Video:Tips for Choosing Saltwater Fish

Transcript:Tips for Choosing Saltwater Fish

Hi, I'm Joe Caparatta, owner of Manhattan Aquariums in New York City, here for About.com. Today we're going to talk about some of the different types of fish that you may want to consider purchasing for your aquarium.

Saltwater Fish Considerations

Things to consider when going to the fish store, or buying online, is to consider the size of the fish at their present size, in relation to the tank that they're going to go in. Also, how big that fish is going to get, so that it doesn't outgrow your aquarium. There's aggressive fish, there's very peaceful fish, there's finicky eaters -- so we're going to try and navigate through those fish that are better suited for life in a captive environment.

Beginner Aquarium Fish

I want to show you a couple of the different types. Now when you first start off your aquarium, I recommend starting with damsel fish and clownfish. Clownfish, like the one that was made famous in the "Finding Nemo" movie -- this guy right here -- or the Pakula Clownfish, which really is the "Finding Nemo" fish. Fish like the clownfish and the damsel fish are better for beginners because they are better adapted to the changes that a beginner's aquarium would be associated with: changes in pH, temperature, salinity. Until you start mastering those basics, you'll want to stick with fish that can handle those changes.

In addition, their feeding needs are not as demanding as some of the more sensitive reef fish. Certain fish, like tangs, angel fish, triggerfish, or gobies, these guys need to be fed a select diet: they need shrimp, they need krill, they need squid, it's got to be chopped up and fed daily, or they're going to wither away. The clowns and the damsels, they seem to just "find" food in the tank! They're also more resistant to diseases, as they have larger scales, which act as a first line of defense against parasites.

Don't Overfill a Salt Tank With Fish

As far as how many fish you'll want to put in your aquarium -- let's say you have a 55-gallon tank with optimal filtration -- I would recommend one inch of fish for every ten gallons. Figure about five to six small fish, maybe one show fish of four to five inches. What happens is, in an aquarium that size, with five to six fish, the amount of bacteria that would naturally grow in a filter, would only be able to support five to six fish being fed a normal amount of food.

Maintaining Aquarium Peace

We showed you what some of the types of fish are, it's very important not to mix fish that are going to fight with each other. All of these fish, although they seem very peaceful, are all very aggressive by nature. Even fish that are seemingly peaceful have a built in aggressive response to other fish that look the same. This is just their way of dealing with the limited supply of food and breeding areas in the wild. So any fish that kind of looks the same, they have a natural aggression towards to scare them away and protect their own food.

One way to circumvent that biological response is to go with fish from different families. One or two clownfish, one tang, one triggerfish, one damsel -- so everybody's occupying a different niche within the aquarium and no two fish are targeting the same food and the same breeding space.

So you have to pick fish carefully, and you want to go on the advice of someone who really knows what they're talking about -- and not just pick your fish based on color and attractiveness to you.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the Web at About.com.