Did you know that you can keep trout in aquariums at home? This isn’t the first fish that typically comes to mind when people consider a pet fish for the aquarium at home, but trout can be an exciting fish to keep if you’re able to meet their demanding standards.
Keeping trout in an aquarium at home is well worth the effort if you love the species.
One of the biggest challenges for keeping trout in a home aquarium is that they require very specific conditions in order to remain happy and healthy. The biggest thing that you’ll notice about an aquarium with trout is that these aquariums are very large and only have a small number of trout.
You can keep 1 to 3 trout for every 200 gallons that your aquarium holds. This aquarium also needs to be able to have a rapid current that the trout can swim against which will simulate its natural environment.
Trout also have a demanding dietary requirement. They need to be fed live food that’s in accordance with what they would be eating in the wild.
This can include worms, smaller fish, and even shellfish such as shrimp. If you’re interested in keeping trout in an aquarium, check out the rest of this article.
Can Trout Be Kept In An Aquarium?
Trying to keep trout in aquariums is one of the most difficult challenges you can accept as someone who wants to have some exotic pet fish. Yes, every day trout that you can fish in your local streams are not typical pets that people have in aquariums in their homes.
You can keep trout in an aquarium so long as it stays sufficiently cold, it has fast-moving and aerated water, and the trout has enough space to stay comfortable. All in all, aquariums with trout tend to be more expensive as well as much larger than aquariums with other types of fish.
This comes down to the physical needs that trout have in the wild. Trout spend their lives swimming in fast-moving water that’s highly aerated. This water is also typically very cold and hovers around 15 degrees celsius.
This means that you’re going to need an aquarium with at least 200 gallons as well as several chillers throughout the aquarium to maintain the cool temperature. That 200 gallon aquarium will only be able to house 2 or 3 trout at a time.
Trout also have a very particular diet when it comes to what they want to eat. You’ll need to research the natural diet of the species of trout you’re looking to keep in your aquarium and have those foods on hand.
One important thing to keep in mind is that trout should be fed live food whether you’re feeding them worms or other fish. The key to keeping trout in an aquarium is making sure that they are kept in as close to their natural environment as you can recreate.
How Do You Set Up A Trout Aquarium?
Setting up an aquarium that’s fit for trout is a big challenge because these fish are very particular and notoriously hard to keep in a home aquarium. There’s a few basic things you’re going to need to ensure that this aquarium is capable of keeping your trout happy and healthy.
It’s going to need to be kept cool, have fast-moving currents that the trout can swim through, and be much larger than aquariums you would need to keep other fish. Let’s take a closer look at some of these specific requirements for keeping trout and aquariums.
The biggest thing you’re going to notice about an aquarium that’s fit to keep trout is that it’s huge. The smallest size aquarium you should ever consider for pet trout is 200 gallons.
That’s a massive aquarium size for most typical fish, but trout are athletic swimmers and they require all of this space to maintain a comfortable sense of their territory.
Speaking of athletic swimming, you’re also going to want to make sure that the aquarium has some rapid currents.
Trout spend their time in the wild swimming through strong currents that are well aerated. Trout are muscular fish that get a lot of exercises and your aquarium is going to need to accommodate this.
The water is also going to need to be kept cold with several chillers running at the same time. There’s going to be a significant energy cost in making sure your aquarium has a consistent current and temperature.
What Can I Feed My Aquarium Trout?
Here’s another big challenge for keeping pet trout in a home aquarium. You won’t be able to feed your pet trout over-the-counter fish food such as pellets or flakes.
Trout simply won’t recognize these as food and skip right past them. You’re going to need to research the specific species of trout you’re looking to keep and get their natural food on hand to have in your aquarium. Here’s how it’s done.
Trout have a versatile diet. These fish are predators that will go after any prey item that they think they can take down, but they’re still fairly picky even though they’re aggressive eaters.
Most species of trout will eat things like worms, insects, shrimp, and other fish. You’re going to want to make sure that, first and foremost, you have some live food ready for your trout.
There’s a good way to keep live food for your trout, but it does involve a lot of extra work. If you’re feeding your trout smaller prey fish, you can operate a secondary aquarium with those feeder fish stocked.
This makes sure that you have some live fish on hand to feed your trout at all times.
Conclusion
You can keep trout in aquariums at home, but they’re going to need a lot more care than other species of fish. Trout should be kept in aquariums that are released 200 gallons in size, be kept around 15 degrees celsius, and have an aggressive current that will allow the trout to swim and stay fit. Trout also need a diet of live food including worms, shrimp, and other fish. If you’re willing and able to meet these challenges, trout can be some of the most exciting fish to keep it home.
