Is it just me or do you find saltwater fish to be hardier and longer-lived than common freshwater fish? It seems that once a saltwater fish makes it past quarantine disease free, has a robust appetite, and is kept in a well maintained tank, it's good to go for a good many years whereas I'll have freshwater fish - with the exception of large cichlids and pedigree and more expensive specimens - drop dead with frequent water changes and good diet. I just find saltwater fish easier to keep.
Saltwater fish vs Freshwater Fish
- Thread starter Potsy
- Start date
That's certainly true. Large cichlids well cared for will live well past a decade. I bet all freshwater fish would do a lot better if kept like Discus: frequent large water changes.
When I get a clownfish I know that I'll get close to 10 years out of it.
randomfishguy85
New member
Most people treat freshwater fish horribly. Small tanks, under-filtered, over-fed and very little water changes. Once a person gets a salt water tank and drops a couple hundreds if not thousands of dollars, they pay attention to what they are doing. Ive never kept small fresh water fish but the large cichlids i keep were basically indestructible
stingeragent
New member
I have gold fish that i bought as feeder fish less than an inch long. They are in my pond now for 2 years and at least 6 inches
Quiet_Ivy
New member
No, the opposite! I've had many freshwater tanks, and usually the biggest problem was giving away/selling the babies. I used to breed cichlids, bettas, even kilifish. I've never lost a whole tank of freshwater fish. My saltwater fish got taken out by dinoflagellates.
Cichlids are too mean to die.
ivy
Arizonah13
New member
My clowns and goby are 5+ years old, fat and happy. I've never had a freshie last that long. (granted, the last time I had freshwater was many, many years ago)
I kept freshwater fish (breeding angels, bettas, gouramis successfully, failing with discus) but that was a LONG time ago although I do not remember issues with longevity. Some saltwater fish have short life spans but most are long lived (at least for me). However, my koi will outlive me for sure.
Keoki18
New member
I would agree. Marine fish do very well because we really cater to their water quality. Many who have fresh water species simply treat all tropical fresh water fish with the same water quality, when in fact it can be just as diverse and complex as saltwater. I have had a few dozen tetras in a planted 90 gallon that have lived for almost 7 years now. So the little guys can hang in there too.
OllieNZ
New member
Possibly more complex if you put in the same effort most reef keepers do but I find simple works well, work out which species will work in your water and keep it clean. I personally do 50% wc's weekly and never bother with testing or chasing numbers.
Which species of tetra have you got?
Keoki18
New member
5 congo river tetras (veiled tails) a hand full of serape tetras and a couple dozen cardinals. The cardinals were the most difficult to start up, but now the population has been stable and healthy.
