subject: Care and Maintenance of Salt Water Aquarium Fish [print this page] Care and Maintenance of Salt Water Aquarium Fish
A beautiful salt water aquarium requires time and effort. The three most important considerations are water quality, selection of salt water aquarium fish, and proper feeding. Maintenance and feeding are every day activites, and a salt water aquarium requires daily attention from a vigilant owner. Salt water tropical aquarium fish are not an inexpensive hobby.
Test the salinity of your tank daily with a hygrometer, a simple and inexpensive device that measures your water's salinity by how high it floats in the tank. Water in the tank needs to be partially changed at least once a month, and from time to time it will be necessary to add water to make up for normal evaporation. Most people buy their salt in bags, including trace elements present in real ocean water. These elements are important to your fish. Water that is too salty or not salty enough will have a detrimental effect on them.
Water should also be tested for the proper PH. Check your water temperature daily as well. Most fish prefer about eighty degrees farenheit. Some people prefer to add copper to the tank to make the water easier to maintain, and reduce algae/parasite growth. But a tank treated with copper can have no invertebrate population, like shrimp, or live coral.
Selecting your fish population takes time, effort, and research. They need to be similar in size and get along well. Some fish are quite aggressive and will not hesitate to make a meal out of a prize specimen. If you put a large lion fish in your tank, for example, he will eat everything in the tank that will fit in his mouth. Some fish are surface feeders while others are bottom feeders. It is a good idea to have some bottom feeders as well as individulals who eat algae.
Overpopulation is a common mistake made by many owners. Each fish added makes the tank more difficult to maintain and generally, a salt water tank will support fewer fish than you imagine possible. Fish have their own dietary requirements. Lion fish, for example, will eat only live food, usually feeder gold fish. Trigger fish prefer invertebrates like grass shrimp. Most fish will do fine on high quality commercial fish food supplemented with a few of their favorites. Commercial foods are in flake or pellet form and other foods like shrimp are packaged to be kept in the freezer.
When in doubt, underfeed. Nothing will foul a tank faster than overfeeding. Generally, fish should not be fed more than they can eat in ten minutes or so. Watch carefully while your fish feed and make sure there is enough food for all and they are feeding actively. Failure to eat may indicate an unhealthy individual or tank conditions that require your attention.
