55 gallon newbie - goldfish or tropical?

[BellaBuggy]

I'm not a total rookie - I've had many 10 gallon tropical aquariums in the past (and one currently), and of course the typical goldfish-in-a-bowl as a child (yes, I know that's a no-no). But I've never had a set up this big and I'm not sure what to do with it. It's been set up and cycling for a while now, and it's time to stock...but I still can't decide what to put in it.

A big factor is the small rural town that I live in, with only Wal-Mart as a fish source. In order to get to a proper pet store, I need to go an hour away. Not ideal, obviously. I know that WM won't have the best fish, but it's most practical for me.

Since they don't have many colorful varieties to choose from, I was thinking of going the fancy goldfish route. They are the most attractive offering there. But I am concerned about the waste - how bad will it be? I've got an AquaTech 30-60 filter - only one. Buy another? Go for tropical fish because the goldfish will be dirtier than I want to deal with?

Wal-Marts selection: for tropicals, they've got mollies, neon tetras, tiger barbs, dragonfish, and bala sharks. Then plecos, common goldfish, fancy goldfish, comets, black moors.

Thoughts or recommendations?

 

[achase]

Personally, I tend to avoid goldfish because they require more space and produce more waste than the typical tropical schooling fish (such as tetra's). Plus they kinda freak me out.
Have you considered ordering fish online? I have never done it myself but you would have more options then. Driving a hour to get fish wouldn't be a problem for me (I did it yesterday in fact) but I understand that it doesn't work for everyone. If you go the goldfish route in your 55 gallon you are not going to get more than 1 or 2 (mostly 1) fish depending on the type.
Combating the waste produced by goldfish is easily done by frequent water changes. If you are wanting to go with tropical fish then I would start with the neon tetras as they are good fish to start building a tropical community tank with.

 

[nanu156]

Id go tropical and I would take a day to make the drive personally. Ordering online is hit or miss and about as risky as the walmart route really imho.

I might do a large lionhead if you wanted to do a gold fish, but that would be it for your tank. Maybe a pair of them...

Tropical would really be the way to go imho. Maybe cichlids? or just a general tropical tank.

 

[HappyFish]

Try cicilids! They are in the tropical arena!

 

[Sageofstupidity]

I would go for tropical, if you want a goldfish tank but you do not have a pond get a 20 gal or 30 gal and use a black moor or fancy, they can do ok in those. Just a personal preference but if you have a nice large 55 gal it would be much more attractive to have a large school or several small ones with generous planting and decorating than a lone fish with a lot of rocks. Granted a green terror or electric blue jd cichlid are pretty enough to not need fancy decoration to show off, it is just my opinion. I have never had a goldfish beside a small tank as a child and he lived maybe a week, he was a carnival fish.

It is really up to you and which fish you find most appealing. Do you want a diverse community tank, a single species school or just a few large fish that you really enjoy?

Just a side note, you said you had 10 gal tropicals in the past, the bigger the tank the easier it is to maintain so keep that in mind if you have any ill thoughts about losing fishies in the past

 

[nanu156]

For sure, if you go New World Cichlids you can house very few in a tank like that but they are large active fish (size of your hand or much bigger depending on what you select) they don't do real well with lots of decor and as they get larger they will start to mess with your decor moving stuff around and digging holes in the gravel

If you go Old World Cichlids (africans) then you can cram quite a few in a tank that size, they are bright colorful and very active.

If you go general tropical you can do a mix match of species and create many shoals of different varieties of fish, cichlids don't shoal each fish works independent of the group.

 

[Kiara1125]

I was wondering the same thing since I have an empty 55 gallon. I went with goldfish because I really wanted a tank with some Black Moor and Ryukins. But, truthfully, the dicision is completely up to you.

 

[DclownD]

I would go tropical i think its very attractive looking tank and you can put alot of fish in there and you could have movement at all levels of the tank