbraith's Law

Can i put ONE in a big tank full of
Goldfish?

"Can" denotes "physically possible" so the answer is "yes." ;-)

Is it a good idea? Probably not.

My betta absolutely hates water surface movement. I imagine putting him in the
goldfish tank would make him incredibly stressed. I added a tiny corner filter
to his tank and he flipped out and hid, refusing to come out (except rushing to
the surface to breathe) until I turned it off a couple of hours later. The same
thing happened when I tried it a second time. Probably it would have been okay
if he'd been around a filter since fry-hood, I don't know...

Jan Sacharuk wrote:

Anyway, I want to put a small (less than 10G) tank on my desk at
work. I need a breed of fish that

1) doesn't need a lot of water
2) doesn't need as much care as a goldfish (so, no WEEKLY water
changes, if possible.)
3) can go an entire weekend without being fed and still survive OR one
that has a particular plant that is acceptable as food
4) optionally a breed that likes heavily planted tanks.

Any advice? I'd get another GF, but I feel bad about having only one
in a tank, and I'm not buying a 20G tank so I can have an even longer
list of chores.

Betteh getta betta, with maybe a couple of pygmy cories.

Still count on doing some water changes though...

-D
--
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving
that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the
proof." -Galbraith's Law

white clouds or gambusa. Ingrid

Jan Sacharuk wrote:

I tried asking this on the rec.aquaria.freshwater newsgroup, but
nobody answered. I figured I'd ask it here too, because most of you
know more than just goldfish.

Anyway, I want to put a small (less than 10G) tank on my desk at
work. I need a breed of fish that

1) doesn't need a lot of water
2) doesn't need as much care as a goldfish (so, no WEEKLY water
changes, if possible.)
3) can go an entire weekend without being fed and still survive OR one
that has a particular plant that is acceptable as food
4) optionally a breed that likes heavily planted tanks.

Any advice? I'd get another GF, but I feel bad about having only one
in a tank, and I'm not buying a 20G tank so I can have an even longer
list of chores.

Thanks,

JS



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 18:02:36 GMT, Jan Sacharuk
wrote:

I tried asking this on the rec.aquaria.freshwater newsgroup, but
nobody answered. I figured I'd ask it here too, because most of you
know more than just goldfish.

Anyway, I want to put a small (less than 10G) tank on my desk at
work. I need a breed of fish that

1) doesn't need a lot of water
2) doesn't need as much care as a goldfish (so, no WEEKLY water
changes, if possible.)
3) can go an entire weekend without being fed and still survive OR one
that has a particular plant that is acceptable as food
4) optionally a breed that likes heavily planted tanks.

Any advice? I'd get another GF, but I feel bad about having only one
in a tank, and I'm not buying a 20G tank so I can have an even longer
list of chores.

Thanks,

JS

Guppies, or the Endler's live bearer variety.

zebra danios.


--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

Zebra Danio's... Amazing how long they can go with out food, as long as
there is a small plant in there.. No weekly water changes huh, no
maintenace... Perhaps you may want to consider donating your aquarium to a
local class room then for a science project...??

Timmer...

"Charles" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 18:02:36 GMT, Jan Sacharuk
wrote:

I tried asking this on the rec.aquaria.freshwater newsgroup, but
nobody answered. I figured I'd ask it here too, because most of you
know more than just goldfish.

Anyway, I want to put a small (less than 10G) tank on my desk at
work. I need a breed of fish that

1) doesn't need a lot of water
2) doesn't need as much care as a goldfish (so, no WEEKLY water
changes, if possible.)
3) can go an entire weekend without being fed and still survive OR one
that has a particular plant that is acceptable as food
4) optionally a breed that likes heavily planted tanks.

Any advice? I'd get another GF, but I feel bad about having only one
in a tank, and I'm not buying a 20G tank so I can have an even longer
list of chores.

Thanks,

JS

Guppies, or the Endler's live bearer variety.

zebra danios.


--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

In article .net, T wrote:
Zebra Danio's... Amazing how long they can go with out food, as long as
there is a small plant in there.. No weekly water changes huh, no
maintenace... Perhaps you may want to consider donating your aquarium to a
local class room then for a science project...??

I didn't say NO maintenance. This tank will be on my desk at work, and
I don't really have time to work with the tank for hours and hours
every week. Goldfish are fairly high maintenence, and I can deal with
that at home, but I'm not gonna do it at work.

Oh, and I don't have the tank yet. I'm trying to solicit opinions
before I jump into anything that leaves me with a tank of dead fish
because I couldn't spend the time with the fish that they needed.

JS

--
========================= ========================
Jan Sacharuk Member in Good Standing of The Discordian Solidarity
Turn on viewing of the X-Geek-Code header to see my Geek Code
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not like them, but I can pretend. The sun has gone, but I have
a light. The day is done, but I'm having fun. I think I'm dumb,
or maybe just happy. - Nirvana, Dumb