Coldwater fish can have different meanings in different contexts. In the context of

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

s, it refers to

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

species that do not require a heater to remain within tolerable temperatures in a typical indoor aquarium. However, most or all ornamental fish species are able to tolerate temperatures as low as or lower than room temperature, with most stenothermic tropical species having critical thermal minimums of around 10-12 °C. Although these fish are capable of surviving in unheated aquaria, their temperature preferences may vary. For example, koi,

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have bec ...

, and pond loaches are commonly considered to be cold-water fish because of their ability to survive at very low temperatures, but their temperature preferences and/or physiological optimal temperatures are 32 °C (90 °F), 24-31 °C (75-88 °F), and 26-28 °C (79-82 °F), respectively. Because many of the ornamental fish considered to be “coldwater fish” are more accurately eurythermal fish and many prefer temperatures similar to, or even warmer than those preferred by certain tropical fish, the term “coldwater fish” in the aquarium context often misleads pet owners into keeping fish below their preferred temperature. Anglers also may loosely break down fish into categories of warm-water fish, cool-water fish, and cold-water fish. Warm-water fish are species that tend to dwell in relatively warm water, and in North America include species such as

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...

, sunfish, and bullhead catfish. Cool-water species, such as smallmouth bass and

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

, can tolerate a wide range of temperatures, but tend to be most abundant in cooler rivers or deeper parts of ponds and lakes. Cold-water species, such as

char Char may refer to: People * Char Fontane, American actress * Char Margolis, American spiritualist * René Char (1907–1988), French poet *The Char family of Colombia: ** Fuad Char, Colombian senator ** Alejandro Char Chaljub, mayor of Barranquill ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

, grayling, and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species is closely ...

become stressed at high temperatures and are most active in cold water. Because these designations are informal, different authorities may recognize different boundaries in temperature preference between the categories.

Freshwater aquarium fish

* Southern redbelly dace *

Lepomis ''Lepomis'' or true sunfish is a genus of North American freshwater fish from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes (perch-like fish). The generic name ''Lepomis'' derives from the Greek ("scale") and ("cover", "plug", " opercul ...

Shubunkin are a hardy, single-tailed goldfish with nacreous scales and a pattern known as calico. The Shubunkins are of Japanese origin.Chris Andrews, Interpet Publishing (2002) ''An Interpet Guide to Fancy Goldfish''. Erik L. Johnson, D.V.M. and Richard E. ...

Comet goldfish The comet or comet-tailed goldfish is a single-tailed goldfish bred in the United States. It is similar to the common goldfish, except slightly smaller and slimmer, and is mainly distinguished by its long deeply forked tail. Comet goldfish tend ...

* Common goldfish *

Fancy goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have beco ...

Black telescope The telescope eye () is a goldfish characterised by its protruding eyes.Andrews, Chris. An Interpet Guide to Fancy Goldfish, Interpet Publishing, 2002. - Johnson, Dr. Erik L., D.V.M. and Richard E. Hess. Fancy Goldfish: A Complete Guide to Care a ...

Fantail goldfish The Fantail is a goldfish that possesses an egg-shaped body, a high dorsal fin, a long quadruple caudal fin, and no shoulder hump."Fancy Goldfish: A Complete Guide to Care and Collecting" by Dr. Erik L. Johnson, D.V.M. and Richard E. Hess, Weath ...

Oranda An oranda is a breed of goldfish characterized by a prominent bubble-like "hood" on the head. The headgrowth or hood (also known as ''wen'' or ''crown'') may be a prominent growth on the top of the head (cranial region) or may encase the entire ...

Ryukin The is a short deep-bodied fancy goldfish with a characteristic hump in the shoulder region.Andrews, Chris, Dr. An Interpet Guide to Fancy Goldfish, Interpet Publishing, 2002. - Johnson, Erik L., Dr. D.V.M. and Richard E. Hess. Fancy Goldfish: A ...

