S A L T W A T E R . F I S H
C . O . M . M . E . N . T . S . . & . . T . I . P . S

The Copperband Butterfly is
a very beautiful, but delicate fish
Coral reef fishkeeping
Many are surprised to learn that most saltwater fish are still captured from coral reefs around the world and shipped directly to your local fish store.

When you buy a fish, you are contributing to a market for them. With this in mind, please be responsible about selecting new fish. Don’t buy fish you won’t be able to keep alive for very long, especially those requiring a diet unattainable in captivity, or who get too large.

Also, try to make sure your new fish is compatible with the fish you already have. There are lots of books and internet sources where you can learn requirements for keeping the fish you plan to purchase.

Acclimating new fish captivity is often difficult. They've been subjected to stress from capture, shipping, confinement, repeated moving, no food, unfamiliar food and surroundings, etc. Sadly, some species offered for sale will not adapt to captivity & should never have been removed from their homes in the ocean.

Getting new fish settled in & eating
When you get your new fish home, try not to startle it. Give it a peaceful a transition into its new home to get things off to a good start.

Stay back from the aquarium for a few days as much as possible until it feels "settled in" and used to people milling around. Some types of fish take longer to become "tame" than others.

Longnosed Hawkfish wearing his plaid suit

Pearlscale Butterfly
& Longnose Hawkfish

Food for new fish
To get new fish eating, I first offer LIVE brine shrimp. The “wiggle” is irresistable to most. After success with that, try commercially available frozen foods. If that's refused, wait about an hour to give the fish some time to try it before going back to the brine.

Live brine, live clam, live mussel, or finely chopped raw scallops almost always works even with picky eaters. Rinse shellfish in cold fresh water for a few minutes to destroy any parasites. Most fish will eventually convert to foods that aren't so specialized and/or high maintenance.

I feed up to 6x a day while I'm offering different foods to a new fish until I figure out what they will eat. (very small amounts, tho!) After that, I'll cut back to 2x a day.

Frozen foods “Formula One”, "Formula Two" by Ocean Nutrition, and “Sally’s Emerald Entree for Freshwater and Marine Omnivores” by San Francisco Bay Brands seem to be quality products. Freeze-dried sheet algae from Ocean Nutrition is another good food for Tangs.

If your fish isn't eating, check:

Water chemistry- ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, specific gravity. You should have just done this prior to shopping for a new fish.

Food isn't suitable, wrong type, too big or too small

Fish may be getting harrassed by tankmates

Fish may be too slow, not able to compete for food with tankmates

Fish feels insecure & stressed; no "safe" hiding places in tank from curious observers, too much commotion near tank

Fish may be sick; check closely for signs of ich or other diseases

Fish may take a few days to get accustomed to its new food and home so don't panic too soon.
NOTE: Seeing tankmates eat will sometimes encourage new fish to eat

Pakistani Butterfly
Specialized Food
I keep a Pakistani Butterfly that still rejects almost every food my other butterfly fish accept. This is after 3 months!

After trying the usual foods without success, I resorted to offering him live mussel or clam cracked open which he really likes.The downside of these foods is the risk of uneaten food ending up in the tank. My cleaner wrasse likes to take off with a piece of mussel or clam and hide it in one of the large barnacles in my tank, so I always have to check for uneaten stashes of food! There is some risk of transferring diseases from live clams & mussels so I don't do this often.
Recently, I discovered this little guy loves prefrozen/thawed scallops from the grocery store. It’s much easier to prepare and doesn't foul my water as much as the mussel or clam. I just chop the scallops into tiny pieces (my fish is only about 3”) and feed him. All my fish love it, especially my cleaner wrasse who ends up looking like he swallowed a little jelly bean!

To prepare this food ahead of time, chop, then flatten into a thin “sheet” in a plastic ziplock bag, and store it in the freezer. Then just break off a chunk at feeding time!The Pakistani also likes finely minced raw Ahi tuna and prawns. I shared a little of my dinner with him one night recently and was surprised at how eagerly he ate it! These fish are reputedly hard to keep.

Only buy healthy fish
Watch the fish you're considering buying in the store closely for 5 or even 10 minutes to make sure it's alert, has clear fins & eyes, no white spots or blemishes, breathing normally, is eating and is not too thin. Ask what food the fish is currently eating and buy exactly that at the same time you buy the fish.

Getting new fish to accept food eagerly is half the battle! Ask an experienced fish dealer to recommend good fish for you if you're new to the hobby. There are many beautiful fish to choose from in the “hardy” category.

Flame Angel admiring his reflection

Anyone need any cleaning???
Pacific Cleaner Wrasse
I've kept cleaner wrasses and had fair luck with them. Besides parasites, they like meaty food like Formula One, live brine shrimp, live mussels and finely chopped scallops.All fish seem to recognize these guys as friends and will “beg” to be cleaned of parasites when they need it. The fish hold perfectly still for them and some actually fade their colors to a much lighter shade when the wrasse approaches them.

Cleaner wrasses can eventually become a bit of a pest to their tankmates when their job is done. After adding all the fish to this tank I may trade him in to a good fish store if he gets too annoying.

Most cleaner wrasses are in pretty bad shape when I see them for sale. Try to select one that isn't too thin and beat-up looking. I change my water on schedule and use a UV sterilizer which I think helps me avoid alot of problems with these fish which are reputedly hard to keep.

Damsels too aggressive for community tanks?
I have two blue yellow-tail damsels in my 55g FO tank currently with 4 butterflyfish, a Flame Angel and a long nosed hawk. They're beautiful little fish and I've have had no problems with them being aggressive after 6 months. One of my books says there is a species of blue yellow-tail damsel that isn’t so aggresssive, so perhaps that's what these are? Apparently there are several that look identical. I've always returned them after my tank has cycled in the past, but I'm giving these little guys a try as long as they “behave” themselves! I returned a yellow one with horizontal black stripes as it was unbelieveably aggressive. It killed the other one & attacked all other damsels like a mad hornet! I also returned a medium aggressive pastel pink one.

Reef Tank or Fish Only?
My LFS "mentor" told me when I started years ago that the first thing I needed to decide is whether I wanted a tank with invertibrates (corals, starfish, snails, tube worms, shrimp, etc.) or a fish only tank.

The difference was that a fish only tank would allow me to use copper to treat parasites directly in my display tank if needed. Once you've used copper, it stays in the tank to some degree because it's absorbed into your decorations. So you can't switch to inverts at a later date without replacing all your $coral, $rock & $substrate. (I have since found a UV sterilizer helps control parasites without adding chemicals).Fish choices are more limited with inverts because of the medications you can use in your tank. (Another testimonial for quarantine tanks!) Also, some fish will eat your expensive corals & inverts like they did when they were at home in the ocean!I decided to go the fish only route because the fish are my main interest.

I find the reef tanks & exotic corals & inverts beautiful & very interesting. There are also some very delicate species I would never try unless I had a reef tank. For me, another type of SW tank maybe some day...

My Aquariums
My current saltwater setup (purchased 10 years ago) is a 55g show tank. Click to view a picture of this tank with specific details on my fish and equipment.

Saltwater

Freshwater

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