Amberleaf
Fish Addict
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2009
- Messages
- 780
- Reaction score
- 1
Just wondering. >.<; I want to know if what I wrote is accurate, and what I could add? ^^; Just for future reference, of course. 
Freshwater simply means that the fish lives in a freshwater lake, or stream, or river. It lives in a lake like Lake Michigan, which is, for an example, a freshwater lake. Freshwater fish come from many different places all around the globe. Some examples of freshwater fish include Bettas, goldfish, tetras, or various smaller livebearers, such as platies, or guppies.
Brackish means that the fish lives in a place where the water levels are more in-between; such as, where a freshwater river opens out to the ocean. Brackish means that the area is slightly salty, but not as severely salty as in the ocean, yet, not as 'fresh' as a freshwater lake, either. Puffers and gobies are examples of brackish fish; but mollies, which are usually considered to be freshwater fish, also thrive in brackish water. (Mollies, in fact, could live in a full-saltwater tank.) This is one of the kinds of water-types where you REALLY have to do your research, otherwise you end up with insufficient waters, and tons of dying fish.
Saltwater means that the fish, of course, lives in the ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, or the Red Sea, are examples of saltwater areas. There are also saltwater lakes.... But, I don't know for sure where they're based.
Saltwater is DEFINITELY THE MOST EXPENSIVE TYPE OF FISH TO KEEP, because you need all sorts of live rock, much more equipment than you would need for a freshwater tank, or even a brackish aquarium; also, saltwater fish are stocked differently (for freshwater, it's the 1 inch per 1 gallon rule, but since saltwater fish flush all their cells with water, and such, you couldn't keep as many fish in a saltwater 30-gallon aquarium as you could in, say, a freshwater 30-gallon aquarium), so YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO DO YOUR RESEARCH. Examples of saltwater fish are seahorses and clownfish....
Now.... However, just because your goldfish and Betta fish are both freshwater, however, doesn't mean that you can keep them together!! When it comes right down to it, and you're actively dealing with temperatures, and such, freshwater DOES NOT mean ANYTHING at all (except, of course, the type of fish you can keep). You need to take sufficient water temperatures into account, which is what we deal with here ::
Tropical
Many of the smaller fish that we see in the aquarium trade are tropical fish. There are, of course, the huge tropicals like cichlids, or oscars; but most are smaller, and are community fish. Tropical fish need warmer waters, around 74 degrees Fahrenheit, to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (it really varies, when it comes to tropical fish), so that is why it is important to have a thermometer, if you have a heater; even if you don't. I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT A THERMOMETER IS. Anyways.... Examples of freshwater tropical fish include most livebearers, such as guppies, endlers, or platies, or Bettas and gouramis, and tetras. Tropical fish come from Florida, South America, or, in Betta's cases, Thailand, and some cichlids come from Asia, and around there.
Sub-Tropical
Sub-Tropical fish are fish who don't need extremely warm waters (68 - 72 * F). These fish come from, say, somewhere between Florida and here, and in cooler (not cold) climates. White cloud mountain minnows could be classified as sub-tropical fish; yet, these fish will do well in tropical, and even coldwater environments.
Coldwater
Now, this, when you come right down to it, is pretty simple. These fish live easily in environments like Northern Canada, where the water is usually colder.... Such as goldfish, for example. I haven't had much experience with coldwater fish, myself; but what I can say, howevers, is that these species can enjoy waters anywhere from 60 - 70 * F. Anything over 70, however, and they will perish quickly, unfortunately.... Most coldwater fish that I've come across are bigger; and, granted, most coldwater fish are bigger, so they require bigger tanks.
Goldfish, for instance, because of the ages and size that they will grow to, need a 20-gallon tank for one goldfish; any additional goldfish, need 10 more gallons of space. Therefore, you have 5 goldfish = a 60-gallon tank.
Thanks for reading! ^^;
Freshwater simply means that the fish lives in a freshwater lake, or stream, or river. It lives in a lake like Lake Michigan, which is, for an example, a freshwater lake. Freshwater fish come from many different places all around the globe. Some examples of freshwater fish include Bettas, goldfish, tetras, or various smaller livebearers, such as platies, or guppies.
Brackish means that the fish lives in a place where the water levels are more in-between; such as, where a freshwater river opens out to the ocean. Brackish means that the area is slightly salty, but not as severely salty as in the ocean, yet, not as 'fresh' as a freshwater lake, either. Puffers and gobies are examples of brackish fish; but mollies, which are usually considered to be freshwater fish, also thrive in brackish water. (Mollies, in fact, could live in a full-saltwater tank.) This is one of the kinds of water-types where you REALLY have to do your research, otherwise you end up with insufficient waters, and tons of dying fish.
Saltwater means that the fish, of course, lives in the ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, or the Red Sea, are examples of saltwater areas. There are also saltwater lakes.... But, I don't know for sure where they're based.
Saltwater is DEFINITELY THE MOST EXPENSIVE TYPE OF FISH TO KEEP, because you need all sorts of live rock, much more equipment than you would need for a freshwater tank, or even a brackish aquarium; also, saltwater fish are stocked differently (for freshwater, it's the 1 inch per 1 gallon rule, but since saltwater fish flush all their cells with water, and such, you couldn't keep as many fish in a saltwater 30-gallon aquarium as you could in, say, a freshwater 30-gallon aquarium), so YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO DO YOUR RESEARCH.
Examples of saltwater fish are seahorses and clownfish.... Now.... However, just because your goldfish and Betta fish are both freshwater, however, doesn't mean that you can keep them together!! When it comes right down to it, and you're actively dealing with temperatures, and such, freshwater DOES NOT mean ANYTHING at all (except, of course, the type of fish you can keep). You need to take sufficient water temperatures into account, which is what we deal with here ::
Tropical
Many of the smaller fish that we see in the aquarium trade are tropical fish. There are, of course, the huge tropicals like cichlids, or oscars; but most are smaller, and are community fish. Tropical fish need warmer waters, around 74 degrees Fahrenheit, to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (it really varies, when it comes to tropical fish), so that is why it is important to have a thermometer, if you have a heater; even if you don't. I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT A THERMOMETER IS. Anyways.... Examples of freshwater tropical fish include most livebearers, such as guppies, endlers, or platies, or Bettas and gouramis, and tetras. Tropical fish come from Florida, South America, or, in Betta's cases, Thailand, and some cichlids come from Asia, and around there.
Sub-Tropical
Sub-Tropical fish are fish who don't need extremely warm waters (68 - 72 * F). These fish come from, say, somewhere between Florida and here, and in cooler (not cold) climates. White cloud mountain minnows could be classified as sub-tropical fish; yet, these fish will do well in tropical, and even coldwater environments.
Coldwater
Now, this, when you come right down to it, is pretty simple. These fish live easily in environments like Northern Canada, where the water is usually colder.... Such as goldfish, for example. I haven't had much experience with coldwater fish, myself; but what I can say, howevers, is that these species can enjoy waters anywhere from 60 - 70 * F. Anything over 70, however, and they will perish quickly, unfortunately.... Most coldwater fish that I've come across are bigger; and, granted, most coldwater fish are bigger, so they require bigger tanks.
Goldfish, for instance, because of the ages and size that they will grow to, need a 20-gallon tank for one goldfish; any additional goldfish, need 10 more gallons of space. Therefore, you have 5 goldfish = a 60-gallon tank.
Thanks for reading! ^^;
