Choosing the Right Butterflyfish for Your Reef Tank
Updated
When you think of some of the most colorful fish in the world, you probably picture a thriving reef environment. It is true that many of the world’s most beautiful fish live in coral reefs and that is part of what draws many aquarium hobbyists in. Cultivating and maintaining a reef tank comes with its challenges, however, so it is not a task you should enter into lightly.
A reef tank is an aquarium that supports corals and which may or may not also support saltwater fish and/or invertebrates. Corals come in all shapes, sizes, and colors with some of them being very easy to maintain and other being quite challenging. Outside the challenge of keeping corals, it can also be difficult to find saltwater fish that are reef-safe – many saltwater fish will feed on corals.
One type of fish that is particularly popular for reef tanks is the butterflyfish. You must understand, however, that not all butterflyfish are considered reef-safe. Keep reading to learn more about the dos and don’ts of keeping butterflyfish in a reef tank.
The Basics of Butterflyfish
Known for their bright colors and distinct shape, butterflyfish are some of the most beautiful saltwater fish you’ll ever come across. These fish tend to inhabit tropical regions, though they can also be found in cooler waters in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. For the most part, however, they are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Butterflyfish are very elegant in their appearance and graceful...
read moreWhat's That? The Top 10 Strangest Looking Saltwater Fish
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Saltwater fish are some of the most beautiful and colorful animals in the world. All you have to do is look up pictures of a coral reef to see every color of the rainbow represented. Some saltwater fish exhibit bright solid colors while others are covered in intricate patterns. But there are also plenty of saltwater fish that are downright strange in terms of their appearance. Keep reading to learn about the top 10 strangest looking saltwater fish species that you can keep at home.
1. Lionfish
Even if you didn’t know what they were called until just now, you already know what a lionfish looks like. Lionfish are those striped fish that look like they are covered in porcupine spikes. These fish are strange-looking for sure, but it in a beautiful way. Do not be fooled by their beauty, however – they are some of the most dangerous fish in the ocean as well. Lionfish are carnivorous fish which means that they feed on meaty foods like shrimp, crustaceans, and other fish. These fish can also grow very large, over 1 foot in length! If you are thinking about keeping lionfish yourself, you should definitely plan on having at least a 120-gallon tank and you should think twice about adding other species to the tank.
2. Hawkfish
This group of fish can be found in tropical coral reefs throughout the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. Hawkfish have elongated bodies with large heads – they also have merged dorsal fins connected by spines that...
read moreWhy Are Tangs Some of the Best Fish for Reef Tanks?
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If you are looking for the perfect fish to add to your reef tank, you may want to consider tangs as an option. Also known as surgeonfish or doctorfish, tangs make a great addition to the reef tank for a number of reasons. Keep reading to learn more about tangs and for recommendations on the best reef-safe species of tang.
The Basics About Tangs
You are probably familiar with some of the most popular tang species such as the yellow tang and the blue tang, but there are many more species out there to love. Tangs are generally peaceful fish that do well in community tanks, though they can sometimes be aggressive with other tang species. In the wild, tangs swim in large schools but this requires a lot of space so it is best to keep a single tang or a breeding pair in your home aquarium. There are a wide variety of different tang species available in the aquarium trade, but most of them grow to a minimum of 7 inches and a maximum between 10 and 15 inches. In addition to their size, tangs are also very active swimmers so they need a fairly long tank with at least 48 inches of lateral swimming space.
Why Do Tangs Do Well in Reef Tanks?
There are a number of reasons why tangs do well in reef tanks. For one thing, their natural habitat is very similar to a reef tank – shallow waters in tropical seas...
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