Are saltwater aquariums harder to take care of

And comparing the number of species that occupy either system is absurd, since both groups include many species that are not available or appropriate for keeping in an aquarium. At a guess, there are more freshwater fish species available and suitable for keeping in a tank than there are saltwater--though of course the reverse is true for invertebrates.

Kind of interesting--there are lots of SW sponges available in the trade, but few, if any, of the FW varieties.
 
Raskolnikov said:
Actually freshwater species compose about 40% of the known species of fish. Taking into consideration the percentage of habitable freshwater vs. habitable marine water, freshwater systems as a whole are far more biodiverse.

I doubt that and would like to clarify that there isnt any part of the ocean uninhabitable.
 
corriewf said:
I doubt that and would like to clarify that there isnt any part of the ocean uninhabitable.

You don't need to clarify that the worlds oceans are habitable in total, that was the basis of my reference to differing biodiversity in both systems. By comparing habitable volumes of water, marine systems dwarf freshwater systems by far. Saltwater composes roughly 96.5% of the water on this planet, and the entirety of it is hospitable to fish as a whole. Take the remaining 3.5% that is freshwater, and take into consideration that most of it is not habitable by fish, being locked up in the ice caps and groundwater. Lakes, rivers, and swamps really only compose about .015% of the water on earth, yet roughly 40% of known fish species inhabit this tiny percentage of water.

I'd like to add that your dismissive tone and apparantly unfounded doubting of present facts isn't conducive to fruitful conversation, so I guess here is where it ends.
 
FL Knifemaker said:
Does my swimming pool count as fresh water??? If so, it's an expensive, time consuming, PITA.
I'm gonna have to agree with Knife on this one..... :dive2:
 
FL Knifemaker said:
Does my swimming pool count as fresh water??? If so, it's an expensive, time consuming, PITA.
You're going about it all wrong. A few tons of sand, some vallisneria and lilies, and it will be almost maintenance-free.
 
mogurnda said:
You're going about it all wrong. A few tons of sand, some vallisneria and lilies, and it will be almost maintenance-free.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Right now the thing is empty and the wife is painting it. She's been down there for a few days. I think I'll go check on her.............................. :look:
 
mogurnda said:
I hope you've at least been throwing sandwiches in every day or so.

:D

She's got the easy part. Once she's done I have to replace the underwater lights. Oh what fun.
 
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