Weather loach Misgurnus is a genus of true loaches found in Europe and Asia. The origin of the name ''Misgurnus'' comes from the Greek word (to hate) and the Turkish (loud), a name given to them due to their habit of becoming very active during barometric ...

White Cloud Mountain minnow The White Cloud Mountain minnow (''Tanichthys albonubes'') is a hardy species of freshwater fish and coldwater fish often kept in an aquarium. The species is a member of the carp family (family Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes, native to C ...

Celestial Pearl Danio ''Danio margaritatus'', the celestial pearl danio, often referred to in the aquarium trade as galaxy rasbora or ''Microrasbora'' sp. 'Galaxy',Clarke (2007b) is a small cyprinid from Myanmar. It has so far been found only in a very small area near ...

Buenos Aires tetra The Buenos Aires tetra (''Hyphessobrycon anisitsi'') is a tropical fish from South America. It was first observed in the wild in 1907, by Carl H. Eigenmann. History An aquarium subject for over 60 years, the Buenos Aires tetra is a well love ...

Gold barb :''This species may be confused with:'' golden barb'' (''P. gelius'').'' ''Barbodes semifasciolatus'',Kottelat, M. (2013)The Fishes of the Inland Waters of Southeast Asia: A Catalogue and Core Bibliography of the Fishes Known to Occur in Freshwat ...

Rosy barb The rosy barb (''Pethia conchonius'') is a subtropical freshwater cyprinid fish found in southern Asia from Afghanistan to Bangladesh. Description This pinkish fish species of barb grows up to 6 inches (14 cm) in length. Their colour ...

Odessa barb The Odessa barb (''Pethia padamya'') is a species of cyprinid fish known from Central Myanmar, where it is known to occur in an artificial pond above the Anisakan Falls and also from the lower Chindwin River. For many years it has been known to t ...

Fathead minnow Fathead minnow (''Pimephales promelas''), also known as fathead or tuffy, is a species of temperate freshwater fish belonging to the genus '' Pimephales'' of the cyprinid family. The natural geographic range extends throughout much of North A ...

* Banded corydoras * Chinese high fin banded shark *

Three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

Ticto barb The ticto barb or twospot barb (''Pethia ticto'') is a species of subtropical freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. It is a native of the upper Mekong, Salwen, Irrawaddy, Meklong and upper Charo Phraya basins in the countries of ...

* Pygmy sunfish * Enneacanthus *

Texas cichlid The Texas cichlid (''Herichthys cyanoguttatus'', formerly ''Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum'') is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family. This is the only cichlid species that is native to the United States. The fish, also known as Rio Grande cichlid ...

Paradise fish The paradise fish, paradise-fish, paradisefish, or paradise gourami (''Macropodus opercularis'') is a species of gourami found in most types of fresh water in East Asia, ranging from the Korean Peninsula to northern Vietnam. This species can ...

* Green barb *

Zebra danio The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

* Bengal danio * Leopard danio * Danio tinwini * Bulldog pleco * Rhinogobius * Desert goby * Highland swordtail (''Xiphophorus malinche'') * Japanese ricefish * Zacco * Black lined loach (''Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata'') *

Red shiner The red shiner or red-horse minnow (''Cyprinella lutrensis'') is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are deep-bodied and laterally compressed,Farringer R.T., III, A.A. Echelle, and S.F. Lehtinen. 1979. Repr ...

(''Cyprinella lutrensis'') * Spotted gar *

Longnose gar The longnose gar (''Lepisosteus osseus''), also known as longnose garpike or billy gar, is a ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. The genus may have been present in North America for about 100 million years. References are made to gar ...

* Rosy red minnow *

Hillstream loach The hillstream loaches or river loaches are a family, the Balitoridae, of small fish from South, Southeast and East Asia. The family includes about 202 species. They are sometimes sold as "lizardfish" or (in Germany) "flossensaugers". Many of ...

Spined loach The spined loach (''Cobitis taenia'') is a common freshwater fish in Europe. It is sometimes known as spotted weather loach, not to be confused with the "typical" weather loaches of the genus '' Misgurnus''. This is the type species of the spi ...

Stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus ''Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowin ...

* Common minnow * Vietnamese cardinal minnow * GM glowing medaka *

Gobio ''Gobio'' is a genus of typical gudgeons, ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae many of which are endemics of south-eastern Europe. Members of the genus are usually small fish, rarely longer than 10 cm. Many species previously in ''Gob ...

Amur bitterling The Amur bitterling (''Rhodeus sericeus'') is a small fish of the carp family. It is sometimes just called "bitterling", which dates back to the time when the European bitterling (''Rhodeus amarus'') was still considered conspecific with ''R. ...

Rosy bitterling The rosy bitterling or Tairiku baratanago (''Rhodeus ocellatus'') is a small freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae (carp), native to East Asia from the Amur River basin to the Pearl River basin. Females are about long and males ar ...

* Light's bitterling * Deep bodied bitterling *

Rainbow shiner The rainbow shiner (''Notropis chrosomus'') is a North American species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Notropis''. The rainbow shiner has a length of 5 to 8 centimeters. It has translucent color from pink to golden with a silver-black stripe a ...

(''Notropsis chromosus'') * Black shark (not to be confused with the tropical red tailed black shark) * Golden cobra snakehead *

Dwarf snakehead Dwarf snakehead is a term coined by aquarists to describe a group of ''Channa'' snakehead fishes growing to about maximum. They are found in freshwater habitats (often streams) in South and Southeast Asia, and southern China.Endruweit, M. (2017). ...

* Rainbow snakehead * Spotted snakehead (''Channa punctata'') *

Pearl danio The pearl danio (''Danio albolineatus'') is a tropical fish belonging to the minnow family Cyprinidae. Originating in Sumatra, Myanmar, and Thailand, this fish is sometimes found in aquariums by fish-keeping hobbyists. It grows to a maximum lengt ...

* Northern snakehead * Chinese algae eater *

Variable platyfish The variable platyfish (''Xiphophorus variatus''), also known as variatus platy or variegated platy, is a species of freshwater fish in family Poecilidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. A live-bearer, it is native to southern Tamaulipas and north ...

Note: The above contains a mix of true coldwater fish and sub-tropical fish that can survive and thrive at room temperature which ranges from 15 °C (59 °F) and to 30 °C (86 °F).

Freshwater pond fish

Nine-spined stickleback The ninespine stickleback (''Pungitius pungitius''), also called the ten-spined stickleback, is a freshwater species of fish in the family Gasterosteidae that inhabits temperate waters. It is widely but locally distributed throughout Eurasia ...

* Common goldfish *

* Sterlet * Koi * Golden orfe * Blue orfe *

Bitterling The bitterling-like cyprinids form the cyprinid subfamily Acheilognathinae. This subfamily contains four genera, although the Khanka spiny bitterling is often placed in '' Acheilognathus'', and at least 71 described species to date. Over half of ...

Grass carp The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russi ...

* Albino grass carp *

* Rosy red minnow * Mirror carp *

Common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

* Golden rudd * Green tench * Golden tench *

Channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

* Golden rainbow trout *

Roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roa ...

Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds an ...

Pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

* Common minnow

Marine aquarium fish

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

* Catalina goby * Zebra Catalina goby (''Lythrypnus zebra'') * Ornate boxfish * Shaw's boxfish * White bar boxfish * Truncate coralfish * Blue devil * Pot bellied seahorses

Wild fish

The term is also used to refer to fish species in the wild (such as

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns Spawn is the eggs a ...

, and

Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Mis ...

), that prefer colder waters.

References

Marine Aquarium Fish - http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_coldwater.htm Freshwater Aquarium Fish - Practical Fishkeeping Magazine Freshwater Pond Fish - An Essential Guide to Choosing Your Pond Fish and Aquatic Plants by Graham Quick and also http://www.pondexpert.co.uk/ChoosingTheRightFishForYourPond.html

External links