With energy prices continuing to be high there’s been increased interest in keeping fish in unheated aquariums, to try to keep costs down. Luckily we have a caresheet for that! Check out our How to care for unheated aquarium inhabitants for more help and information on the fish species that can tolerate unheated indoor aquariums.
Goldfish are often considered for indoor unheated aquariums but you need to remind customers they live for a long time and require large aquariums to properly accommodate their needs so may not be the best choice.
However there are other species that will thrive in smaller aquariums without a heater, provided they are kept in certain conditions within a heated home. Please remind customers that, while suitable for indoor unheated aquariums, they are not legally
permitted to be kept outdoors for biosecurity reasons and therefore must only be kept in indoor aquaria.
With unheated aquariums it is especially important to consider where the tank is set up, keeping it away from draughts and heat sources so that temperature fluctuations are minimised. It also needs to be out of direct sunlight and away from loud noises, vibrations and sudden movements. Overhead tank lighting is recommended
to maintain correct day-night cycle.
Species that can thrive in unheated aquariums include:
- Zebra and leopard danios
- Rosy and golden barbs
- White cloud mountain minnows
- Variatus platys
- Bronze and peppered Corydoras
- Hillstream and weather loaches
- Amano and cherry shrimp
However, we would always recommend tank temperatures should never fall below 17°C. If it’s likely the aquarium could fall below this temperature then customers should be advised to use a heater to maintain a stable temperature within the suitable range for the species they have in the tank.
Ideally, retailers should keep fish they intend to sell as temperate tank dwellers in unheated systems, rather than expecting customers to acclimatise fish down to the temperate temperature. All retailers should talk through how to set up and maintain an unheated aquarium and OATA has created a free caresheet, along with species-specific caresheets for all the fish mentioned above, which should accompany any fish sales.
You could use our tank QR codes on relevant shop tanks for customers to download the caresheets to their smartphones. You can find these at the bottom of the page on the second button below.
