| Q. Is a saltwater aquarium hard to keep? |
| A. No, not if you have the right equipment. Check out our beginner's guide for a quick how to on starting up your own saltwater tank. |
| Q. How much should I feed the fish? |
| A. It depends on the type of fish you have. Fish with large bodies and small mouths (such as tangs, butterflies, angelfish, triggers, etc.) will require from 2-4 feedings a day. Fish with large mouths (puffers, groupers, eels, etc.) will only require feeding once a day. When feeding, make sure the fish finishes all the food in 5 minutes before the food gets into the filter. If they finish all the food too fast, continue feeding them small amounts of food. If they don't finish all the food within 5 minutes, that is a sign of overfeeding! (The fish never overeat and die. The food that the fish do not eat will pollute the water, which would make the fish sick and die). |
| Q. When can I put fish in my aquarium? |
| A. First, add sand, water, and decorations which will take 1-2 days to settle. Afterwards, put in starter fish
(Damsels). Damsels are a hardy fish which have a 70% chance of surviving for you to condition your water - delicate fish have only
a 10% chance of surviving in your new tank. Damsels are aggressive fish, however, so make sure you have 3 or more damsels and lots
of decorations in your aquarium. Fish would die not because of the water quality or the filter system but because of New Tank Syndrome,
which would cause your fish stress, which would lead to disease. The tank takes about 2 months to cycle and 6 months to be stable. |
| Q. How do I keep from my fish stress-free and healthy? |
| A. First, do not put delicate fish into your brand-new tank. Try not to stress out your fish. Also,
be sure to actually look at your fish once in a while. Check to make sure that each fish gets some food. Also, check your
fish for any strange colors, damaged fins and tails, etc. The main factors in which fish would be stressed are: if fish are aggressive toward each other, temperature changes too fast, poor water quality, buying a sick fish to begin with, feeding incorrectly, etc. |
| Q. When and why do I have to do a water change? |
| A. Do a water change about once or twice a month (depending on the amount of fish in the tank) in order to keep your tank clean. The more fish you have, the faster the water will get dirty and old. Old water is more acidic, which is not good for the fish. Change only about 20% of your water to reduce the chances of putting your fish into shock (If your tank is still dirty after a 20% water change, you can do another 20% water change the next day, not the same day). |
Some Extra Fish-Keeping Tips:
- Check to make sure your water does not evaporate too much. If a lot of water has evaporated, replace the water with
conditioned fresh water (only water evaporates, not salt).
- The ideal water would have a pH between 8.0-8.4, salinity from 26 to 31, specific gravity between 1.020-1.024, temperature from 78 - 84 degrees (Fahrenheit) for saltwater fish.
- When you bring any fish or coral home from the fish store, do not immediately place it in your aquarium. Keep it in the bag and place the bag in your aquarium for 30 minutes for the fish to become accustomed to the water. We recommend that you take the fish out of the bag and throw that water away. Also, move your decorations around if possible because fish are territorial.
- When you bring shrimp home from the fish store, open the bag and pour water from your fish tank into the bag. The amount of water put into the bag from your aquarium should be about 10% of the water already in the bag. Do this every 5 minutes for 30 minutes to acclimate the shrimp to the water.