i am new to the fish world... tons of questions?

Question

Hi, i am considering getting or starting up a saltwater aquarium. I have had goldfish before, but not any marine fish. Sorry if i call the wrong things the wrong names- im new at this. So i need all the info on keeping seahorses, clownfish, "dory" the one in finding nemo, fish like that. What size tank? Type of heaters? Salt? What is cycleing? Every and any question and answer you can think of will help! Thanks.

Ok first of all, I am a dedicated pet person, fish are not the only things i own, secondly i would like to thank magic man, copper head, buzzard and danielle z, for actually giving me possitive reenforcement, those of you who said "its too hard you'll just kill the fish- i wont because i have the money and will power to do anything i want. "

Answer 1

Going from goldfish to a marine tank is a HUGE leap, and I don't think you're quite ready to undertake such a large project.

There's is a lot more to a marine tank than just adding salt to the water. The fish are much more delicate and so is the whole system or corals etc should you chose to have them. In a FW (freshwater) tank, if you forget to feed them one day, it's no big deal. If you get to turn the lights on one morning or off at night, no big deal. If you don't do a water change one week, no big deal. If you let the water evaporate a few inches, no big deal. With SW, forgetting to do something or trying to cut corners can result in the whole tank crashing (not literally - but all the fish and other organisms dying). Not to say that it's impossible, but there's a lot to know.
In addition to that, it's very expensive. For your first marine tank, you shouldn't go any smaller than 50 gallons. I know it sounds kind of backwards, but bigger is easier because it's more stable, and there's a larger margin for error. If you try to do something small like 10 gallons, you are likely to fail - even the pros have trouble maintaining small SW tanks. Plus, everything for SW is just more expensive. To give you an idea;

You need the tank to start with
If you want any corals or anenomes, you will need special ligthing. That'll cost you 100-500$.
Instead of a regular filter, you'll need live rock. This is rock with all sorts of organisms on it that eat the ammonia produced by fish. You'll need about one to two pounds per gallon, and it's sold for about 5$ per pound, so 250-500$ for your tank.
You will also need a protein skimmer - this removes the oily film made up of proteins. This will cost 100-200$.
You will need two high quality submsersible heaters - 50$ each.
Unlike the real ocean, there is no current in a fishtank. For that reason, you will need to purchase powerheads (water pumps) that go on and off on timers to simulate ocean currents - 50$
And you'll need electrical equipment that is safe, such as power bars, timers, etc - 40$

Then you also need the sand, the fish, salt (Instant Ocean is my favourite type), a hydrometer (measures the salt in the water - 30$), and a full testing kit for ammonia etc (30$).

And also, everything takes longer in a SW tank. A FW tank can be cycled fairly rapidly. In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will beready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish. http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html
Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before the tank is ready.
In SW, you'll want to wait at LEAST a month after you put in your live rock before getting a fish. And you'll want to get no more than one fish per month.

So as you can see, it's not the easiest or cheapest undertaking! That said, there's no reason that you can't go ahead and do it if you're prepared to spend the time and money. I suggest you buy a good book on marine tanks and read it; also read up some articles online, and join a saltwater fish forum to ask questions. In the meantime, you can scout your local fish classifieds for good deals on used equipment.

I would, however, advise that you start with a nice freshwater tank. Everything tends to start with goldfish and frankly, it's not the best thing to start with. Goldfish can't be kept in bowls - they're big, waste producing fish and need to be in real tanks with filters. So I suggest you get the largest tank you can fit in your room and afford, and start with freshwater. You'll gain experience and you can collect equipment, and it will give you time to learn more about marine tanks and decide whether you really want to (after all, there are some really beautiful freshwater fish).

Good luck to you :)

Answer 2

First off- if you kept goldfish successfully then Good Job! Despite the common assumption that they are starter fish, Goldies are difficult to keep alive. They have tons of genetic problems.

Secondly- my little brother keeps reef tanks- that means anyone can. Trust me!

I was looking into salt water a little while ago but I know I am moving so decided to hold off. I found some good intro sites though. I really liked this one- it assumed I knew nothing- which is fine by me.

http://aquarium.union.rpi.edu/setup.html

What I would suggest is finding a store that sells marine fish- some place that has a lot of stock. Some place that just dabbles in marine fish are going to give you shady information.

Find a fish that you really like and then do a lot of research. There are fish specific forums all over the internet. It is a lot easier to start out by learning what one fish needs as opposed to how everything works.

Warning about Seahorses- these are difficult to keep healthy. My sister has a tank of them and they are a pain in the butt. They are really finnicky eaters. She loves em' though.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Sea horses, I hear, die if you look at them funny but you can still try. They are expensive. Colwn fish are pretty easy to take care of. Alot of people think that you have to have an annemone for this but you dont. It gives them more of a sence of security though. The 'Dory' fish is called a blue tang. Tangs can be very territorial. What you will have to do before you get one of those is get everything else that you want in the tank. Let them settle for at least a month, then get the blue tang. If everything else is setteled then the tang will accept every other fish in the tank.

