2 Gal. aquarium W/O Heater

Question
My Child got a small hexagon 2 Gal aquarium, with an undergravel filter system.  I was wanting to set it up without a heater.  The room temperature ranges form 68 in winter to 78 in summer. I was hoping for 2 fish.  Can you suggest some fish that will do well in these conditions?  If not, then what size heater should I get?

Answer
Hi Clint;

It's really too small for a thermostatically controlled heater to be in it safely. Coldwater fish would your best bet. A couple of zebra danios, or a couple of mountain white clouds would work. You could add two little ghost glass shrimp with them. They have much less impact on the bio-load than fish do.  

Keep in mind it has to go through a break-in period, also known as "cycling" too. It would be safer to do what's called a fishless cycle because it's so small. Toxins raise to lethal levels very quickly in such a small space and sometimes the fish don't make it through, or they are permanently harmed during the process.  Here is information about the cycle and another on how to do a fishless one;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

http://www.fishprofiles.com/articles/article.aspx?id=31

Have fun and I hope all goes well...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins