Coldwater fish can have different meanings in different contexts. In the context of aquariums, it refers to

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

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 b ...

, 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, b ...

, sunfish, and

bullhead catfish ''Ameiurus'' is a genus of catfishes in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the United States, the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas''), the brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') ...

. 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,

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-sa ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

grayling Grayling or Greyling may refer to: Animals Fish * Grayling, generically, any fish of the genus ''Thymallus'' in the family Salmonidae ** European grayling (''Thymallus thymallus''), the European species of the genus ''Thymallus'' ** Arctic grayli ...

, and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiformes, 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 ...

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 The southern redbelly dace (''Chrosomus erythrogaster''), is a North American species of temperate freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. The natural geographic range extends from Western New York to Minnesota, and south to Oklahoma, Arkan ...

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", " operculum ...

* Shubunkin * Comet goldfish * Common goldfish *

Fancy goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the Family (biology), family Cyprinidae of Order (biology), order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular List of freshwater aq ...

* Black telescope * Fantail goldfish * Oranda * Ryukin * Weather loach * White Cloud Mountain minnow * Celestial Pearl Danio * Buenos Aires tetra * Gold barb * Rosy barb * Odessa barb *

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 Ame ...

* 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 * Pygmy sunfish * Enneacanthus * Texas cichlid * Paradise fish * 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 c ...

Bengal danio The Bengal danio or Sind danio (''Devario devario'') is a subtropical fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). Originating in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, this fish is sometimes kept in community tanks by f ...

* Leopard danio *

Danio tinwini ''Danio tinwini'', commonly called gold-ring danio, is a newly discovered species of ''Danio'' from Myanmar. It is also referred to as Danio sp. "TW02". It is a tiny gold fish whose body and fins are covered with blue spots. It has also been refe ...

* Bulldog pleco * Rhinogobius * Desert goby * Highland swordtail (''Xiphophorus malinche'') *

Japanese ricefish Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese dias ...

* Zacco * Black lined loach (''Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata'') * Red shiner (''Cyprinella lutrensis'') * Spotted gar * Longnose 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 t ...

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 spiny ...

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 f ...

* 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 ''Gobio ...

* Amur bitterling * Rosy bitterling * 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 ...

(''Notropsis chromosus'') * Black shark (not to be confused with the tropical red tailed black shark) * Golden cobra snakehead * Dwarf snakehead * Rainbow snakehead * Spotted snakehead (''Channa punctata'') * Pearl danio *

Northern snakehead The northern snakehead (''Channa argus'') is a species of snakehead fish native to China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea, ranging from the Amur River to Hainan. It has been introduced to other regions, where it is considered invasive. In ...

Chinese algae eater ''Gyrinocheilus aymonieri'' is a freshwater fish native to large parts of Southeast Asia. It is of interest as a local food source and for the aquarium trade. Its common names include honey sucker, sucking loach and Chinese algae eater. ''G. ay ...

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 norther ...

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 * Common goldfish * Shubunkin * Sterlet * Koi * Golden orfe * Blue orfe * Bitterling *

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, th ...

* Golden rainbow trout * Roach * Bluegill *

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 Centrar ...

* Weather loach *

* 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, patr ...

Catalina goby ''Lythrypnus dalli'', commonly known as the blue-banded goby or Catalina goby, is a species of goby. It is native to the eastern Pacific where it is found from Monterey Bay, California to northern Peru, including the Gulf of California. It c ...

* 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 als ...

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 in freshwater and popu ...

, 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