Saltwater Aquarium Articles

When setting up a saltwater aquarium the current trend is to use live rock LR. In the past, hobbyists used bleached dead corals, artificial plants and plastic corals to decorate their aquariums. The name live rock makes you assume it is alive, but it is not. Live rock is considered alive because it is covered in living organisms, including assorted algae, invertebrates, corals, sponges, and even beneficial bacteria. Here are five reasons you should use live rock when setting up your saltwater aquarium.

1. Live rocks helps keep pH stable and elevated. Saltwater fish and invertebrates require a high pH (between 8.0 and 8.3.) Live rock is made of dead coral skeletons (aragonite based) or other calcium-based compounds with naturally high pH, making them the perfect decoration for a saltwater aquarium.
2. When you purchase live rock it is usually covered with beneficial bacteria. In a closed system like an aquarium, waste produced by living animals will build up and become toxic. Nature provides beneficial bacteria which reduces toxic waste into a less toxic form.  Regular water changes can keep this less toxic waste from building up. Live rock has incredible amounts of surface area making it a great place for the beneficial bacteria to colonize.
3. Live rock is natural.  It is collected from oceans throughout the world. You can also purchase cultured live rock which also works well.  Since this is the same landscape the fish are used to seeing in the wild it creates a relaxing, at home environment.
4. Use live rock to create different types of rock work scenes found in the ocean. You can mimic the ocean by creating flat zones like the Great Barrier Reef, atolls, fringes or patch reef.  It is fun to stack live rock and create amazing caves or whatever you can imagine. Since live rock comes as individual pieces you can restack the rock until you get the perfect effect.
5. Fish need a place to feel secure.  When stacking live rock create holes, caves and caverns.  These make great hiding places for fish and invertebrates, like shrimp. These hiding places allow fish protection and a feeling of security when frightened by either someone peering into the aquarium or being chased by other fish. Keep this is mind when stacking rock.

To get more experts advice such as how much live rock is needed, what is cured rock, the correct ways to stack live rock and much more, click here to get your copy of Experts Guide To Saltwater Aquariums

Dedicated to your aquatic success,
Laurren Schmoyer

This is a common question because if you choose the wrong fish, other fish can be injured or worse: they can retire to early, watery graves. There are many factors that affect which fish can go together such as: How large is the aquarium? Are there plenty of hiding places for timid fish so that they can feel and be secure? Is your filter sufficiently large and capable of keeping a well stocked aquarium clean? Making sure your saltwater aquarium is set up correctly and with all the equipment necessary is critical to ensuring your fish will thrive for many years.

Let us assume you have a 90 gallon saltwater aquarium with live rock. We will assume you have a high-quality filtration system, heater and other equipment necessary to keep saltwater fish. We will also assume that the aquarium is setup properly to add fish, i.e. the temperature, salinity, etc. are all at optimal levels.

The first fish added to the aquarium should be some of the hardiest fish. New aquariums do not have “good” bacteria established to break down fish waste. Once “starter” fish are added, it takes from 4 to 6 weeks to establish a “bed” of good bacteria. While it is possible to significantly shorten this period by adding bottled bacteria, It is prudent to choose hardy fish whether you seed the aquarium with bottled “good” bacteria or let the bacteria gradually build on its own.

Before adding your first fish, decide if you prefer peaceful, semi-aggressive, or aggressive fish. This choice narrows down the fish you have to choose from. Here are two examples of compatible fish for a 90 gallon aquarium from Experts Guide To Saltwater Aquariums. I recommend starting with small to medium size fish and enjoy watching them grow.

Group 1 – Peaceful
1-Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosus), 2-“Nemo” Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris ), 3-Pajama Cardinal (Sphaeramia nematoptera), 4-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis), 1-Aurora Goby (Amblyeleotris aurora), 1-Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis) , 1-Solorensis Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus solorensis)

Group 2 – Aggressive (semi -aggressive)
1-Passer Angelfish (Holacanthus passer), 1-Humu Humu Trigger (Rhinecanthus aculeatus),1-Freckled Hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri) , 1-Lunare Wrasse (Thalassoma lunare), 1-Desjardinii Tang (Zebrasoma desjardinii)

The fish in these groups will typically live long and happy lives together. Watch your fish! A little bit of chasing is normal because fish usually exhibit a pecking order. There are some fish which stake out territory and chase intruders away. On occasion, however, you may have a fish that develops a high and mighty attitude and forgets to follow the general rules; always keep an eye out for extremely aggressive behavior.

To get more experts advice on how to pick healthy fish, the correct way to acclimate new fish, additional groups of compatible fish for other size aquariums, and much more, get your copy of Experts Guide To Saltwater Aquariums: click here. Experts Guide To Saltwater Aquariums

Dedicated to your aquatic success,
Laurren Schmoyer