Choosing to Setup a Saltwater Fish Tank

Author: Rebeca Rambal

A well set up saltwater aquarium tank is the dream of those who love the hobby. It can be an amazing and striking addition to your home or office and bring you hour of peaceful entertainment.

If you are a beginner, starting with a saltwater aquarium can be a risky business, so I would highly recommend getting the advice of a professional aquarium keeper before setting up your tank. It takes a lot of work and planning to set up the tank just right even before you can begin to introduce fish, corals, and anemones to your new saltwater aquarium.

You will need to monitor the water parameters (temperature, nitrates, ammonia, etc) and some of the aquarium equipment on your saltwater setup. Once a week, or at least once a month, you will need to perform aquarium maintenance on your fish tank, especially water changes and water quality testing. The water in such an aquarium needs to be at the perfect temperature, be at the optimum pH, and have the exact salt content before it is safe for living beings. Salt water fish and other life forms are quite expensive, so it would be wise to have the tank properly set up before you end up with a tank full of sick or dying fish at a high cost.

There are different marine salt mixes in the market and they are all made slightly differently. Unless you're considering a reef tank, most of the commonly available mixes should serve you fine. You will develop your own salt mix preference after you've worked with them for a while.
Prepare and mix your salt water in a special bucket and once you have the perfect mixture you can add the saltwater to your tank. You will have to repeat this process until you have filled the aquarium. If it's a large tank you can mix the salt in the tank, which can be a bit more difficult and messy.

The lighting on the saltwater aquarium is very important. You need light in the aquarium for at least half a day. Plants and livestock need a perfect cycle of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
A well decorated salt water aquarium will be an asset for years to come, so it's worth it to spend time and energy looking for the right décor and ornaments for the tank. There are many types of decorations for a saltwater aquarium. Driftwood and sand look simply beautiful and are essential elements of saltwater fish natural habitat.

You can opt for real or plastic plants. However, live plants help you bring Nature into your home. Live plants oxygenate the water in the tank. Keep in mind that your fish will use the decorations you place in the tank as shelter and as playgrounds. So, for the benefit of the fish and to maintain the natural beauty of the aquarium, I would advise to use real aquatic plants.

Live rock is great for your saltwater aquarium. It helps formulate the aquarium's ecosystem, vital to aquatic life. Live rock is covered with micro and macro organisms which filter the waste products from the water, making it safe for your aquatic inhabitants.

Some saltwater aficionados keep only living corals and anemones in their tanks. This can be colorful and entertaining, at a more relaxed pace. You could keep fish in these tanks, but be aware that some fish view coral and anemones as food. Shrimps, crabs and snails will also eat any anemones you may have.

Anemones look like plants, but they are living creatures that need to be fed, and feeding them by hand can be a lot of fun. You place the food on top of the anemones tentacles and watch them curl themselves around the food and draw it into their mouths.

Before you bring in the inhabitants of your tank, choose the type of fish that you want. The type of fish will also decide the type of plants you use. You also need to research how the type of fish you are interested in will get along with other types of fish. Remember that the dynamics of a saltwater aquarium will be very similar to that in a real coral reef. Don't mix pray and predators. Do your homework.

Some types of saltwater fish are poisonous, like Lion Fish. They are beautiful to look at and it's an awesome addition to your tank, but the spines on their fins are very toxic if you get stung. You need to get medical help if this ever happens.

Deciding to have a saltwater aquarium is a lot of work. Keeping your fish and plants healthy will require a commitment on your part and it will be a considerable investment. But if you want to invite Mother Nature into your home environment, there is no better choice. You will enjoy this hobby for years to come.

