1. stress causes ich. No. A parasite causes ich.
2. fish only grow to the size of their tank. No, they can outgrow the capacity of their tanks and then they die due to lack of exercise and oxygen.
3. fish need bacteria-laden water to breathe and live. No. They can live very nicely in water with no bacteria at all. The bacteria are just processors for fish poo. If you filter the poo and uneaten food out, then toss the filter, you don't need bacteria. This is why uncycled qts work. But they do require frequent filter changes.
4. you can 'train' a fish to eat or not eat whatever. Not so much. If it's angels in reefs, it's luck of the draw. Some will, when others of the same species won't. Once they DO figure it out as a food source, they will nosh on it. I had one mandarin learn to eat pellet because she followed a tang about obsessively and he did. Only one I've ever had learn it---but I'm not sure it's good for mandys.
5. there are aggressives and non-aggressive fish. Not so much, either: in general, most ocean fish can be quite aggressive toward others of their own kind. Now, if you ask will one fish eat another, I'm not sure you class that as aggression. It's more like dinner.
6. ich is always present. Funny thing, I haven't seen it on a fish of mine in the last decade. No, it's like having fleas in your carpet. You do or you don't. If you have them, you try to avoid letting Fido run on the flea-infested lawn and then bring him in to sleep on the shag rug. There are precautions against letting these 'fleas' into your house. Take them.
7. All corals are hard. Nope. Some are downright invasive species. Be careful when putting mushrooms or green star polyp or xenia on your structural rock---the stuff you can't remove and sell. There is NO WAY to scrape an unwanted shroom off a rock: it generates 10 more. IF you paid 50.00 for it, however, it will fail to thrive with the gentlest care.
8. I can trade my full-grown tang in to the fish store. First, fish stores come and go. A lot. Second, how many people in your city have 300 gallon tanks? How many fullgrown hippo or naso tangs do you think your fish store CAN take in?
9. I want a pair of fishes. They'll be happier. Mmm. Be careful. Pairs' behavior can be hyper-aggressive. Two clarkii clowns want about 50 gallons of space around their nest. And will bite the owner. They have teeth. In general, one of a kind can be a balanced, peaceful tank. Two of a kind can be WWIII with everything in sight. And two of the same gender can end up mortal enemies.
10. I have a fish-only and all I ever need to test is ph and ammonia and nitrate. No. PH is a moving target in a marine tank: track ammonia and nitrate, but also test your alkalinity once weekly or whenever concerned about water quality.
2. fish only grow to the size of their tank. No, they can outgrow the capacity of their tanks and then they die due to lack of exercise and oxygen.
3. fish need bacteria-laden water to breathe and live. No. They can live very nicely in water with no bacteria at all. The bacteria are just processors for fish poo. If you filter the poo and uneaten food out, then toss the filter, you don't need bacteria. This is why uncycled qts work. But they do require frequent filter changes.
4. you can 'train' a fish to eat or not eat whatever. Not so much. If it's angels in reefs, it's luck of the draw. Some will, when others of the same species won't. Once they DO figure it out as a food source, they will nosh on it. I had one mandarin learn to eat pellet because she followed a tang about obsessively and he did. Only one I've ever had learn it---but I'm not sure it's good for mandys.
5. there are aggressives and non-aggressive fish. Not so much, either: in general, most ocean fish can be quite aggressive toward others of their own kind. Now, if you ask will one fish eat another, I'm not sure you class that as aggression. It's more like dinner.
6. ich is always present. Funny thing, I haven't seen it on a fish of mine in the last decade. No, it's like having fleas in your carpet. You do or you don't. If you have them, you try to avoid letting Fido run on the flea-infested lawn and then bring him in to sleep on the shag rug. There are precautions against letting these 'fleas' into your house. Take them.
7. All corals are hard. Nope. Some are downright invasive species. Be careful when putting mushrooms or green star polyp or xenia on your structural rock---the stuff you can't remove and sell. There is NO WAY to scrape an unwanted shroom off a rock: it generates 10 more. IF you paid 50.00 for it, however, it will fail to thrive with the gentlest care.
8. I can trade my full-grown tang in to the fish store. First, fish stores come and go. A lot. Second, how many people in your city have 300 gallon tanks? How many fullgrown hippo or naso tangs do you think your fish store CAN take in?
9. I want a pair of fishes. They'll be happier. Mmm. Be careful. Pairs' behavior can be hyper-aggressive. Two clarkii clowns want about 50 gallons of space around their nest. And will bite the owner. They have teeth. In general, one of a kind can be a balanced, peaceful tank. Two of a kind can be WWIII with everything in sight. And two of the same gender can end up mortal enemies.
10. I have a fish-only and all I ever need to test is ph and ammonia and nitrate. No. PH is a moving target in a marine tank: track ammonia and nitrate, but also test your alkalinity once weekly or whenever concerned about water quality.