When I get space for more tanks I am looking into keeping and breeding more interesting fish. So far I am breeding convict cichlids as well as making my own variety of guppy and by mixing endlers with store bought guppies and simply allowing nature to take its course then eventually hopefully the fry that are born will hopefully end up having a similar appearance and becoming more hardy for my local water conditions. I've found aquarium chillers that would allow me to keep an aquarium at a cool temperature which would allow me to keep and breed any native UK species that I want. I tried keeping native uk minnows alive in both my ponds and my cold water tanks but I personally think they became too warm. It worked a few years ago so i think climate change has made it far harder. I had native minnows in both tanks and small tubs that survived. I also tried to keep a trout alive overnight in my goldfish and tench pond overnight to put in the lake at my college to grow large for fishing but that didn't survive either. It would be very hard to dig a deep enough pond for trout to survive naturally without aeration so personally I think it would be far better to keep them indoors with a chiller then to make sure they are well oxygenated and the tank never gets over 16c. I think that is about the maximum temperature that brown trout can cope with then to somehow get a steady supply of minnows, dubia roaches and crayfish to feed them on. I may also be able to wean them onto pellets or homemade gel food. I was thinking of a tank around 600l for a few trout. I have permission to take fish from my local stream by a local farmer so I think this is possible. It would also be super cool to try hand stripping the trout and hatching their eggs like they do on tv.
Keeping brown trout in an aquarium
- Thread starter BO17
- Start date
Trout are a different beast compared to the community fish or convicts you're used to. It's an ambitious project, but there are a couple of things you need to plan for that aren't obvious at first glance.
First off, the bioload. Trout are absolute waste machines. Even if you get the chiller setup perfectly to keep that 16°C threshold, maintaining water quality in a 600L tank with adult trout will be your biggest hurdle. They eat a massive amount and produce waste to match. You’re going to need filtration overkill..think double or triple what you’d run on a standard community tank of that size.
Also, don't underestimate the flow requirements. They are rheophilic; they need high, constant oxygen turnover to survive, not just 'good' circulation. If you're doing this, you'll need powerheads creating a dedicated river-like current, not just filter outlets.
A 600L might work for fry or juveniles, but once they hit 10-12 inches, that tank will feel like a puddle to them very quickly. It's a great challenge if you're into the engineering side of aquarium management, but keep a very, very close eye on your nitrates. They can go downhill fast.
First off, the bioload. Trout are absolute waste machines. Even if you get the chiller setup perfectly to keep that 16°C threshold, maintaining water quality in a 600L tank with adult trout will be your biggest hurdle. They eat a massive amount and produce waste to match. You’re going to need filtration overkill..think double or triple what you’d run on a standard community tank of that size.
Also, don't underestimate the flow requirements. They are rheophilic; they need high, constant oxygen turnover to survive, not just 'good' circulation. If you're doing this, you'll need powerheads creating a dedicated river-like current, not just filter outlets.
A 600L might work for fry or juveniles, but once they hit 10-12 inches, that tank will feel like a puddle to them very quickly. It's a great challenge if you're into the engineering side of aquarium management, but keep a very, very close eye on your nitrates. They can go downhill fast.
The native fish I am used to keeping are carp, tench, barbel, roach, rudd and I think I had a roach bream hybrid. My friend had a pond and wanted to stock it so I gave him the roach, rudd, hybrid and the single barbel. I guess to keep the trout I will eventually need a suitable pond for them to thrive. I already have 3 ponds so that would definitely be possible. I have a friend who is a farmer and has a stream with wild brown trout so I think it would definitely be possible to take some fingerling juveniles and eventually build a natural pond once they get to 10 inches or so. I would also need predator protection because we have otters around sadly.