Is a no-fish tank or aquarium a good idea for a beginner?

1. 69

   visionandfocusposted 11 years ago

   Is a no-fish tank or aquarium a good idea for a beginner?
   
   If a saltwater aquarium is much harder to maintain than a freshwater one, how about an aquarium with only coral and other plants but no fish?

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2. 75

   ljrc1961posted 11 years ago

   Many people do this.  It is not uncommon for people to breed corals and "grow" them in saltwater tanks without fish.  The reason?  Many corals can perish due to coral eating fish.  I have a coral and fish tank but the types of coral I can keep is limited due to the fish that I have.  Please don't think however that growing corals will be easier without fish.  Corals are living creatures too and are not plants like many think.  They have to have the same conditions and water/food treatments that are monitored and tested regularly as fish do.  The biggest difference would be the many kinds of corals you could raise.  One more caution...corals grow quickly and take over tanks.  Make sure that you have a large enough tank with plenty of live rock and live sand that will allow a natural habitat for your corals to grow in.  Good luck!  Nothing is greater than a saltwater tank.

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   1. 69

      visionandfocusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you so much for all the great info. I will take your advice to heart.

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3. 95

   Melissa A Smithposted 11 years ago

   This depends on the types of coral and how large your aquarium is. There are many 'easy' soft corals and polyps like star polyps, mushrooms, and zoanthids, plus some easy 'LPS' (long-polyp stony corals) like candy cane and brain. 'SPS' (small polyp stonies) are considered to be more difficult because they need perfect water quality and high-lighting demands. Corals and gorgonians that are non-photosynthetic are nearly impossible because they must consume specific particles that are suspended in the water column for the right amount of time while not jeopardizing water quality, and require expertise. Fish are somewhat easy depending on what species. Beginner saltwater fish like clowns and gobies should be maintained in a liverock system and I don't think there is much difference husbandry-wise between beginner corals and beginner fish, perhaps with the exception that fish excrete more wastes and so, depending on the size of your tank, this can be more challenging than some coral to keep. Therefore in that situation it would be easier I think to maintain simple corals alone. I'm not sure what plants you'd be planning on; many plants available to the saltwater hobbyist are either highly invasive (caulerpa sp.., chaetomorpha, ect) , or difficult to keep ('shaving brush plant, mangrove, ect). Most use them for refuguims.

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   1. 69

      visionandfocusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great expert advice! I see it's a lot more complicated than I thought. Corals look so pretty so I'm really tempted but I don't want to kill them in my ignorance, so I'd better read up more first. Thanks so much!

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   Brandi Cooperposted 11 years ago

   Coral can be much harder to handle than fish. Certain corals need specific water flow, water temperature, pH, and the right amount of light for the right amount of time. Coral are also much more susceptible to sudden changes in water quality/temp/etc. There are some that are hardier because they don't need as much light, but they can be hard to keep thriving. You also have to feed corals certain foods and by varying techniques, so it can be difficult to make sure they're feed correctly.
   
   If you want a simple set up, I would suggest just live rock. You can let a tank system establish for about a month or so with just the rock and then introduce some hardy saltwater fish. In my experience, clownfish are really good for this sort of thing. They're relatively cheap, they're pretty, and they're incredibly hardy. Out of all the saltwater fish I've owned, my clownfish have turned out to be the most resilient. Damselfish are also fairly tolerant and are even cheaper.
   
   If you want to go super cheap on your fish, you can grab some mollies (they sell them as fresh water, but you can adapt them to being saltwater fish) to use as a way to test whether or not your tank is suitable for other, more expensive, strictly saltwater fish.

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   1. 69

      visionandfocusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, those are all great suggestions. Thank you so much for the info. Appreciate it!

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