can a small 2" salt water fish survive in a small 6" diameter fishbowl?

Question

i want to keep a lot of tropical damsels seperate by keeping them in small fish bowls... will this be healthy enough for them? please i need expert help and opinions... i have never dealt with salt water fish before. help me out. thank you very much

Answer 1

They wont survive for more than an hour. Please dont do this. ALL salt water fish need a suitable size tank with a good filter, heater, & thermometor<---and those are just the basics! Damsels get HUGE and agressive. Please dont do this, you will be wasting your money and killing fish that have been wild caught. If you are interested in a salt tank, read up on it for a while and see if you really want to persue it. Its a lot of work, and should be taken seriously. If you like them ide say do your research and invest in a good tank set up. If not, then try a betta. They are the best fish for a fish bowl, and they are beautiful! Good luck!

Answer 2

I guess you have gotten your answer. NO.

Firstly heat and filtration not to mention waste are your largest concerns here but even more importantly, bacteria. Salt tanks are not like fresh water tanks. Bacteria in a salt tank takes 6 months to a year to MATURE (not cycle). many fish need the mature bacteria to survive while others do not. Your damsel will survive for a while but will soon die. You can keep damsels all together in a salt tank. 3 of each or more Just be sure you have the same number of lets say yellow tails as you do blues or clowns. they will work out the territory differences.

And no, you don't need 55 gallons for 4 fish. While running a protein skimmer, you can house more fish in less water in salt than you can in fresh water.

Answer 3

Won't work very well if you want healthy fish. The small size will allow the temperature to fluctuate too much, the salinity will change too rapidly with just a little evaporation, nowhere to put a heater or filter, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate will build up too quickly.

The smallest I ever tried was a 2.5 gallon with a single fish, it had a heater and filter, and was still a lot of work. Glad I was only using it for a quarantine and only had to keep it up for 3 weeks. I've since gone to 10 gallon for my smallest quarantine tanks.

BTW, some damsels get 6" as adults.

Answer 4

It's a tough call. The chances are that seahorses would be severely outcompeted for food resources. Try something benthic, that will not compete as much, like a shrimp goby. You could even pair him with his pistol shrimp, if you'd like. Mixing with other tube-mouths, assuming you can provide the food in sufficient quantities, can also work. Adding in a small species of pipefish would work, as would the urchin clingfish (Diademichthys lineatus). To be honest, though, if your tank is large enough, and your able to feed enough without compromising water quality, a small fish like some Talbot's damsels, cherub angel, or a royal gramma would probably be just fine. I'd suggest sticking with TINY things, though...2" and under, preferably. Keep in mind these suggestions are for some of the moderate sized seahorses. I'm just assuming you don't mean the dwarves.

Answer 5

No, they will not survive in fishbowls. Marine fish are very sensitive to water quality and you cannot maintain pure marine water in a container like that. They would sicken and die within days.

Marine tanks need super filtration, special lighting, heaters, special foods and lots of water testing and changes to maintain the right quality for keeping marine fish.

The average cost of setting up a marine aquarium the right way is in the neighborhood of $500-700.

Even bettas and goldfish should not be kept in bowls, all fish deserve filtered circulating water to stay healthy and live to their potential.

Answer 6

Even if you can do many water changes and keep the water pristine, why on earth would you??? What's the point of cramming these fish into these tiny prisons, where you can look at them do absolutely nothing with their lives? Why not by a painting of fish, they'll be just as active and show just as much natural behaviour as fish stuffed into a bowl.

Answer 7

You cannot keep salteys in fish bowls, expessially of only 6inch diameter. I currently own a thriving 50 gallon or more salt water aquarium that can comfoortabley hold only 4 fish at the most!

Answer 8

Saltwater doesn't hold much oxygen than freshwater.

You need a larger container and the water must be contineously circulating and aerated so that the water always has fresh oxygen.

Answer 9

don't put the fish on the bowl it will die!!saltwater fishes should have oxygen and filter and a bowl is too small for the fish

Answer 10

no, they woudl die of oxyegn starvation very quickly. ifyou reallylike damsels, trygreen chromis,and get bigger tank. 55couldesily hold 11 maybe a few more. if your a pet store owner dont carry them but have them avaliable to order, theyre low profit and there way too mean.