One of the most popular types of marine fish is the clownfish. For this reason many people decide to set up a saltwater clown fish aquarium to enjoy this colorful species. As you will read below these setups are a great way to get into the hobby of keeping saltwater fish.

The best part about keeping these colorful marine fish is that they are very hardy and great for beginners. Their ease of care also means that there is really no special equipment needed to maintain them other then a basic set up making them a very affordable saltwater fish to keep!

Basic Requirements For a Clownfish Saltwater Aquarium Setup

• 29 gallon aquarium
• 20-30 lbs of live rock
• Hang on tank protein skimmer (optional)
• Hang on tank filter or canister filter.
• 75 Watt Heater
• Basic Marine Aquarium Care

The Best Type Of Clowns For Beginners

The more commonly known species of these fish that are kept in the saltwater clown fish aquarium are the Percula and the Ocellaris clowns. They look very similar and are hard to tell apart, however the Perculas tend to be a little more active in a tank then the Ocellaris clowns typically are.

The Ocellaris are normally a few dollars cheaper and often have brighter orange colors. Both are peaceful fish and are considered some of the best beginner fish you can buy as a new marine hobbiest.

One of the best things about clownfish is that many of the popular species are available as captive raised animals. This means they will be more disease resistant, eat prepared foods better and not be as fearful of humans as their wild caught cousins are. In fact many people who have captive raised clowns report that they will often eat right from their fingers!

For more information on setting up a Clownfish Aquarium head over to http://www.saltwatermethods.com and pick up a copy of our fully illustrated saltwater aquarium guide.

How many fish can I put in a 30 gal saltwater tank is a common question asked by new aquarium owners? With the growing popularity of saltwater aquariums more and more people are venturing into the hobby. Most of these people seem to gravitate to smaller systems under 40 gallons mainly for cost reasons.

While small tanks maybe affordable they can also severely limit your fish choices due to the nature of many marine fish.First you have to realize the saltwater fish are not like freshwater fish. They are territorial and some will protect that territory to the death.

With that in mind you will need to provide your marine fish with ample room to call their own. As a very basic rule of thumb you can have one small fish per 10 gallons of tank volume. This is dictated however by the tank shape and fish type.

Tips For Adding Fish To Your Tank

• A critical step in stocking a smaller saltwater aquarium is to research your fish choices before you shop, never impulse buy saltwater fish! Once you see some fish that you like you can dig further into their characteristics and see how they may get along with other tank mates.

• Do not let size fool you, some of the most brutal and violent fish are small. Fish like some dottybacks and damsels will attack fish twice or even three times their size, and often times kill them in the process.

• If you feel one of your choices maybe a little aggressive you may want to add them last. Often times adding a semi aggressive marine fish last will eliminate some of the territory battles that can take place. It is not guaranteed to work this way though because fish like people have different personalities.

• A good saltwater aquarium guide will be able to help you determine the types of saltwater fish you can keep in a smaller tank. Then you will want to go to the local fish store and see them in person and see if they look and behave how you want.

If you are setting up a new Saltwater Aquarium and feeling a little confused then you need to have our marine aquarium guide on your side. Our marine aquarium guide will give you a complete step by step plan to follow for a successful marine aquarium full of healthy thriving fish. You can learn more by visiting www.saltwatermethods.com

Fish jumping out of saltwater tanks is a problem that many marine aquarium keepers have to deal with. While not all fish are prone to jumping out of the tank there are some that are more likely to do so the others.

Unfortunately knowing what fish you have that may jump is hard to tell. Most times you only find out when you find them dried up on the carpet or behind the tank.

How To Cheaply Stop Fish From Jumping From Your Tank

The best bet to stop the problem and keep your fish in the tank is to use the glass tops that the tank manufactures supply with most new aquarium set ups.

However not all saltwater tanks can accommodate these tops. This is especially true in reef aquariums where many people run with no tops to keep water temperatures down.

Additionally the tend to get full of salt creep over time and many people dislike having to replace them or constantly clean them.

If you fall into this category and cannot use the glass tops the easiest thing to do is to grab a screen kit that is available at any hardware store and custom make the screen to fit your marine aquarium top and use this a a barrier to stop the fish from jumping out.

This will not trap heat, allow good gas exchange and also stop fish jumping out of saltwater tanks that you own. Just remember to use nylon screen because saltwater will quickly rust metal screen materials.

To create a stunning and easy-to-maintain saltwater aquarium grab a copy of our Saltwater Aquarium Guide. This illustrated guide will show you step by step how to properly set up your aquarium. It’s crammed with tips and secrets that the pros use to create stunning displays! Learn more at http://www.saltwatermethods.com

Many marine aquarium keepers today set up their systems to keep both fish and invertebrates and corals together in one system. Displays such as these are called saltwater reef aquarium systems. These captive systems are as close as you can get to the wild reef without actually going to the ocean. There are however some concerns you need to be aware of when setting up a complete reef system

The main drawback many reef keepers find is that sick saltwater fish are very hard to treat once they are in the tank. A sick fish can and usually does spread the disease to the entire tank and most all medications that treat disease will also kill corals and other invertebrates. While buying healthy fish and fish that are naturally disease resistant is one way to ensure your reef stays healthy there are a few things you can do to keep your fish healthy once in your tank and they are listed below.

