Fish- cold water or tropical?

[thisisyesterday]

is a cold water tank easier to keep than tropical?

or is it just a matter of cost as I would need the heater?
are they dramatically different in day-to-day running? in terms of filters, food, cleaning etc?

bump

tropical need

light, heater and pump - dh cleans nomally every 1/2weeks and you have to change only a small amount of water each time

think cold water is easier than tropical, but once tropical is set up, its faily easy

Tropical fish are easier I think, yes there is the set up and the cost of the heater but the fish are less messy (don't pollute their water as much)

Tropical is much easier and more interesting to look at.

For a proper cold water tank with goldfish, you're looking at 10 gallons of water (approximately 40L) per goldfish. They are also very messy fish and need lots of tank maintenance and a damn good filter. Other alternative for coldwater is white cloud mountain minnows.

With the lower temperatures, fish are far more prone to illnesses such as white spot.

For a beginner fish keeper, you're far better off starting with a smaller tropical tank. ThinkFish has a fab Community Creator which helps you work out your maximum number of fish and which fish will go well together to make a good community.

Whichever route you choose, Google "fishless cycling" to get the best possible start and to make sure you don't end up with lots of fish death while you get the good bacteria up in the tank and filter system.

We have a cold water tank with a medium sized goldfish and shubunkin, several mountain minnows, several danios (zebra, leopard and pearl), a sucker loach, a freshwater clam and two apple snails. They do poo a lot, but it only takes max 30 mins each week to change the water and do a bit of maintenance. Coldwater fish are not as brightly coloured as tropical, but you can still build up an interesting tank with the varieties that are available.

thanks for all the info!
I think we'll go tropical. we have a lovely local fish shop which had some good deals on tanks which came with everything (filter, heater etc etc)

Coldwater really aren't that suitable for tanks. Goldies grow huge and create a huge amount of waste.

There is so much more scope with tropical and can have a more interesting stock.

Minnows can easily be adapted to tropical and danio's are better suited to tropical conditions as well.