As the owner of a saltwater aquarium or a reef tank, you are the caretaker of the fish and invertebrates that are kept in it. Here is information on selecting, buying, adding, feeding, moving, compatibility, diseases and other fish and invertebrate care topic basics that are important to know about when keeping saltwater animals.
Before you buy new fish, invertebrates or other marine life for your saltwater aquarium, it is important to their well being that you first know how to properly acclimate them into their new home. Browse this list of procedures and other acclimation information to learn about the many ways this can be done.
The Fish and Invertebrates Star Care Rating Chart gives an idea of the difficulty of keeping a marine fish or invertebrate in a saltwater aquarium.
It is not unusual to see marine fishes and invertebrates for sale in stores displayed only by common names, with no Latin, or what are known as scientific names posted. Why is this important? One problem with identifying marine animals properly is that many similar or look alike species are tagged with the same common name, which leads to their misidentification. This may lump an animal into a general category that does not pertain to that species care requirements. Here's a good example.
From Angelfishes to Wrasses, Anemones to Starfishes, Crabs to Shrimp, view photos and read identification, characteristic and compatibility, diet and feeding, and more profile information about the captive care of saltwater aquarium fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans compiled by your Guides.
Many aquarists can't see anything really wrong with their fish and ask "My Fish Looks/Acts Weird - What's Wrong With It?"
How often should your fish be fed, anyway? Once per day? Twice? Every two or three days? Feed too often and a lot of the food wil just end up on the bottom, creating even more nitrates. Not often enough, the health of your fish will suffer.
All too often when shopping for saltwater fish and invertebrates they are "tagged" with general common names. Find out why knowing the latin or scientific names of saltwater animals to properly identify them is of the utmost importance to their well being.
What are those little white dots growing on my aquarium glass? What are those little white bug-like things swimming around my tank? Is it a bristleworm, shrimp, plankton, anemone, urchin, copepod, amphipod, starfish, worm, parasite or some other organism? Is it going to hurt my aquarium?
Your About Guides give their explanation of what reef tank janitors are and discuss what purpose the various types have in saltwater aquariums and reef tanks.
Here is an easy to use Cause and Solution table to help you determine what caused and the solution for your "New Tank Syndrome".
From your About Guides Featured Articles Archive, this syndrome can occur whether you have a new tank or a well established one. Find out what causes New Tank Syndrome and how to avoid it.
Many novice (and experienced) saltwater aquarists are a bit leery about starting a Reef Tank, in fear that all of their corals will just die. Some corals are hard to keep while some species are fairly forgiving, making them good "starter corals". Here are some "beginner" corals which are considered easy to keep in a tank.
Not all fish are "reef safe". Many of them will tear up corals, consume fish and otherwise destroy other tank inhabitants. The fish species listed here are some (not all by any means) generally considered by experienced reef tank keepers to be safe for reef tanks.
Not all invertebrates are "reef safe". Many of them will tear up corals, consume fish and otherwise destroy other tank inhabitants. The invertebrates listed here are some (not all by any means) generally considered by experienced reef tank keepers to be safe for reef tanks.
Saltwater Ich is one of the most common diseases found in saltwater aquariums. Detecting and treating early can limit the damage.
Understanding the different levels of care that various fish and invertebrate species require can be difficult, but by following a few simple guidelines to begin with, half the battle can be won at the onset of buying new livestock.
Your Guides Debbie and Stan discuss what you need to look for and observe when buying a new fish in a pet store to insure you are purchasing a healthy specimen.