Natural Cleaning

In nature there are shrimps that will clean old tissue and disease off fish. They operate on saltwater fish of all sizes and often set up stations that the fish come to to get cleaned. Both the fish and the shrimp benefit from this relationship. The fish gets disease cleaned off it and the shrimp gets food in the form of old tissues. As a bonus the shrimp are very colorful and active additions to all saltwater aquarium systems.

Vitamins

There are companies that have developed additives that you can add to your saltwater fish food to help keep them healthy in the reef aquarium. These additives often include vitamin C, garlic and special marine proteins and fatty acids. All of these are compounds that many commercial fish foods lack and the animals need to stay healthy. In addition to making your fish healthier they will often brighten their colors and make them more active as well.

Prevention

If you have the space and money setting up a simple holding tank is the best way to put only healthy fish in saltwater reef aquarium systems. A holding tank is just another set up where the single fish can be placed and observed for signs of disease. If any disease is spotted then you can treat the disease and once the fish regains its health introduce it into your reef aquarium.

Be sure and check out our Reef Aquarium guide for more tips and tricks for having a  great marine aquarium check it out at www.saltwatermethods.com/reeftankguide

Today is a great time to have a marine aquarium. This is because advances in the hobby have lead to a lot of popular saltwater aquarium fish being captive bred. Fish like Gobies, clown fish and more are readily available. Captive bred marine fish are perfect for your aquarium because they have grown up in captivity, experience less handling stress and are more disease resistance.

The wild caught fish on the other hand are caught by divers around the world. Most are caught with chemicals that paralyze the fish so they are easier to catch. If they survive that then they still have to handle the journey from their native country to the wholesaler then the wholesaler to the pet store. Sometime these fish are in transit over 48 hours!

So How Do I pick Healthy Fish Saltwater Aquarium Fish?

The first step is to look around your local fish stores and settle on a species that will do well in your tank and one that you like. Once you have decided on a fish check for the following.

• Never buy fish from a holding tank that has other dead fish in it. Those fish died for a reason and disease may have been one of them and they can easily pass this disease onto other fish in your aquarium
• Always check to make sure the fish has clear colorful eyes. Eyes that are cloudy show signs of infection and other potential problems
• Look over the fish’s body and fins, avoid any specimens with torn fins or injuries on their bodies.
• Look for even slow gill movement, rapid gill movement is a sign of labored breathing and a possibly sick fish. Also make sure the gills are not flaring out, they should be flat with the fish’s body
• Look for small white specks on the fish, if the fish has white specks on it it has a bad disease Called ich which is highly contagious and deadly to other fish in your tank
• Choose fish with full round stomachs, any fish that has a pinched in stomach has either given up eating or has been underfed and is probably weak and susceptible to disease.
• Make sure the store feeds the fish and that it eats the food. Most sick fish will not eat and this is a sure sign of other problems.

For more information on saltwater fish and setting up a successful saltwater aquarium for them to live in check out our saltwater aquarium guide at http://www.saltwatermethods.com

What makes a reef aquarium stand apart from a standard saltwater fish tank is the live coral. Nothing can compare to the natural movement colors and beauty that live coral can bring to an aquarium. While there have been recent advances in the reef aquarium hobby that make keeping corals alive easier not all of them are as easy to keep and some are almost impossible and left to the advanced hobbiest. There are however some very popular good beginner aquarium corals that are not only easy to care for and hardy but that will provide both beauty and enjoyment to your reef tank.

Good Beginner Aquarium Corals

Mushrooms- This is by far the easiest to keep and care for and the most long lived of any of the beginner corals. They come in a wide variety of colors and will thrive in lower light conditions so a large expensive lighting system is not needed. They will often grow very fast and can cover a patch of your tank quickly.

Bubble Corals- This is a large polyped stony coral or LPS as it is referred to in the hobby. It is easy to care for, will eat solid foods and will tolerate lower light levels. Do not place this coral in to high flow of an area or it may never fully open. They come in white, tan and green. The LPS family is also full of many other aquarium corals that are easy to care for and beautiful.

Soft Corals- This family is full of some very fast growing and easy corals to care for they are great for the new reef keeper and provide slow rhythmic movement to your reef aquarium. Most will thrive in medium light setting s so power compacts will usually be fine they are also very tolerant of water conditions.

Green Star Polyps- These are beautiful neon green polyps that thrive in virtually any system. They do need good water flow in order to keep dirt and debris off of them. Other then that they grow well under medium light and grow fast. They grow so fast that they often spread to the back of aquarium walls further adding to the tank’s beauty.

