salt or fresh?

evanr6789 · Sep 2, 2005

hey everyone, im going to be purcahsing a 55 gallon tank. i was wondering if it is worth doing a saltwater? could i put alot of saltwater fish in it? i hear clown fish are 30 gallons a fish? duz that mean one clown fish and alot of other saltwater fish? or would there only be like two fish in the hole tank? or should I go freshwater and have alot more options with fish, thanks anyone who ansers.

if the tank was that big, could i get away with putting alot of other fish with african cichlids? or would they still be to territorial?

:dunno:

evanr6789 · Sep 2, 2005

some of the saltwater fish i had in mind are any of the following damsel, dottyback, wrasse, angel, trigger, clown, possibly puffer, butterfly, tangs, any of these

fishytyke · Sep 2, 2005

are you new to fishkeeping, if so go with freshwater, you cannot overstock marines and you can make VERY expensive mistakes, you also need more equipment to start up.

if you are interested in africans (i assume you mean malawis) the a 55 would be fine, and in fact benefit from being overcrowded (within reason), breed readily and are colourful.

If you go with malawis only keep malawis in the tank, and even then only mbuna or haps, dont mix them as haps are no where near tough enough to hold their own in a mbuna tank, as are most other freshwater trops.

hairyadam · Sep 24, 2005

i dont have a saltwater tank but the fish look so cooool

Navarre · Sep 24, 2005

You can have more than a single clown in a 55 gallon tank. However most of hte fish you listed need more than 100 gallons

)

damsel, dottyback, wrasse, angel, trigger, clown, possibly puffer, butterfly, tangs, any of these

Damsels are fine, however they are very aggressive and territorial.

Wrasse are ok but there are literally 100s of different types, some remain only a few inches, others can grow over 1ft long!

Angels... Dwarf and Pygmy Angels will thrive in a tank of this size. Large angels will be far too big for the system.

Triggers.. NO (with the exception perhaps of a bluethroat). Very aggressive and large.

Clowns are ok.

Puffers... Aggressive and large

Butterfly fish, delicate and most are definately not reef safe.

Tangs, aggressive and territorial, need 100 gallons or larger.

However, i will add that if you are new to the whole aspect of fishkeeping then i would go straight for marines rather than heading for freshwater then "progressing".. I have found many times that people find it hard to leave the "rules" of freshwater keeping behind when choosing marines. Both are quite different and i feel that if you asre completely new to the hobby then its best to learn fresh rather than unlearn a freshwater routine

Opcn · Oct 12, 2005

When you do Freshwater the tank is your biggest concern, when you do salt water the tank is about the cheepest component in the system.

fishyguy43 · Nov 10, 2005

Id do fresh at first. i just got into salt after 4 years in fresh an its a lot more work plus a tonnnnn more money. Stick with fresh, the African idea sounded good.

Navarre · Nov 11, 2005

Im afraid i dont agree with the freshwater approach first

If you really want marines then research in detail, realise it wont be as cheap as freshwater no matter how the tank is designed and go for it.

Marine keeping and freshwater keeping are two totally different worlds and many people that have spent years with freshwater find it very hard to stop the practices they used on freshwater when keeping marines. If you had no experience with freshwater and started right away with marines then you would not have to "unlearn" certain apets of the hobby.

However, dont feel that by me saying you should go for marines first gives you a green light to jump right in without frst researching about the size of tanks, the equipment needed to run it and of course the outlay for all of this. Only when you get an overview of the entire setup, its cost and its maintenance will you really know whether you are prepared for marines.

Chac · Nov 11, 2005

IMO the years of freshwater keeping didnt help me at all when I came to move on to marine's

I found myself re-reading pages & pages of books because the info never sank in, I reasearched Marines for about 10 months before emptying my 1st freshie tank & IMO reasearch is defo the key to a good reef

Lynden · Nov 11, 2005

"once you go marine, you never go back...." I once heard someone say.
Actually, fish only saltwater is only a little more expensive than a FW. I tend to prefer marines, and i will not be setting up another FW again. They are actually generally smarter than FW fish, and the colours are astounding.

Research is really the key here. A beginner can very well have a beautiful saltwater tank, although it is not nessesarily reccomended. Try fish only saltwater maybe. The tank difficulty level depends really on the fish you choose. While there are some very difficult marines, the same applies to FW. As does the fact that there are easy fish to.

The biggest wrasse is called the Napoleonfish, and I believe it gets to about 7 feet. Alot different from the tiny little cleaner wrasses.

-Lynden

Edit: damn, Chac beat me to posting!