Saltwater Aquariums

Before I get into the discussion of salt water aquariums, I have to warn you. Salt water aquariums are not for the novice fish owner. Even seasoned fresh water aquarium owners have experienced a great deal of trouble trying to maintain salt water tanks. It is very difficult to regulate these tanks and it takes a lot of effort and patience just to get the tanks fit for fish. One Aquarium shop owner my mom and dad dealt with regularly, when they had aquariums, told them that it is quite common to take a year to get the tank properly stabilized so that you can safely keep marine fish in it. Anyone that tells you that keeping saltwater tanks is as easy as keeping fresh water tanks either is lying or has never owned a salt water tank. One further point I would like to cover is the cost associated with maintaining saltwater tanks. The tanks themselves are about the same price as freshwater tanks. Everything else is much more expensive. The fish themselves can cost anywhere from ten dollars to thousands of dollars each. Now that you know that salt water tanks are a lot of work and expensive, I will go over the type of fish you should start out with.

Did you ever wonder why those beautiful fish tanks that you see in the movies look so much better than your freshwater tank?

The answer lies in the fish! Saltwater or marine aquariums are made to house tropical fish that you find around reefs in the ocean. These fish come in shapes, sizes and colors that make a dramatic impact. Most freshwater fish simply cannot compete with these natural beauties.

If you want these same gorgeous fish in your living room, you can set up and maintain a saltwater tank to house them. Once your tank is stable, you are ready to buy your first marine fish. The key is to choose hardy fish that will last. Saltwater fish are much more fragile and more expensive than their freshwater counterparts.

Some hardy fish you may want to consider for a saltwater tank include damsels, mollies and clown fish.

Damsels are probably the most hardy fish and should certainly be considered for a new tank as well as for beginners to marine aquarium ownership. These fish are fairly inexpensive, are not finicky eaters and can withstand poor water conditions better than any other marine fish. Although they are not the most colorful of fish, they are certainly your best bet until you become experienced and have a stable tank. The only caveat is that some can be aggressive so you should limit yourself to two per tank.

Mollies, the same fish that you use in freshwater tanks, can be acclimated to salt water tanks and are quite hardy. These fish are very inexpensive and a great way to start off your marine tank. If you buy mollies in the pet store from a freshwater tank, acclimate them by dripping salt water into the bag over a period of eight hours or so - removing excess water when the bag gets too full and slowly increasing the salinity.

While damsels and mollies may not be the most beautiful fish, the clown fish is certainly a colorful and interesting fish for your tank. These fish are fairly hardy but a bit more difficult to acclimate to a tank so you may not want to use them as starter fish. Clown fish are territorial but will only be aggressive with other clowns and are good for a community tank. Although clowns do like to live around a sea anemone, they will do fine without one which is good for the beginner since the anemone is fairly difficult to keep.

While starting off your tank with these three types of fish can be fun and exciting, you will eventually want to move on to other fish. Other fish you may want to try include hawk fish, grammas, dotty backs, wrasses and basslets. The fish that are more difficult to keep and should probably be avoided include seahorses, butterfly fish, blue ribbon eels, stonefish, and mandarin fish. Join a fish club that has members with marine tanks and learn from seasoned marine aquarium owners. Once you learn the requirements of marine tanks, you will love the colors and shapes of your new marine fish. Good luck with your new hobby.

Until next time,

Teia

PS You can also restrict your marine tank to different types of coral if you so desire. Make sure to discuss the types of coral and their care with your aquarium shop personnel or with marine fish club members.

Simple Tips for Taking Care of Fish in a Home Aquarium

Mom used to have a lot of aquariums, and at one point she had ten of them. However, she began eliminating them about 5 years ago. She got rid of the last few when auntie moved home a couple of years ago. Watching the fish swimming around in their aquariums was fun.

An aquarium in your home can add beauty as well as fun to your living area. Psychologists claim that watching fish swim in an aquarium is one of the greatest stress relievers there is. That is probably why so many doctors’ offices now have aquariums. If you are going to install an aquarium in your home, there are a few simple tips you need to keep in mind if you're going to be successful at this intriguing endeavor.

1. Choose an appropriate aquarium for your home.

Don't purchase an aquarium that is extremely deep unless you're prepared to do a lot of extra work. If you own a deep aquarium and one or more of your fish dies, the water may become polluted before you even notice any dead fish.

