Thinking of the Right Freshwater Fish for Your Brand-New 55 Gallon Fish Tank
If your appetite for aquarium-keeping is whetted with having kept smaller tanks in the past, you might feel that it's time to graduate to the big leagues.
For people who are just stepping up to larger tanks, a 55 gallon fish tank happens to be one of those popular sizes.
Having a massive tank such as this can open the doors of your passion to many new areas of exploration in fish keeping.
If it's the beauty of a freshwater aquarium that does it for you, here are a few ideas for the kind of fish you can get to populate that grand new tank that you're getting.
Consider getting Discus for your brand-new 55 gallon fish tank.
For the inexperienced home aquarium keeper, the idea of getting discus can often be a bit anxiety-provoking.
These are fish that have a reputation for being difficult to manage and maintain.
Discus hardly deserve such a reputation though.
Certainly, they do have certain needs that most community fish don't.
But make no mistake, they are pretty hardy, and all they need is for you to understand a few specific needs.
These are fish that are happy sharing a tank with others, even if they do thrive the best if they are the primary inmates of their tank.
Before you let that idea run away with you, consider how discus can grow to quite a size.
Each fish needs about 10 gallons of the tank all to itself.
And they are happiest when there are quite a few of them in there.
Typically, in a 55 gallon fish tank, you could have no more than five of these.
And that leaves room for little else.
For fish that can really show off your new 55 gallon fish tank to the greatest advantage, consider the African cichlid - brightly colored fish that can truly light up any room.
The problem with keeping cichlids is that they hate to share a tank with any other kind of fish.
They love their turf and they guard it.
Thankfully, cichlids are not as large as the discus, and a large tank can support about 10 of these.
One of the most endearing qualities of these fish is that the really care for their surroundings.
Anything you put in your tank to decorate it with, your fish will have their own ideas on where everything should go.
You'll find that they constantly rearrange their surroundings, and this is something that constantly delights any cichlid owner.
For people who are just stepping up to larger tanks, a 55 gallon fish tank happens to be one of those popular sizes.
Having a massive tank such as this can open the doors of your passion to many new areas of exploration in fish keeping.
If it's the beauty of a freshwater aquarium that does it for you, here are a few ideas for the kind of fish you can get to populate that grand new tank that you're getting.
Consider getting Discus for your brand-new 55 gallon fish tank.
For the inexperienced home aquarium keeper, the idea of getting discus can often be a bit anxiety-provoking.
These are fish that have a reputation for being difficult to manage and maintain.
Discus hardly deserve such a reputation though.
Certainly, they do have certain needs that most community fish don't.
But make no mistake, they are pretty hardy, and all they need is for you to understand a few specific needs.
These are fish that are happy sharing a tank with others, even if they do thrive the best if they are the primary inmates of their tank.
Before you let that idea run away with you, consider how discus can grow to quite a size.
Each fish needs about 10 gallons of the tank all to itself.
And they are happiest when there are quite a few of them in there.
Typically, in a 55 gallon fish tank, you could have no more than five of these.
And that leaves room for little else.
For fish that can really show off your new 55 gallon fish tank to the greatest advantage, consider the African cichlid - brightly colored fish that can truly light up any room.
The problem with keeping cichlids is that they hate to share a tank with any other kind of fish.
They love their turf and they guard it.
Thankfully, cichlids are not as large as the discus, and a large tank can support about 10 of these.
One of the most endearing qualities of these fish is that the really care for their surroundings.
Anything you put in your tank to decorate it with, your fish will have their own ideas on where everything should go.
You'll find that they constantly rearrange their surroundings, and this is something that constantly delights any cichlid owner.