These are fish that live in salty seawater. Most commonly, marine
fishes need tropical climate. There are around 1500 species of marine
fish. Some major fishes are Anthias, Batfish, Blennies, Butterfly fish,
Filefish, Hawk fish, Snappers, Sharks and Rays, Tangs and Surgeonfish
etc. People in general, think that keeping marine fish is a difficult
task. In some cases this maybe true, because saltwater fish needs a bit
more time, work and equipments in comparison to freshwater fish. But
freshwater fish also needs the same sort of attention and care,
especially, if one wants to breed them or keep delicate fish. On the
other hand, there are several marine fish species which are easier to
handle once you are able to understand the correct way of maintaining
the saltwater aquarium, and establishing a stable environment.
The Basic Parameters
Marine fish are more sensitive to variations in their surroundings.
The basic parameters for marine fish tank are pH, salinity, nitrite and
temperature. At the time of cycling process, nitrate and ammonia can be
a problem. These elements are same as is in freshwater tank, only the
degree of intensity differs largely. For keeping marine fish one should
be vigilant towards the pH of the water, and it should not fluctuate
more than 0.2 each day. Most of the marine life likes pH ranging
in-between 8.0 to 8.4. So, it should never drop below 8.0. Other
critical parameters such as nitrites, salinity and temperature, should
be around 20 ppm, 1.022 and between 75F to 80F respectively.
The Basic Components
The basic components for keeping marine fish are synthetic sea salts,
filters, lighting, decorations and test kits. One of the most important
items for saltwater aquarium is the size of the tank, the bigger the
better. Larger tanks provide more stability and room for mistakes to be
rectified; anyway, tanks should never be less than 20 gallons. Usually,
fish enjoy long, wide tanks; the greater surface area assist in better
gas exchange. Another thing that must be kept in the mind is that the
tank should never be overcrowded; saltwater live stock should be much
lower than the freshwater fish tank. And always use a good substrate
such as crushed coral, marine sand or dolomite.
Setting Up
The first step for keeping marine fish is setting up a tank in the
appropriate place and position. Make sure that the stand is equal from
all direction; you can usually do this with Styrofoam under the tank.
Next, install the filtration, either inside the tank or outside,
according to the type of filter. Add substrate after rinsing it with
plain water and then arrange the decorations. Now the tank is ready for
adding saltwater, this can be done a few ways either ready mix the
synthetic sea salt with reverse osmosis water or from a purifying unit
in the tank or containers but it is advisable to place a plate on the
substrate before pouring water into it. Then let the tank become stable
for about two days and keep testing until test shows positive readings,
before adding live stock.
Aquarium Filtration
Fish kept in tank are confined to a very small amount of water and so
contaminants such as scraps of uneaten food or ammonia released from
fish's gills, feces raises the toxic level of the water very soon.
Keeping marine fish in such a condition is harmful for proper
development of the fish. Regular change of water can help containing
contamination, but maybe impractical due to size and frequency of water
changes required. The best way of tackling this problem is by
installation the best aquarium filtration you can afford - be it under
gravel filtration (UGF) or wet/dry filter.
