it's only to setup and maintain a tank that SW is more expensive! many FW fish is way more expensive than SW fish!
total dissapointment with FW tank
- Thread starter talal101
- Start date
i went to SW after FW and then i got out of the hobby and when i came back i went back to FW. SW is just a pain in the as$ and its a lil more expensive. The salt creep is a dog. Only thing i liked about salt was the bright colored fish.
hey come on now guys, all fish are nice just depends on owners taste
im talking in terms of small colorful fish, a clown is like 10-20 for one while a platy is about 2 per fish. but i agree that is very true SW setup is what is expensive. i keep hearing that it is so expensive and hard to maintain SW, then whats the point of turning to salt if its so much trouble?, what do you think are the benefits?
see thats the whole reason i want to go to salt. the bright colorful fish. what gets me intrested about fish is the bright color, im not into big fish, or fish with teeth like some people but i understand why those people love their fish. what is salt creep btw
Big surprise that this site is pro-fw.
I like sw alot more but still keep fw tanks because it's nice to have some variety. If I could only have one tank though it would definitely be sw. As far as fish only tanks go, I haven't seen a fish that is more interesting than some of the triggerfish. Reef tanks are my favorite though and they never get boring, there's just so much variety. You can add like 20 different types of crabs, snails, shrimp, and hundreds of different corals and fish. Most people that keep reef tanks are more into the inverts than fish though and that's why its not that popular on a site that is dedicated to keeping "monster fish".
I like sw alot more but still keep fw tanks because it's nice to have some variety. If I could only have one tank though it would definitely be sw. As far as fish only tanks go, I haven't seen a fish that is more interesting than some of the triggerfish. Reef tanks are my favorite though and they never get boring, there's just so much variety. You can add like 20 different types of crabs, snails, shrimp, and hundreds of different corals and fish. Most people that keep reef tanks are more into the inverts than fish though and that's why its not that popular on a site that is dedicated to keeping "monster fish".
I keep both FW and SW, but mostly FW for the cost. I like the colors of SW fish, but you have a much smaller selection. So in terms of different behaviors and lifestyles, you are pretty limited. However, if you pick you fish properly you can also add invertebrates. I keep about 300 gallons of freshwater tanks (various sizes) and only a 29 gallon reef. I can definitely say that I pour the most money into the reef. Corals are expensive, and you usually lose more fish than FW.
I mostly set up my SW to toy around with corals and to have a tank that I can always spend more money on. I get wholesale prices and it's still an enormous money pit. But it gives you something to fuss over that company loves.
I mostly set up my SW to toy around with corals and to have a tank that I can always spend more money on. I get wholesale prices and it's still an enormous money pit. But it gives you something to fuss over that company loves.
Omg it's such a hard choice, I'm currently sitting at a stand still. I'm actually pretty unhappy with my tank I might even say I hate it a little bit. It's actually causing me a bit of stress because I'm really not happy with it. I don't have the $700-$800 to sink into it and maintain it with salt and sand and rock and all that other kind of crap associated with SW. I have thought about it for a while and I'm finally deciding to go with a school of 5-6 balas, and 4 angels. I think I'm overstocking though but I will get them small and when they grow and eat all my current inhabitants I will sell them and convert to a salt tank, or if not and I grow to love them I will just get a 12g or 24g nano cube on my birthday in November and put that in my room and fill it with 5-6 small colorful fish and some invertebrates. Thereby getting the best of both worlds. I can buy everything I need for a fraction of the cost of converting my big aquarium such as salt and sand and LR.
And I can start off cheap and if I like it I know I have the bases for my big tank by moving all the fish from the small tank to the big tank. Lol now that I think about it I wouldn't be able to sell my fish, I never give up pets. When I get them I actually spend days and weeks thinking if it will work out in the end.
I couldn't disagree more with the "limited in terms of behavior and lifestyle" comment. The most boring saltwater fish I have ever owned had more personality than any freshwater fish I've ever seen or owned. Just a few examples of some saltwater behaviors and fish that have a ton of personality.
Eels/fish living with and having their mouth and body cleaned by shrimp
Gobies pairing with shrimp and sharing burrows/protecting each other
clownfish hosting anemones/powerheads etc.
Tangs that will follow you around and stare at you through the glass all day long
Triggerfish, which have more personality than any fish I've ever seen
Groupers/lionfish/anglers/rays/sharks/octopus the options and different behaviors are endless.
I can stick my hand in my 28 gallon reef and handfeed any fish in there, get attacked by the clowns defending their anemone, have my hand cleaned by shrimp, and have every hermit crab in the tank race towards my hand to get on it and start picking at my skin. The personality and behavior is just on a completely different level than freshwater.
Also, if you buy healthy saltwater fish, properly acclimate them, and quarantine them, you shouldn't be losing more saltwater fish than freshwater. I'm 3 years in and have yet to lose a single saltwater fish or shrimp.
Eels/fish living with and having their mouth and body cleaned by shrimp
Gobies pairing with shrimp and sharing burrows/protecting each other
clownfish hosting anemones/powerheads etc.
Tangs that will follow you around and stare at you through the glass all day long
Triggerfish, which have more personality than any fish I've ever seen
Groupers/lionfish/anglers/rays/sharks/octopus the options and different behaviors are endless.
I can stick my hand in my 28 gallon reef and handfeed any fish in there, get attacked by the clowns defending their anemone, have my hand cleaned by shrimp, and have every hermit crab in the tank race towards my hand to get on it and start picking at my skin. The personality and behavior is just on a completely different level than freshwater.
Also, if you buy healthy saltwater fish, properly acclimate them, and quarantine them, you shouldn't be losing more saltwater fish than freshwater. I'm 3 years in and have yet to lose a single saltwater fish or shrimp.
Like a few other people already mentioned I've never been too interested in keeping SW and the only thing I find appealing about them is the vibrant, flashy, bright colors. That's it.
I think they're both cool, just depends on what you like. I enjoy all the little creatures interacting in a SW tank, and on some of the bigger tanks SW fish have great personality and behavior. Freshwater is my personal choice, I like my big aggressive CA cichlids. Also, I enjoy filling my tank with tap water and not having to worry as much about water chemistry. Planted tanks are another really cool aspect of freshwater, if you look at some of the Amano style stuff it's just unbelievable.
One of my issues with a lot of SW tanks is it's harder to disguise a lot of equipment and stuff. A lot of Sw tanks very obviously look like fish tanks with all the equipment hanging out. I've managed to avoid a lot of that with my 125...
Minus the canister output which I'm working on disguising next. I'd like to see some of the techniques I used in the 125 used in a SW tank (background and stuff), would be awesome.
One of my issues with a lot of SW tanks is it's harder to disguise a lot of equipment and stuff. A lot of Sw tanks very obviously look like fish tanks with all the equipment hanging out. I've managed to avoid a lot of that with my 125...
Minus the canister output which I'm working on disguising next. I'd like to see some of the techniques I used in the 125 used in a SW tank (background and stuff), would be awesome.
