Have you considered getting fish as pets? Perhaps you've always been intrigued with the idea of having a fish tank in your home, of being a fish hobbyist?

Benefits of Fish Keeping

Keeping fish as pets can be a rewarding hobby. Designing and maintaining your aquariums is a wonderful creative outlet. Watching your fish swim around is both relaxing and fun. Fish make great pets because they require less hands-on care than other animals but they still need your care.

Freshwater Fish versus Saltwater Fish

What's the difference between Freshwater and Saltwater Fish? Well, pretty much, their names are self explanatory. Freshwater fish exist naturally in fresh water and saltwater fish exist naturally in the ocean. You can come across fish that naturally live in brackish waters. The Black Molly is an example of a "freshwater" fish that can get acclimated to saltwater tanks.

When considering whether to go with a freshwater or saltwater tank, for an absolute beginner, most people will advise you to go with a freshwater tank. The reason why? There are two reasons why people recommend freshwater tanks over saltwater tanks. Freshwater tanks are easier to maintain and freshwater fish are over-all cheaper to buy. That said, that doesn't mean that saltwater tanks are worth their effort!

Now we'll discuss the pros and cons between freshwater and saltwater fish specifically:

• Looks. Saltwater Reef Fish win heads down. There are many beautiful freshwater tropical fish out there, however!
• Behavior. Because you'll find it much easier to breed freshwater fish over saltwater fish, you'll find that aspect of their behavior much more interesting.
• Breeding. Much harder to breed saltwater over freshwater.
• Cost. Saltwater fish cost much more than freshwater fish. This is because they are still captured in the wild whereas many freshwater fish are bred in captivity.
• Taking Care of them. Saltwater fish are harder to maintain than freshwater. This is because with saltwater fish, you've got a lot more to deal with in the tank water chemistry. Their salt water mix has more you need to be concerned about.
• Error Tolerance. Freshwater fish are more tolerant of deviations in their environment than saltwater fish are. This is because out in the ocean, saltwater fish normally don't have as much change in their water conditions that they've had to accept in the past.
• Size. Saltwater fish tend to need larger tanks than freshwater. This becomes an issue with space in your home and costs for the tank.

What to consider when stocking your aquarium

There are so many choices to go with when considering what to stock your aquarium with. Remember to consider the following needs when looking at fish to buy:

• Adult Size. It's hard to believe since juvenile fish are so small (hey, they all have to start somewhere, right?) but just like pet dogs, pet fish can really vary in size once they grow up. There are minnows that never get larger than 3 inches as adult and then you have fish that routinely get over 1 ? feet as adults. Why does this matter? Tank size! If you have limited space or if you have a limited budget for your tank (and most of us do!), then make sure you don't buy any fish that will soon outgrow their tanks.
• What they like to eat. How complicated of a feeding session do you want to have with your fish? Are you a "tap-tap-tap" fish food kind of person (who believes that fish flakes are the only way to go) or are you more adventurous and would keep snakes in the house if your roommates let you?
• How compatible are the fish with other fish in general or other males of its own kind?
• What water temperature do the fish need? Freshwater fish are divided up into tropical and coldwater. Even within tropical freshwater fish, you'll find a difference in what the fish really want. Marine fish also fall into either tropical or cold water realms.
• What pH do fish require? Why would fish need different pHs? Because they've developed in different bodies of water around the world that have different pH levels. Have you ever noticed how the water at the beach is soft and your hair feels dirty no matter how much you wash it? That tells me that I prefer living inland. Fish also have pH preferences.
• How well do they breed in aquariums (if you're interested in this). Breeding fish is extremely rewarding for many fish hobbyists but you won't get anywhere if you buy fish that are known to be "shy" in captivity.
• Life expectancies (some fish live up to 10 years in captivity; that's a big commitment for a fish, don't you think?)
• Cost. Just because a fish costs more doesn't mean that it's a better fish for your aquarium. Many times fish cost more because they're harder to catch and keep alive in captivity. So for a beginner fish hobbyist, you might want to start with "pedestrian" and "cheap!"

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