Freshwater vs. Saltwater

[mistergerardob]

By the way and out of the topic, if you are new in the hobby, Waterkeeper's thread about how to set a new tank is great and very funny.

 

[Lotus99]

I have many more FW tanks than SW tanks. I've only just gotten into SW tanks. I still love all my FW tanks. I have 9 of my 16 tanks planted, which, IMO, makes a big difference in both cost and enjoyment. I run "big" lights on most of my planted tanks. My electricity bill is already horrific.

One nice thing about FW tanks is that you can breed fish fairly easily, which adds a new dimension to the hobby. Hundreds of expectant little eyes are hard to resist.

I've gotten to a point in FW where I sell a few plants, shrimp and fish I've bred here and there, and cover some of the costs of food, etc.

Of course, saltwater is a whole new learning experience, and I think that's part of the fun.

 

[coyoteseven]

Re: Freshwater vs. Saltwater

Originally posted by mistergerardob
I was in the lfs the other day, and a group of people was looking to the saltwater fish. They started to talk about how expensive the fish were, one of them said: " fifty dollars!!!, that is too much!!, what if it dies and there it goes fifty dollars to the trash"... ... ...

Obviously these people have never kept/bred discus where the price for a Pigeon Blood can run from $60 to $175 (or more), depending on its size, sex and lineage. Even a common blue can run $35-$40 for a fish the size of a US 50 cent coin at most LFS.

 

[zylumn]

Everything is alive in a SW tank, more to it than plants and fish.

 

[Eclectic Taste]

Price-wise, nothing compares to koi. Not uncommon to see $1000+ fish at a show, and $40-50 ones are looked down on as "cheapies" by koi afficianados. Not to mention the thousands you spend on building a proper koi pond.

Comparing aquarium fish, saltwater is to freshwater like chess is to checkers - really no comparison, other than glass boxes with water.

 

[loosecannon]

hi just thowt i would put my 2 cents in. i stared out in 2003 with 10 gal. guppy tank. than got a 30 gal for some lake mawis. than got a tank for some angles. i got bored with the fwtanks. and was going to take it all down. so i went to one of my lfs. to see what i could sell back to him. i walk by a tank and saw a manderin, the rest as you all know was. 1 2 no 3 salt reef tanks ago! p.s. i was born in the u. s. by luck. i was born in the north thanks you god! p. s. a smart man learns from his missakes and i learn from yours!

 

[Amphiprion]

I do way more maintenance, etc. on my freshwater planted tank--weekly 50-80% water changes, fertilize daily. Much more hectic. However, it is hard to argue with the results of a beautiful planted freshwater tank. IMHO, nicely executed ones (i.e. Amano style tanks) come close to the beauty of a reef tank. As far as fish survivability, I have much better luck with saltwater fish. I have never had a saltwater fish (not including ones that were given away) for less than 8 years at a time and they go upwards of 12 years for fish, even longer for inverts. Very few of my freshwater fish can boast such long lifespans, except for a few lemon tetras (Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis) and a Synodontis catfish (the latter of which is about 10 years old).

 

[WaterKeeper]

For those of you that are concerned that SW fish are not expensive enough, you might consider obtaining a Conspicillatus Angel.

 

[Wrench]

I love both my FW and SW tank for different reasons. I've got an Angel in my FW that is coming up on 12 years this April. He's survived 2 tank crashes, 3 different tanks and I don't know how many re-designs.