My husband just bought me a 55 gal tank for Christmas.....I am so syked!! My problem is that I can't decide weather to create a freshwater, brackish or saltwater environment? :huh: I've heard that saltwater is hard to maintain, but I would like to fill my tank with a colorful variety of fish. :help: Which is the easiest to handle (I have 4 kids) and what are some colorful fish that are best for those conditions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!
Which way to go?
- Thread starter paula023
- Start date
hi, if you want colour i wouldn't bother with brackish. marine (salt water) can be the best looking tank but is a lot more expensive, marine fish are also a lot more sensetive to water quality. i would almost definatly go with freshwater because you can stock more fish than you can in marine and most arn't to sensitive to water quality (but that doesn't mean that you don't have to clean them). there are plenty of coulorful fish in freshwater such as platys, guppies, neon tetras, cardinal tetras congo tetras, denisons barbs, just to name a few.
try going to www.fishindex.com (then click on library) lots of fish info there.
try going to www.fishindex.com (then click on library) lots of fish info there.
Freshwater is definitely the easiest to maintain......there are some very nicely colored freshwater fish available. I can think of rainbows right off the bat. A nice school of Boesemani rainbows or turquoise rainbows would look fantastic in a 55. A couple of pairs of blue rams as well..they are quite colorful too.
I have some prestella tetras in a 29...they are a striking fish..a plain greenish/bronze body color with bright yellow tags on their fins over a black stripe. They look great in tanks with lower lighting..the yellow really stands out.
So many fish....so little room !! LOL !
If you are determined to have a SW tank, I would go with a FOWLR...(FishOnlyWithLiveRock) That would probably be the easiest to maintain as the Live Rock aids a great deal in filtration. Do lots of reading up first though...a book I recommend is "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S. Paletta. GREAT book ! Most everything you need to know to get started. I picked up a copy from Amazon for a very reasonable price.
Lots of fish to choose from for a saltwater tank as well...I would love to have one myself..but..no room !
Good luck and have fun deciding and setting it up !
I have some prestella tetras in a 29...they are a striking fish..a plain greenish/bronze body color with bright yellow tags on their fins over a black stripe. They look great in tanks with lower lighting..the yellow really stands out.
So many fish....so little room !! LOL !
If you are determined to have a SW tank, I would go with a FOWLR...(FishOnlyWithLiveRock) That would probably be the easiest to maintain as the Live Rock aids a great deal in filtration. Do lots of reading up first though...a book I recommend is "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S. Paletta. GREAT book ! Most everything you need to know to get started. I picked up a copy from Amazon for a very reasonable price.
Lots of fish to choose from for a saltwater tank as well...I would love to have one myself..but..no room !
Good luck and have fun deciding and setting it up !
If you want a colorful freshwater tank do African Cichlids!!! I plan on starting a 55 african tank soon. The African Cichlids colors are the only ones (in my opinion) that rival saltwater colors. with the exception of dwarf gouramis. Hope you figure out what to do.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think I will go ahead with a freshwater tank, but I'm not sure if I still need to cycle for awhile before I add fish, is this necessary? Also, if I have to cycle for awhile first, can I add plants now or should I wait?
Again, thanks a ton for your input, it makes it a lot easier for me to decide when getting suggestions from veterans...........lol. Really, thanks!
Again, thanks a ton for your input, it makes it a lot easier for me to decide when getting suggestions from veterans...........lol. Really, thanks!
live plants or fake plants?
If you want to add fake plants, now or later, it won't matter. If you want to add live plants, that is a whole different thing. You need to consider your lighting, it may require an upgrade.
In general, you add the live plants and the better lighting at the start and after the plants are growing well, then add the fish. Healthy plants consume ammonia and so you skip most of the cycle, not all but most.
If you want to add fake plants, now or later, it won't matter. If you want to add live plants, that is a whole different thing. You need to consider your lighting, it may require an upgrade.
In general, you add the live plants and the better lighting at the start and after the plants are growing well, then add the fish. Healthy plants consume ammonia and so you skip most of the cycle, not all but most.
You could go with low light plants if your lights aren't strong..better to start off slow,since you're new at it all,and them work your way up.
Depending on what your tap water parameters are (pH and hardness) go with either african cichlids or south american cichlids. Africans love hard alkaline water, while south americans love neutral or acidic water.
If its acidic or neutral, I would go w/angelfish because they're easy to take care of and are very beautiful fish. If you have alkaline water, go with whatever african cichlid you like. Those things are extremely hardy.
Good luck with your tank, and may the schwartz be with ya.
If its acidic or neutral, I would go w/angelfish because they're easy to take care of and are very beautiful fish. If you have alkaline water, go with whatever african cichlid you like. Those things are extremely hardy.
Good luck with your tank, and may the schwartz be with ya.