What sort of cold and freshwater fish can survive in a seriously small, simple tank. What fish should i get?

I am no fish expert, but I’ve kept a beta in my office for about 6 months. I have a plastic container that came from Frys… its actually meant to hold tea or something since it has a spout at the bottom (which is nice for changing water inbetween cleanings). I used distilled water (not tap, clorine will hurt them). You can use tap if you get a special drop to put in the water that neutralizes the chemicals.

I put in there some bamboo and smooth rocks at the bottom, and a little curved PVC pipe that he could hide in. Every other week I clean out the whole thing, and on the other weeks I just drain half the water out and add fresh distilled water.

Betas are very pretty, and easy to care for. My guy is still going strong (just don’t put any other fish in there with him because they will fight!).

white cloud mountain minnows. they are very cheap, have great color, and can tolerate both tropical and cooler water. and yes, you could put bamboo in.

Hello Saranya,

I think a great fish to go into your tank would be a small school of White Cloud Mountain Minnows. They offer great colours that reflect wonderfully of light. They breed very easily by lying eggs usually in green plants.

The babies are born like neon tetras, neon blue.

Keep the babies, run your own farm, sell them, give them away to a friend, its totally up to you, however like any fish it should have a good living environment. Pump/filter, space. Lets say the minimum for them is 4-5 Gallons.

Here is a picture of them:
- They are better looking in real life, trust me!

How small is small?

Ideally a small group of minnows (3 or 4) would need a minimum of 5 gallons of filtered water. They don’t need a heater, but all fish really need filtration and a cycled tank.

Fish bowls are not suitable for any fish - not bettas, not goldfish - no fish belong in a bowl.

We really need to know how small is seriously small. I’m thinking like 1/2 gallon. If that is the case, no fish can live in that for very long.

Bamboo is not an aquatic plant and will rot eventually if kept fully submerged.

it really depends on how small. if its too small you might wanna wait till you can try to get something bigger. if its a 1-2 gallon minimum than i gotta agree with tuscon kate and a betta might be your best best. anything smaller is not a good home.

the minimum tank size for fish is 2.5 gallons

this can hold a betta

but bettas are tropical fish not coldwater
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white cloud mountain minnows need 2 gallons each and a minimum school of 6
temp:15c-25c

same go’s for cold water danios if you can find them
temp: 18c-27c

i generally advise not to use bamboo as it is not a true aquatic plant and may produce unwanted ammonia

White Cloud Minnow is your best option. You will want at least a 5 gallon tank with a filter, but you can keep a small group in there. I have bred them in a 5gal tank, so they must have been reasonably happy.

Ian