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Seeing some of the threads in here made me think about penning some words of wisdom to pass on to would be marine aquarists, and hopefully, what I'm about to say will meet with general agreement among the old hands.

One. EXERCISE PATIENCE. I wrote an article some time ago entitled "An aquarium is not a TV". In that article, I said that an aquarium is a complex living system, not something that you can just buy, plug in and go. A marine aquarium is the same in nature, only ten times more intensely at least. Take everything step by step, don't try running before you can walk! Be prepared for the setting up phase of your marine aquarium to last up to a year. That's right, a year. If you don't have this level of patience, then marine fishkeeping probably isn't for you.

Two. DO YOUR RESEARCH. The very worst thing you can do in the marine fishkeeping world is rush out and stock an aquarium with lots of pretty fish. If you thought the balancing of compatibilities between species was hard enough in freshwater, then saltwater is an order of magnitude more demanding in terms of prior intellectual input. Reef relationships are complex, have been co-evolving for over 50 million years, and involve phenomena that you don't see (or hardly ever) in freshwater. Mastering those relationships, and how they impinge upon what you can keep compatibly together in an aquarium and what you can't, isn't acquired overnight.

Three. PLAN AHEAD. If planning ahead pays dividends in freshwater, then it pays them twenty-fold in marine fishkeeping. Just the business of deciding which pieces of technology to buy to build your filtration system is in itself a planning exercise that should make a grown man take a very deep breath before proceeding. Then, of course, you have to plan for things in marine fishkeeping that rarely pop up in freshwater - namely invertebrates. Do you go with fish only (FO), fish only with live rock (FOWLR), or a full reef? If the latter is your goal, then be prepared to make plans a-plenty to make sure that you don't end up spending lots of money only for it all to end in expensive heartbreak.

Four. LEARN, LEARN, LEARN. Master basic concepts such as the nitrogen cycle, what a protein skimmer is and what it does, how live rock works, all of these fundamentals before plunging in. You'd be surprised how many people dive headlong into an expensive enterprise like this without acquiring the intellectual wherewithal. Including a few politicians I could name, but that belongs in another forum. Master the art of working out what will live compatibly with what else. For example, you've seen that gorgeous looking Orange Striped Triggerfish in there, and want to know will it live with your Dottybacks? No it won't. For that matter, it probably won't live with anything else because the Orange Striped Triggerfish is a sort of reef sociopath. Likewise, the order in which you introduce your coral reef fish to your aquarium will in itself have a bearing on your chances of success. These are the kind of details you need to get up to speed on if you're going to stand a chance of success.

Five. ASK QUESTIONS. Once you've mastered the fundamentals, don't be afraid to ask things that may sound stupid. The stupid thing to do is NOT to ask questions. Some of your questions will have ready answers in the assortment of textbooks on marine fishkeeping. Others, including some of the questions that may sound stupid to you, may prove to be of critical importance in getting your setup right, and NOT have a ready answer in the books. Take notes all the way. Make sure you can cross reference all your notes, and track down possible compatibility issues and other pitfalls before you spend a dime.

Six. PLAN SMART. You know you won't be able to go the full hog and build a reef from the word go. You know you'll have to work your way toward that goal piecemeal. Then plan your setup so it can be adapted as you gain experience! For example, make sure that ALL your fishes are reef safe from the outset, and DON'T deviate from the groundplan in this regard. Even if you're running a fish-only setup, again, plan smart - if you know you want to keep a big Angelfish at some future point, make sure you start off with Angel-compatible fishes. If you're planning on having some of those neat little shrimps you like so much, but feel you don't have the skill to keep them just yet, make sure your 'easier' choices of livestock won't eat them when you ARE ready!

Seven. USE YOUR BROWSER. Know how many places there are on the web devoted to marine fishkeeping? More than enough to help you plan a decent setup, that's for sure. Apart from the fish experts here at good old FishProfiles, who will happily propel you on your way to a successful marine aquarium, there are places like ReefCentral.com, and a host of other places. Don't be afraid to tap the vast reservoir of knowledge that is DarkRealm Overlord and the other old hands here, and don't be afraid to hunt down other names in the field such as Anthony Calfo and Mike Paletta. People who have been there, done that, seen the film, read the book and bought the soundtrack. Heed their wise words and add their sagely advice to your ever growing compendium of notes.

Eight. DO THE CHORES. If this is important in the freshwater world, it's ten times more important in the marine world. Learn to love your chores, for if you do, your fish and inverts will love you in return. That's the funny thing about fish - they know when you're putting in the effort and busting a gut on their behalf. A diligent fishkeeper who does his chores regularly will be rewarded accordingly. And may even be pleasantly surprised. Five years down the line, you may decide to get some oddball that no-one's ever kept before, and hey presto, you're the first to see it spawn. If that happens, you've done everything right. Pat yourself on the back, then come here with video footage of your spawning miracle and share it with the rest of us!

Nine. WATCH, OBSERVE, TAKE NOTES. Again, even more important in the marine world than in freshwater, and it's important enough there with a range of fish species still waiting to be bred successfully. You may think that what you've seen is of no consequence, but who knows - that odd foible of behaviour you thought didn't matter might turn out to be the key to you being the first person to spawn Butterfly Fishes in captivity, for example. Sounds far-fetched? Just ask the discus keepers - they'll tell you they're STILL learning new things about their fishes after 30 years of discus keeping under their belts. So too will you about your new saltwater friends. Indeed, you'll never STOP learning. There'll always be something new waiting for you to discover. Get in the habit of watching and observing now, and you too could end up with a big smile on your face as the fish magazines wave cheques in your face and clamour for your wisdom. It does happen, you know!

Ten. Above all, ENJOY DOING IT.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002