In a deep aquarium it's difficult to get the plants you may wish to introduce to grow properly since the light has to go all the way down to the bottom. If you want an extra large aquarium, you need to purchase a 48-gallon aquarium that is 48 inches long by 12 inches wide by 12 inches deep. Get one that comes with a flourescent light canopy as this will be capable of illuminating the large aquarium's bottom. Because the aquarium is only a foot deep, your plants will get adequate light and you will have no difficulty seeing all parts of your aquarium. If you get a 48-gallon aquarium, make sure that you get a filter that will be large enough to adequately filter that volume of water.

2. It's best if you purchase all needed aquarium supplies before you set up your aquarium. Let the aquarium sit for at least one week full of water with the filters going before putting any fish into it. Then only put one or two in at a time with at least a three day to one week interval between each group of fish. In this way you won’t upset the biological balance in your aquarium.

Here are some supplies you're going to need:

* aquarium
* aquarium cover with a flourescent light bar
* heater
* aquarium filter
* gravel
* 5 gallon bucket
* strainer
* glass scrubber
* fish food
* replacement filter media
* chemical test kits
* plants -- natural or artificial
* decorations
* fish net
* aquarium vacuum
* aquarium stand - if you don’t have a piece of furniture capable of supporting over 500 pounds (480 pounds of water plus the weight of the aquarium, gravel, fish, filter, and decorations) you should consider getting an aquarium stand to put your aquarium on.

3. It's essential that you keep a close watch over your aquarium. Be sure to check the water in your aquarium for fungus infections, parasites and bacteria. There are parasites that can enter your aquarium through infected fish. Before you notice anything wrong, your entire aquarium could be totally infested. Therefore, be sure to keep close watch to see if any of your fish show signs of being infected and put them in a separate tank away from your healthy fish.

Before adding new fish to your aquarium, you should keep them in a separate tank for at least a week before introducing them to your other fish. You only need an inexpensive plastic tank with no gravel or plants to keep your new fish in to make sure they're healthy. Then add fish gradually so you don't get so many fish in your aquarium that ammonia problems arise, which can result in some or all of your fish dying. A good rule for the number of fish, is to have a maximum of one inch of fish for every gallon of water. Therefore, a 48-gallon tank could handle up to 48 inches of fish. Note! Fish grow. Before purchasing fish, check with the pet store you are buying them from to find out how big they will be when full grown. Overcrowding your tank will cause a lot of problems and spoil the fun of having an aquarium.

4. Take care of your fish by choosing them wisely. Not every fish is compatible with every other fish; so don't purchase fish that won't get along well together just because they're attractive. You'll be sorry if you do. A friend of mom’s did this. Three days later he only had his new attractive fish in the tank. It had eaten all the rest. Pet store staff should be able to tell you if the fish you are looking at is a candidate for a community tank (one with a variety of different fish in it). If they can’t, then go to a different store to buy your fish.

Educate yourself about fish at your local pet store before you make your purchases. You will want to learn what your new fish is like and what its habits are so you'll know how to take care of it. You'll also need to learn if it is compatible with your other fish. Check with the pet store to see if there is an aquarium club in the area. If there is, join it. You will meet a lot of knowledgeable fish enthusiasts at the club. They will gladly help you out and answer all your questions. Aquarium club members frequently have fish to sell or give away, so you can frequently get some good quality fish at very reasonable prices. Also, having someone you can call when you have a problem is invaluable.

5. Be sure that you don't give your fish too much to eat. One of the most common causes of fish dying prematurely in aquariums is overfeeding them. A good rule is to only put enough food in the tank so that your fish can eat it all in two minutes, with none settling on the bottom of the tank. It is much better to under feed your fish than overfeeding them. Provide a little variety in the diet of your fish. Just like you, your fish won’t be happy eating the same food every day of the week. Pet store clerks should be able to help you out in this regard. If they can’t, members of the aquarium club certainly will.

Now that you've read these five simple tips to help you successfully raise fish in your home, be sure to put these tips into practice. Then have fun as these marvelous creatures entertain you.

Until next time,

Teia

PS. The tank shown above is too deep. Mom had a lot of trouble getting the water to circulate properly and as a result, polutants from fish waste built up regularly causing the fish to become ill. She finally solved the problem by putting extensions on the intake tubes to the filters. In this way she drew in the water to be filtered from the bottom of the tank and emptied the filtered water into the top. Once she did this, her fish remained healthy and the tank ended up being in biological balance. She never had this sort of problem with her 48 gallon tanks.

PPS. When buying a tank over 10 gallons, always buy a tank with thick walls. The glass should be one-quarter of an inch thick or thicker. There is much less chance of the glass breaking and spilling a large volume of water onto your floor. Also, the pressure of the water will not make the sides of your tank bulge out. If this happens, your tank cover will not fit properly and your glass will always be under stress.