Hi....I have goldfish and and some of these minnows things that live in cold water and they all get along fine and have done for years....I have been told that some proper tropical fish can live with goldfish etc and I was wondering if this is true ( I am not getting any but was interesed)...??? My friend also has a tank full of tropical fish but with no heater and they all live fine.....I was under the imression that they needed a heater to live ? are tropical fish really this easy to look after compared to goldfish ?

Tropical fish need to be in heated water thats why they're called tropical fish. They can't be kept with coldwater fish like goldfish. They're not very easy they need constant temperature, pH and ion levels in the tank.

There are a few which don't mind cooler water such as Zebra Danios and some barbs like Rosy barb.
Also siamese fighting fish, I've seen them in tanks with goldfish before at fish shops - although to be honest I would say that a fighter is too delicate to be in with a goldfish! Often you'll see them in little cubes at fish shops, and they are not heated.

'Proper' tropical fish usually includes the likes of Tetras, Gouramis, Catfish etc. Certain Cyprinids such as Rosy Barbs and also Peppered Corydoras have been known to tolerate cooler conditions, however in my own opinion this is far from ideal.

Can the siamese fighting fish go with any other tropical fish ?

Yes they can, so long as you choose tankmates wisely. Most small barbs, rasboras and tetras should be fine. However many of these fish such as Buenos Aires tetras (Hemigrammus anisitsi) and Tiger barbs (Puntius tetrazona) are notorious fin-nippers, and therefore would not make suitable tankmates.

Yes Ive heard about the fin nippers , I could be happy with just 2 siamese Maybe

I am taking the easy road for a while , It all depends on the heat in my flat as to what will work

You need a good flat mate to help look after marine tanks I think and also share the expense but this is not possible anyway I ve decided with my conditions . I inch evaporation a day says it all . I may as well live in a boiler room

Just wanted to point out you cannot have 2 male siamese fighters in the same tank! They will fight to the death. Fighters are very peaceful with all other tank mates apart form their own. You could get a female (which are much smaller and brown) but they are often violent to the male.

My daughter has some white cloud mountain minnows in her coldwater tank, I've never heard of any other "tropical" fish that can acclimatize to temperatures in the way the minnows can.

I suppose it really boils down the temperatures in the house, but I almost certainly wouldn't keep fish that were meant to be tropical without a heater.

Why not just stick with the Minnows? I think they are very pretty little fish