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SALT WATER FISH TANK: NOT FOR THE CASUAL HOBBYISTThe main difference between keeping a fresh water fish tank vs. a salt water fish tank is one of degree: the degree to which you’re willing to care for these delicate animals. You may ask, “Why are they so delicate?” The answer has to do with the stability of their natural environment. Most popular fresh water fish come from relatively smaller bodies of water, from lakes and rivers in Africa and South America. These lakes and rivers are subject to changing conditions all the time, from rainfall, silt, runoff, snow melt and other factors. Their temperature changes all the time, by several degrees between day and night, for example. Fishes living in these environments have evolved the ability to adapt to these constantly changing conditions. Now consider the tropical salt water fish, whose environmental temperature doesn’t change more than a few degrees over the course of a decade or more. These salt water fish don’t have the ability to deal with drastic changes, because they simply don’t occur in nature. So when you bring them into a closed environment like a salt water fish tank, your primary responsibility is keeping their conditions constant, in every way. A Stable Environment Because the ocean’s environment tends to be generally stable, the importance of recreating this stable environment within the salt water fish tank becomes crucial because the life forms that have evolved in the ocean are not physically able to adjust to the changing conditions present in a salt water fish tank. For example, temperatures tend to rise and fall slowly in the ocean but, a sudden drop in the temperature in the salt water fish tank may result in the fish taking ill, even if the drop is quite small. Besides the temperature, there are certain other factors to consider when thinking about having a salt water fish tank and these include pH, which should be 8.2, nitrates which should be <20ppm in the case of salt water fish and <5ppm in the case of invertebrates, salinity/specific gravity, temperature to be kept at 77F, alkalinity at 3.0 and finally, calcium for reef keepers and invertebrates at 400-450ppm Ca+. Keeping a salt water fish tank may seem quite daunting; it is nevertheless a rewarding experience to recreate the environment of the ocean within the confines of one’s home. For beginners, it may be more prudent to begin with a fresh water fish tank and then gain experience before moving on to salt water fish tanks. However, when keeping a salt water fish tank, make sure that the size of the tank is large enough to support the eco-system and keep it stable. This is necessary because, if using a heater for salt water, a drop in temperature is slower to take effect and so is less dangerous to the fish’s health. |
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