what can survive a 30cm cube without filter?

[Davidd]

Hi,
wonder what else besides fighting fish I can keep in a simple office table cube with floating plants and moss.

[spilopterus]

Fishes:
Pygmy rasboras
Shrimps
A pair of dwarf cichlids (maybe)
Gobies

[juggler]

Something slow moving... like Badi badi?
Or you might like to try some Java Moss tied on a driftwood with a few Bumble Bee Goby. The contrast will be nice.

[Fei Miao]

I would go for rasbora maculata and like...

....perhaps you can try snails also

[geoffrey]

I would go sparingly with

5-banded Barb - 2~3 nos.
Rasbora hengeli - 5~7 nos.
Cherry Barb - 3~5 nos.
Some shrimps and snails.

[hwchoy]

He has no filtration! I doubt if any of the Boraras would do well as they're all rather picky about water quality. Fish that sh!ts a lot probably out too. I think most of the barbs and rasboras, probably small tetras would be OK.

[Anonymous]

Let me suggest some fishes i want for myself...
"double sword" guppies,yellow panchax, small climbing perch, a bunch of coolie loaches, some "wild guppies".
I think these fishes are quite hardy.

[sherchoo]

David,
My office tank (1ft cube) has been running without a filter for ~3 months and neons are able to survive. And so far, I've done 2 water changes since the day it was commissioned. I have some crypts, Blyxa japonica, Hottonia, Hygrophilla corymbosa 'compacta' and some hairgrass. 7 Neon tetras, 2 croaking gouramis, a SAE and a whole load of snails are doing nicely there.

My point is that maybe you can consider a low maintenance setup so you can have more choices in you inhabitants. I believe this would be more interesting, agree?

Just a suggestion.

[budak]

read this also

[Ockly]

Do we need a air-pump for these small tank??
Will the plants produce enough oxygen for the fishes??
Thankz..[]

[budak]

can i just propose a SIMPLE answer?

Many fish + small tank = filter/pump etc


Very few fish + small tank + plants + controlled feeding = NO NEED pump/filter.

Please read my damnned post.

[budak]

Climbing perch are undeniably hardy.... but are you sure you wan to keep them with guppies???? And in a tiny tank???? Better think again.

Scheisse!!!

Let me suggest some fishes i want for myself...
"double sword" guppies,yellow panchax, small climbing perch, a bunch of coolie loaches, some "wild guppies". I think these fishes are quite hardy.

[Anonymous]

sorry for the confusion and my poor language skill. I am just listing out some fishes that i think is suitable, not that i want to keep them all in one tank.

Climbing perch can be kept with guppies, provided that it just hatched. []

[Davidd]

thanks for the suggestions!

will take a picture when I get my hands on a digicam at the office

the cube is 8" x 6" x 7".

currently has 2 otos, 1 yamato, 2 baby badis badis.
plants are java moss, xmas moss smothered in algae, java fern, salvinia and frogbits.

aircon temp of around 22degC and 7 hours of clip on table lamp.

hope the badis badis will finally feed and grow: currently a bit hard to see it.

[anaconda]

Davidd, sorry if this is off topic but could you tell me what you are feeding your badis badis? I cant seem to get mine to eat

To get back on topic, think you might want to get some boraras maculatus hope I spell it right) . I kept 6 of them in a betta tank for a few months with a small filter. 0 death. Transfer them to a colleague's new tank to cycling (no substrate nothing, just water and filter). No death for close to a month with no water change at all the entire month!!! But sadly even they couldnt take one month with no water change in a new tank with new filter . My colleague , new to this, didnt know he had to change water when cycling, sigh. But these guys were tough, during cycling we threw in dead shrimp ,dead fish to speed up the cycling. They survive all that for a month!!!

[Davidd]

I also don't know! read on the web that they only eat live food,
and so far it seems to be the case; they've been awvoiding the tiny crumbs of food pelets I grind for them, so small as they are (hardly 2 cm long!)

really? hmm currently I think the cube looks full. but I would love to try bororas when I see them!. maybe when the badis badis outgrow the cube?

[Blue Whale]

Ooo..my badi badi eat worms. If u have other tanks feeding on frozen worms, take 2 little frozen worms outta water to feed 1 badi will do. U can try it out with 1 little frozen worm first.

[spilopterus]

Now on market are sparkling gouramies. I just got them on sunday for 40cents a piece. So you could grab like a bunch of em. They move nice, look nice, and have nice characters too! They do not shoal which shouldn't be of problem considering you got a smal tank.

Other fishes would include a pair of dwarf cichlids.

Oh, another fish to consider would be dwarf gourami. Colisa lalia. I feel that the original strain is the best looking one. The female is hard to find though. But no use for a small tank. The male will kill her once he is in heat.