fish art

Question
QUESTION: Hey Ron! Im a visual artist and i am currently working to perfect one of my
sculptures, it consists of small 4" x 4"x 4"- 7" x 7"x7" cubic containers. In
those containers I am planning to put fish. I could just put fish for the
exhibition and place them in larger tanks afterwards, but after it is exhibited I
want to set it up in my house either permanently or for a really long time. I
know this is kind of a stupid question but do you know of any fish that i
could place in my sculpture that i could maintain alive in such small
containers? I really dont want 14 fish to die on me!

I can attach one of those lamps if required for the fish's survival, but i dont
know about a filter or a heater, those usually come very large right?

P.S.: The installation is easily removable so water changes are easy.

ANSWER: Hi Sophie,
 I would be very reluctant to put fish in a 4x4x4 inch container. That really is a tiny volume of water and would be very difficult to maintain.  Any chance the piece could be scaled up in size?  

 Any fish tank needs several things for long-term success: a heater, a filter and an air supply.  A lamp is not a good heat source because it is not very regulatable and tends to either freeze or cook the fish.

  Do the containers have open tops or are they sealed?  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks so much for taking time to answer my question!
The containers are open top and can be scaled up to a 7 inch cubic container.
Are there any specific fish that would have a better survival chance? and if
there is  can there be more than one fish per container?

-sophie

Answer
Hi Sophie,
  For the 7 inch cube, you could consider putting a single male betta in each container.  Do NOT put more than one in each cube or they will kill each other.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>