If you want to read more about keeping a fish tank in your home, visit me at http://www.thefishtankplace.com

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About the Author

Rebeca has been interested in animals and Feng Shui for many years and now she wants to share her knowledge of these subjects with people in a very light and personal way. Feng Shui has improved her life in many ways, and her cats and dogs, and the fish that came as a part of her passion for Feng Shui, are now a very important part of her, and she's very happy to share her experiences with everybody. Rating: 4.0

Tips on Clownfish Care and Spawning

Tips on Clownfish Care and Spawning

By Stephen J Broy


Clownfish are classified to the family Pomacentridae. The clownfish is among a group of species commonly referred to as damselfish. There are 28 recognized species of clownfish. Of those, 27 belong to the genus Amphiprion. Clownfish are native to both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their natural habitat includes the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea.
The color palette varies among clownfish depending on the species. They can be found in orange, reddish orange, maroon, yellow or black. Most species have the characteristic white bars with black trimming on their bodies for which they are named. These white and black stripes contrasting against the fish's body color make them look as if they are wearing a clown costume. Clownfish grow from 4-6 inches depending on the species. Their lifespan ranges from 3-6 years.
Clown fish are well known for the symbiotic mutualism they share with the sea anemone. The co-evolution of these two animals makes for one of the most interesting symbiotic relationships found in nature. Sea anemones are highly toxic to most marine life. This exotic creature paralyzes its prey with powerful neurotoxins. It then uses it tentacles to draw the prey into its gastrovascular cavity for digestion. This singular cavity functions as both a mouth and an anus. The digestive process results in semi-digested matter floating around the immediate vicinity of the anemone. Clownfish ingests this matter as a source of protein. They then excrete fecal matter which is an additional source of protein for the anemone.
Clownfish have a mucus membrane surrounding their bodies that acts as a natural barrier against the anemone's poisonous nematocysts. Scientific experimentation has resulted in the death of clownfishes exposed to these neurotoxins after being stripped of their protective mucus. This mucus allows the clownfish to seek shelter from predation within the protection of the anemone's tentacles. It is common for the clownfish to remain within 2-4 inches of its host for its entire lifetime. This symbiosis has lead to clownfish being commonly called an anemonefish.
Clownfish are hardy and docile creatures. They make an excellent choice for amateur aquarists. They are also the perfect addition to a marine reef tank. Maintaining sea anemones presents more of a challenge. Fortunately for the beginner, clownfish can be kept without their natural host animals present. Just make sure to provide them with adequate hiding places and avoid mixing them with more aggressive species and you will be fine. Once you become more experienced you can choose to add an anemone to your aquarium. Make sure to check for compatibility with your local fish store or online retailer. Individual species of clownfish are compatible with different sea anemones.
Despite their demean nature, clownfish will exhibit territorial behavior toward other clownfish, especially clownfish of the same species. It is best to keep a single clownfish or a pair.
Clownfish have been commercially bred in captivity. When purchasing any fish that can be bred in captivity you want to buy captive-born rather than a fish caught in the wild. You will have a happy, healthier fish that is much more likely to acclimate to its new surroundings. And tank bred fish are generally more disease resistant than their wild counterparts.
Clownfish are omnivorous. A clownfish raised without the presence of a sea anemone can be fed vitamin enriched brine shrimp, or zooplankton in combination with marine frozen foods formulated for omnivores.
Spawning Clownfish Unlike most hermaphroditic fish species clownfish are sequential hermaphrodites. All clownfish are born as males as opposed to protogyny hermaphrodites who are always born as females. If there are two clownfish in an aquarium together the larger more dominant of the two will transform into a female.
You will want to use a breeding tank if you are attempting to breed clownfish couple in captivity. Place a piece of pvc pipe in the bottom of your aquarium floor to be used as a breeding chamber. Eggs will be deposited either on the bottom of the pipe or on the surface of a flat rock near by. The fry will hatch 6-10 days later.
Newly hatched fry are very small. They should be fed rotifers until they mature. Once they get a little larger they can be fed newly hatched brine shrimp or powdered dry food.
The hottest new trend in saltwater aquarium ownership is pet jellyfish. Jellyfish can't be kept in a traditional saltwater tank setup. They need a specially designed Jellyfish Aquarium Fish Tank to remain alive and healthy. Jellyfish tanks don't require the constant upkeep normally associated with saltwater aquariums. Moon Jellies are the most popular jellyfish for home aquariums because of their exotic beauty and ease of care. Find out more about Moon Jellyfish and other Pet Jellies. Jellyfish are among the most interesting creatures in the aquatic kingdom.

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