Aquariums are great creative outlets for you. You can design one small enough to fit into the corner of a room, or large enough to create a room’s focal point. The big decision comes when selecting the type of fish and invertebrates you want. Which means – either saltwater or freshwater.

Let’s look at freshwater tanks.

• Easy to maintain
• Less expensive to stock
• Easier to take care of as freshwater fish are more tolerant of tank or environment deviations
• Tank size can be smaller, so your initial output is more reasonable

Now to saltwater tanks.

• Better looking – saltwater fish tend to be more colorful with more interesting behaviors
• More costly because you cannot ‘breed’ saltwater fish – they still need to be ‘captured’ to meet the supply-and-demand needs
• Saltwater is more time-consuming because you need to make sure their environment is stable
• Saltwater fish need large tanks, so your initial output will be more than with freshwater tanks

Even though ‘beginners’ are told to stay away from saltwater tanks and go with freshwater tanks, it is really up to you and how much time and energy you want to invest into your tank. No matter which tank you decide on, you should be aware of a few tips.

1. Fish size

All fish start out small, but each one grows at a different rate. So you need to consider which will be better based on your budget as well as the size tank you decide on. It will be more costly if you have to get a larger tank each time your fish develops as well as making sure they have plenty of room to swim in.

2. Food

As everyone knows, goldfish require a container of food that you can just ‘tap’ into the tank, and then off you go. Whereas with saltwater fish, you will need to mimic what they would normally eat in the wild. This means extra types of food and some of those foods need to be refrigerated. If you have children, that is a major consideration in order to avoid them getting ‘into something’ that they should not be into and then get sick.

3. Compatibility

It won’t do your budget any good to buy fish and then come home to find one is dead or half-eaten!! You need to make sure your tank dwellers will be on good terms with each other as well as other fish dwellers in your tank.

4. Breeding

Some people have tanks in order to breed fish and make some extra cash. So when buying your fish, you need to make sure that they can be bred in ‘captivity’ (i.e. your tank), or that they are not shy around other fish.
One last thing to remember – some fish can live for up to ten years in a tank. That means a long-term commitment on your part and has to be something that you are willing to spend time on. So be careful on what fish to want, because it will almost be like a marriage contract!

Some of my favorite freshwater fish are Guppies (easy to take care of and feed), Betta (even though they need to be kept away from other fish, they have lovely colors and finnage), and the Oscar (after a while it is said that it will come to know its feeder). Looking at saltwater fish, I like Blue Devils, Clown Fish (like Nemo), and the Forceps Butterfly (its bright yellow color is stunning).

Want more information and help deciding on which fish tank is the best? Call Seatech Aquariums. Jimmie and Mike have many years of aquarium experience, and will help you decide on the size, where to put it, and what to put inside of it. Seatech offers a money-back guarantee on its livestock, and will also be there to set up your tank and get you going with regular, first-class maintenance.

Visit our website at http://seatechaquariums.com/ or give us a call at 602.628.7270. And if you are interested in getting a Nano Cube Tank, then Seatech is the ultimate expert!! We have several models to select from and again – we will help you get everything you need.
Don’t wait – get started today!