CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Here are some pictures of my purple tang and my bubble coral.

looks nice, wish freshwater fish had cool coloring like that.

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Yeah but you do without the pain of dealing with ich etc at a drop of a hat.
Im going to try one eventually after I move.

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TONY The Proud Aussie
Duboisi.com

Got an emergency? Email Me
oscar2001@cichlidfish.com


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Yeah that is true the fish are a bit more tricky to handle and since you should have lots of live rock it is very difficult to romove diseased fish as they are very crafty when they have a dozen places to hide.... however ich can be easily avoided and successfully treated now with new reef-safe treatments. Also as long as you maintain water quality you have nothing to fear. Another thing to think about is that salt tanks (set up properly) are very good ecosystems, I have only changed 5 gallons of water in my 90 gallon tank since setting it up 4 months ago, and all my water conditions are all firmly at 0. Research and patience is all that is really necessary to have a successful salt tank.

Adam

Originally posted by Adam:
Yeah that is true the fish are a bit more tricky to handle and since you should have lots of live rock it is very difficult to romove diseased fish as they are very crafty when they have a dozen places to hide.... however ich can be easily avoided and successfully treated now with new reef-safe treatments. Also as long as you maintain water quality you have nothing to fear. Another thing to think about is that salt tanks (set up properly) are very good ecosystems, I have only changed 5 gallons of water in my 90 gallon tank since setting it up 4 months ago, and all my water conditions are all firmly at 0. Research and patience is all that is really necessary to have a successful salt tank.

Adam

You are dead wrong about the water changes. Your tank is new and so far you havvve been lucky. I have 6 marine aquariums, including a 125 reef. These tanks need water changes to stay healthy. My reef has been set up and running for 7 years. I change about 1/3 of the water every week on all of my marine tanks, even the reef.

water changes are the key to healthy happy fish and inverts, just like oscars or any other fish.

I dont know about saltwater setups myself but I do know that Adam has done a lot of study on it. So I wouldnt be quick to misjudge his info.

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TONY The Proud Aussie
Duboisi.com

Got an emergency? Email Me
oscar2001@cichlidfish.com


My Cichlidfish.com Home page

I do water changes though not nearly with the frequency, or magnitude you do them... with the proper set up and additives you can go alot longer without a water change then that. Even with that said 1/3 a week is way way more water then I have ever heard recommended anywhere. What I have read repeatedly is 25% a month water change and this is usually only to replenish trace elements, or to lower Nitrates. I dont argue that I should probably do more frequent water changes for the sake of the trace elements but so far I have a very light bio load and everything in my tank is healthy and thriving, but I do argue that I have been "lucky" with the amount of research I do continually (usually 2 hours a day)I find it hard to believe I have simply gotten lucky, especially when very sensitive animals are in question. Also I'm sure you've been successful doing things the way you do, but it's not the only way. You didnt discribe your set ups so I have no way of knowing what methods you use. Also not ment as a jab or anything but the way SW tanks are set up has changed a great deal in the last 7 years, again I dont know how your tanks are set up so I cant say for sure.

Just another note.. if it were possible to keep an oscar tank at a nitrate level of 0 for a long period of time there would be less need to do water changes on the oscar tank also. The main purpose of water changes is to lower nitrate levels not simply to make work for us...

Adam