Want a crystal clear successful Reef Aquarium with thriving corals and healthy fish? Our reef tank guide will show you how to set up your tank and avoid the common mistakes that lead to fish death, algae and an ugly tank. To get the secrets to creating a stunning reef aquarium visit www.saltwatermethods.com

Probably the most critical part to having a good marine aquarium is the fish. Pick the wrong species and it could eat everything else in the tank. Pick a sick fish and it could spread disease through your entire tank and wipe it out. But how do you pick a healthy marine aquarium fish? Just follow the simple checklist below and you will never buy another sick fish again!

Look For Rapid Breathing- Fish breath through their gills and in a healthy fish the gills move at a slow rhythmic pace. Avoid a fish that display rapid quick gill movement as this can indicate troubled breathing and an unhealthy fish.

White Spots- If you see any white spots on a saltwater fish never buy it. White spots indicate a disease known as ich. If left untreated ich can kill fish. The worst part is that most treatments will kill your corals as well as the ich.

Cloudy Eyes- A healthy fishes eyes should be clear and colorful. If the fish you are interested in buying has cloudy eyes avoid it. While cloudy eye can be treated it again requires medications that may harm live corals.

Beat Up Appearance- Carefully examine the fish you want to purchase and take note if they have sores on their body, torn or missing fins or other physical problems. Fish in this state are normally weak and get sick very easy.

Watch It Eat- All healthy marine aquarium fish will eagerly take food that is placed into the aquarium. With this in mind ask your fish store to feed the fish before you agree to buy it. If it fails to eat you may want to avoid it or have the store hold it for you and try again in a few days.

Want a crystal clear successful tank? Our Marine Aquarium Guide will show you how to avoid the common mistakes that lead to fish death, algae and an ugly tank. To get the secrets to creating a stunning marine aquarium visit http://www.saltwatermethods.com

Most people get involved in marine aquariums because of the beautiful colorful fish. It is also these colorful fish that confuse people and can wind up costing them a lot of money if the salt water fish the choose are either to difficult to care for or do not get along well with or eat other fish in the tank. This article will touch on a few popular and easy to care for salt water aquarium fish for beginners.

Clown Fish- Clown fish are some of the most popular marine aquarium fish today. They are almost the poster child for the hobby. They are also some of the best choices for new aquarium keepers because they eat well and are very hardy and resistance to changes in the tank. There are also captive grown clown fish on the market that are healthier and longer lived then wild caught specimens.

Damsel Fish- Damsel fish are very hardy marine aquarium fish and some are very colorful. However they can also be very, very aggressive and kill other fish in the tank. For this reason you should stick with only a few kinds. These would be the yellow tail blue damsel, the chromis species which should be kept in schools. Both these species are peaceful and very active additions to the aquarium, but as a precaution add them last to avoid any aggression.

Basslets- This is a great family of salt water aquarium fish but you again must choose carefully. One of the best choices in this group is the Royal Gramma. This fish is purple and yellow and very mild mannered. It is inexpensive and easy to care for and generally very hardy in aquariums. Just provide it with some rocky areas to hang out around.

Yellow Tang- This is a very popular fish but also a fish that is not cared for properly by many people. To start with these fish need tanks that are at least 4 feet long in order to swim freely as they do in nature. They also like to eat constantly so they need to fed frequently throughout the day. Other then that they are very good aquarium additions and easy to care for.

Blennies and Gobies- Blennies and Gobies are some of the best salt water aquarium fish for beginners because they are inexpensive, full of personality and very hardy. Two of the best choices are the bi-color blenny and the lawn mower blenny. Both of these fish will graze algae in the aquarium and also provide a fun fish to watch.

If you are setting up a new Saltwater Aquarium and feeling a little confused then you need to have our marine aquarium guide on your side. Our marine aquarium guide will give you a complete step by step plan to follow for a successful marine aquarium. You can learn more by visiting www.saltwatermethods.com

How many fish can I put in a 30 gal saltwater tank is a common question asked by new aquarium owners? With the growing popularity of saltwater aquariums more and more people are venturing into the hobby. Most of these people seem to gravitate to smaller systems under 40 gallons mainly for cost reasons.

While small tanks maybe affordable they can also severely limit your fish choices due to the nature of many marine fish.First you have to realize the saltwater fish are not like freshwater fish. They are territorial and some will protect that territory to the death.

With that in mind you will need to provide your marine fish with ample room to call their own. As a very basic rule of thumb you can have one small fish per 10 gallons of tank volume. This is dictated however by the tank shape and fish type.

Tips For Adding Fish To Your Tank

• A critical step in stocking a smaller saltwater aquarium is to research your fish choices before you shop, never impulse buy saltwater fish! Once you see some fish that you like you can dig further into their characteristics and see how they may get along with other tank mates.

• Do not let size fool you, some of the most brutal and violent fish are small. Fish like some dottybacks and damsels will attack fish twice or even three times their size, and often times kill them in the process.

• If you feel one of your choices maybe a little aggressive you may want to add them last. Often times adding a semi aggressive marine fish last will eliminate some of the territory battles that can take place. It is not guaranteed to work this way though because fish like people have different personalities.

• A good saltwater aquarium guide will be able to help you determine the types of saltwater fish you can keep in a smaller tank. Then you will want to go to the local fish store and see them in person and see if they look and behave how you want.