are salt-water fish more sensative than regular tropical?

Question

and don't most of them get really big? and also arent they quite expensive compared to regular tropical?

Answer 1

Yes on both counts. They are much more sensitive to water conditions and require a very stable tank to survive. They are also rather expensive compared to freshwater fishes.

MM

Answer 2

I can't say I really agree with the answers above. It's true that you cannot compare the hardiness of a guppy with the hardiness of a Moorish Idol, but I can promise you that it is far easier to keep an common clownfish than a Discus.
You see, each fish is different, but on a whole wild-caught fish tend to be more sensitive to water conditions. Quite recently, there has been a trend (driven mostly by the fact that our reefs are rapidly depleting and collection for the aquarium hobby is a major part of the problem) of trying to breed marine fish in the aquarium. This has met with significant success, and most of the clownfish and damsels you see in the stores are captive bred, and therefore surprisingly hardy. In addition, a few years ago CITES made it illegal to import wild bred seahorses into Canada and the States. All seahorses you see in your LFS are therefore captive bred.
What you may not realise is that a lot of the freshwater fish in your LFS aren't necessarily captive bred, although they are usually marked and priced accordingly if they aren't.
The nice thing about saltwater tanks is pH is pretty easy to regulate, as long as you use salt made for marine tanks and crushed coral substrate.
I would also strongly disagree with the above recommendation to start nano and work up. The advice that I most commonly give to would-be marine aquarists is "go big or go home". It is far more difficult to control water conditions in a small tank, whether it's freshwater or not, and while I'm not suggesting that you run out and buy a 100 gallon tank, a beginner is simply asking for failure by starting with anything smaller than 20 gal, although 55gal would be ideal.
Furthermore, do not even think about starting a reef until you have a lot of marine experience under your belt. You can, however, try your hand at a FOWLR, as it's called in the hobby, which is a fish only tank that has live rock, but no corals or anemonies. Live rock contains beaucoup de interesting organisms, from little crabs to tube worms to very hardy mushroom corals and the like. Generally, FOWLR tanks don't require any extra light and a negligible amount of extra care. Plus, the live rock comes with lots of nice bacteria that will help keep water parameters where they should be.
As for fish price, in a first saltwater tank I'd stick with captive bred fish, which will considerably lower the price of your fish. Where I live a captive bred occelaris clownfish is about $15 (CDN) per fish, with damsels and grammas being slightly less. While this is maybe more that you might pay for a neon tetra or a cory, it is what you would pay for a comparably sized and coloured freshwater fish, like an african cichlid or a ram.
The fish I mentioned with not get very big, maybe 10cm max. It's true that there are marine fish on the market that get bigger than I care to even think about, like Batfish, Angelfish, and others that you should stay far away from. :D
Finally, if you are contemplating starting a salt-water aquarium, I would suggest buying a few books on the subject and maybe joining a fish fourm- I personally am a proud member of aquahobby.com, but there are others out there specifically geared toward the marine side of the hobby that might be of more help to you.
I hope this has helped you, good luck!

Liszie

Answer 3

Much more sensitive as a whole, though some are hardy. Many do get large, but there are a lot that dont as well, clownfish, blennys, gobies, firefish, dwarf angels, dwarf lionfish, and some wrasses stay pretty small. Expensive is all relative, I keep a freshwater south american cichlid setup, and most of the fish in my tank were 30 dollars and up. One of my plecos cost 70.00, and some pleco's cost up to 400.00. So, expense really depends on what type of fish you want, and how readily available they are. You'll pay more for saltwater fish than you would guppies or goldfish, but as it is with everything, you get what you pay for. I think that a saltwater tank is an excellent investment.

Answer 4

It depends on which particular species. Some might consider freshwater discus cichlids sensative, and saltwater damselfish hardy as nails.

Some saltwater fish are expensive, but so are some freshwater fish ($150+ zebra pleco-freshwater, $4 blue damsel-saltwater).

Saltwater fish demand prestine water conditions with very little flucuations in water parameters. Many freshwater fish have a higher tolerance to poor water quality but will still die if aren't cared for properly.

Answer 5

Yes salt water fish require a ton more care with the concenttration of salt, temperature,light,etc... Tropical fish are easier to keep and are way more hearty/hardy.

Answer 6

You cant entirely say salt water fish are more sensitive.. different fish are adapted to other Ph nitrate, nitrtie levels than others.. and most poeple dont start out with 100 gallon tanks.. try out a nano first.. and make sure you cycle it

Answer 7

God yes!! They drop dead in a heartbeat! They are sooo sensitive to any changes. I had a 100 gallon salt water aquarium and lost hundreds of dollars in fish learning the hard way.