Are tropical fish more expensive to maintain?

[samy23]

....than regular cold water fish?

[angie7]

Well the intial set up is more expensive, yes. The main difference is a heater in the tank. Those can cost anywhere from $15-$100+ depending on brand and the size you need and they also need a filtration system. That also depends on brand and size.

[LeahBoo]

By "cold water" you mean goldfish, right? Tropical fish can actually be cheaper, because you need a large tank for goldfish - 10 gallons PER FISH.

White cloud mt. minnows are the cheapest fish to keep. They are cold water, extremely hardy, and stay small. I found 4 in a 5 gallon tank to be ideal. And no need for a heater.

[samy23]

Does the heater use up much electricity? I'm wondering if it will increase my electric bill by much if we get a fish tank heater for tropical fish. The filter doesn't seem to use much electricity does it?

[nd_deadhead]

It depends on so many things - how big the tank is, how often you do water changes, how warm the house is, how warm the water is. Different tropical fish have different temperatures at which they feel comfortable, from 75 to 85°. Obviously a fish that needs warmer water will use more heat.

If you are going to get tropical fish, I STRONGLY recommend putting two heaters in the tank, each providing half the heat you need. Typically you need 5 W of heater per gallon of water, so if you have a 20 gallon tank you need a 100W heater. If you buy two 50-watt heaters, you give yourself insurance in two ways: if one heater quits, the other will at least keep the water fairly warm; if one heater fails on, you won't boil your fish. Two heaters at opposite ends of the tank also help to keep the heat evenly distributed.

[hottmama]

Our tank is 10 gallon and has a very cheap heater which keeps the temp around 78*. The filter was not expensive, either, and a year's worth of filters are about $15. I pretty much never have to clean out the tank, I vacuum it and replace half the water about once every 3-6 mos.