You need a good size tank. I say the very smallest you should have is 75 gallons. Bigger is better though. The bigger the tank the easier it is to keep everything alive and keep the chemical levels stable. After that you should find out *not do* but find out how to mix the water. After you find out how to do that, go to a place that specializes in salt water fish. Get live sand and *I'm assuming you want them in your tank* live rocks. You will need to clean the live rocks. I've heard that you should do it with a tooth brush. I've never done it so DO NOT do it untill you have heard from an expert. I'm not exactally sure but I think from there, you put the sand in the tank, fill the tank half way up with your water that you mixed *you will either need a large plastic trash can for bigger tanks or small buckets for smaller tanks to mix the salt and water. Make sure they have never been used* fill the tank half way up, put the rocks in and fill it the rest of the way. You should leave it there for a while for the filter to cycle, get used to the load that it has to clean and build up the bennifitial bacteira that it needs. It would be smart to let it cycle for at least a week since salt water fish are more delicate that fresh water fish most of the time. Then start getting your fish and plants *research them before you get them. Some fish are aggressive and cant go with certain fish and others may pick on your live plants like annemones or mushroom looking things*

Dont forget to get a proper light for the size tank you have, type of fish you have, and plants you have. You also need a proper filter and a heater.

Average levels:
Temperature: 75- 80 degrees
Specific gravity: 1.020-1.024
pH: 8.0-8.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm or less
Carbonic hardness: 7-10 dKH

Note: I have never had a salt water tank before. We dont have room in our house but I am completly crazy about fish and I sit at my computer for hours every day researching. It is possible that I have found wrong information. Check and make sure that everything here is true. I would hate to be the cause of a failing tank and cause of the death of fish. This is all to the best of my knowladge. I wish you the best of luck.
{K}itty

Answer 4

Welcome to the hobby!

Saltwater isn't too much more difficult than freshwater, but you need to do lots of research (you're already on the right track here by asking questions!) and choosing they right fish for your tank.

There's really too much info to cover in any one website or forum. Plus, in forums, you need to be careful - there's lots of good info out there, but lots of bad info as well. As a beginner, you won't always be able to distinguish between the two. I'd suggest getting a good book on saltwater aquariums, then you'll have it for reference in the future (you'll always, have questions, believe me! I've been keeping saltwater for almost 9 years now and have 3 tanks). I'd strongly recommend either The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 or The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5. These are written for beginners and provide info on options so you can build a setup for what you plan to keep. There's often more than one way of doing something, so the options let you decide what's right for your tank inhabitants & budget (and make no mistake - saltwater is expensive!).

A good place to start is by researching the fish you'd like. Marine fish are more aggressive than most of the freshwater fish - they're territorial and behave more like cichlids than community fish. Many are also more demanding as far as proper water quality. Because of these factors, you can't put nearly as many in a tank as you can with freshwater - only about 1/2 to 1/3 what most people would think. So you'll need a large tank. And not all fish will be able to live together peacefully. The seahorses you mentioned (and I like these too!) would not be able to be kept with any of the other fish you list. They are slow swimmers, and very peaceful - all the others would beat them to any food and they would slowly starve. You almost need to keep them in a tank by themselves for them to do well. The "Dory" fish - a blue, (or hippo) tang is peaceful, but gets to be about a foot long and is very active - you'd have to have a tank of 70 gallons or more to keep one (and I mean ONE!). Clownfish are hardy and make a good choice for someone just starting - a pair of these can be kept in a 20 gallon long tank, but I'd recommend starting with nothing smaller than a 30 gallon - the water conditions will be more stable, plus will allow you to get 2-3 more small fish. See, there's a lot to know!

So, as I said, I'd get a book and start doing some research on the animals you want - and plan the rest of your tank (size, live rock, lighting, invertebrates, protein skimmer, etc.) around these. Until you get the book, here are some websites with better info where you can start looking at the fish and basics of marine tanks:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=15
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=497
http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cat=1987
http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm
http://www.apapets.com/MarineEcosystem/whatto.htm

Good luck with your tank!

Answer 5

That's a big step up in the fish keeping world, but you can do it. The key to success, like in so many other things, is knowledge. There is no way whatsoever to even begin to scratch the surface of your questions in a simple yahoo answers post. I would advise you to google starting marine aquariums, beginning with saltwater, things like that and start reading. After a few days, go get a good solid marine aquarium keeping book. It will be the best investment you will ever make in your new hobby. and will answer most of your questions, even those you haven't thought to ask yet. Read up before you buy a single thing and continue to read through out the process. Best of luck with your new tank.

MM

Answer 6

when i started my 70 gallon I put crushed coral in first then about 40 pounds of dead live rock that i fully cleaned then filled with water and mixed in the salt. waited 2 days then added
6 blue damsels and a package of live Bactria from pet shop
numbers were all perfect in about 3-31/2 weeks. please stay away from sea horses until you have a lot more experience they are not not the easiest to take care of.

Answer 7

Listen to Coperhead and Magicman.
You can START Any where when it comes to keeping an aquarium you just have to do a little RESEARCH, you can START with Beta's, or you can START with a REEF tank.
saltwater is NOT as hard as MOST people Think it is.
Like everything else, INCLUDING Freshwater... you have to learn.
there are a lot of really good web sites out there for beginners and advanced aquarists that will help you start and mantain a HEALTHY enviroment for your Marine critters.
This one is a very good one for salt and freshwater.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/
Dont get discouraged and be patient and you can have a beautifull reef or fish aquarium to enjoy with minimal work on your part.
Read on and Don't Rush Mother Nature

Answer 8

those fish are called tropical fish and are very hard to hard care of you need heaters in you tank cuz it needs to be about 78-80 dregres most of the time you have to get fish that will get along with each other and will not eat each other tanks: 4 fish small 7 fish mediam 13 fish large 18 xlarge

Answer 9

mania,

I've known a couple people who had saltwater aquariums. It seemed to me that you needed a minor in chemistry to be successful at it.

Pretty fish to be sure, but a monumental pain...

Answer 10

please do not buy a "dory" fish if you have not had saltwater before.they are very sensitive fish and get sick from the least little stress.also they need atleast a 100 gallon tank to be happy.