Difference Between Freshwater and Salt Water

Many new aquarium owners end up having a poor experience with their first-ever pet fishes and most of them even give up before starting in an actual manner.

There are plenty of reasons behind this potential failure, but it doesn’t mean that you cannot avoid such common pitfalls.

It is important to consider a few expert tips while setting up a new fish aquarium at home. And the biggest decision you need to make is whether to start with saltwater or freshwater version.

Well, the article below can help you understand the difference between both of these options so that you can choose the best one to ensure long life survival for your fishes.

What is a Freshwater Fish Tank?

When we talk about a freshwater fish tank, it is basically an acrylic tank or transparent glass box that hold many freshwater aquatic plants and ornaments for pet-keeping, decoration or research purpose.

There are generally two types of freshwater fish tanks; you can have cold water version or the heated freshwater fish tank. Both of them have their unique pros and cons; moreover, they are suitable for a specific type of fish species. However, most of the people are seen to invest in heated freshwater fish tanks as compared to the cold ones.

It is important to mention that freshwater fish tanks require frequent cleaning and refilling practices to ensure good health for your pet marine creatures.

What is a Saltwater Fish Tank?

The saltwater fish aquarium is also named as a marine aquarium which is considered a perfect place to keep a variety of aquatic animals and plants. Such fish tanks have some controlled environment for decoration, research and pet keeping as well.

Keeping a saltwater tank may appear little bit expensive option; these tanks are usually preferred by experts only due to additional efforts required for setup and management.

Although the beauty of these tanks is incomparable, they demand lots of patience and time. Other than this, there are endless possibilities for deciding your underwater theme and type of fishes.

The saltwater tanks also require special arrangements for changing water. The fishes that survive in these tanks are usually observed to be more colorful, mystique and draw attention with their powerful statement.

Difference between freshwater and saltwater aquarium

After going through the above details, now you might be confused about whether you should bring a saltwater aquarium to your home or should go ahead with the freshwater one. Well, here we have listed a few ideas that may help you to make a confident decision.

The freshwater fishes come from streams, rivers and lakes. The naturally occurring changes in the environment where they live make these fishes very adaptable.

These fishes find it easier to adjust to the aquarium. However, on the other side, nurturing the salt-water fishes may be a challenging task. They are more sensitive to environmental changes such as nitrate, ammonia, salinity, temperature, and more importantly, pH levels.

On one side, they require more care for survival; you need to invest more to bring them home as well. However, the saltwater fishes can host many other invertebrates in the aquarium; the list includes corals, crabs, clams, eels, and starfish as well.

Here we have listed three important points describing the difference between these two types of aquariums:

• Cost to start:

Generally, the cost of setting up and maintaining a freshwater aquarium is considerably low as compared to the saltwater fish tank. The actual cost depends upon the size of the tank and additional equipment you need to buy.

• Maintenance efforts:

You may need to put more efforts to maintain a saltwater fish tank as compared to the freshwater aquarium. However, the latest technologies are shrinking the gap slowly.

• Water availability:

The freshwater is easily available, and hence aquarium owners find it easier to change time to time. On the other side, the saltwater aquariums require specific saltwater, and it must be prepared in advance before you start changing the aquarium water.

• Type of fish:

The type of fishes that you want to nurture at home is the biggest factor to choose between these two options. Some of these fishes may need specific water condition, temperature arrangements and lighting.

You can choose the most suitable type of aquarium for your home based on this analysis.

What happens if you put saltwater fish in freshwater and vice versa?

It is important to understand that a saltwater fish cannot survive when placed in the freshwater because their bodies are developed a salt solution with higher concentration levels, which may not suit to the freshwater. When saltwater fishes are kept in the freshwater, the water may flow into their body, and their cells may start accumulating too much of it and die eventually.

In a similar manner, the freshwater fishes cannot survive in saltwater or ocean because their body cannot sustain in too much salt. When freshwater fishes are put in the saltwater, the water present inside their body may flow out of the cells, and they may die due to dehydration.

These processes are better known as Osmosis. It is basically the movement of the liquid molecules via semipermeable membrane ranging from the low concentrated solute to the highly concentrated solute. Due to this process, fishes need to maintain an adequate level of water inside their bodies for survival.

The semipermeable membrane is a barrier with small holes that restrict the entry of liquid molecules. But they are small enough to block concentrated content such as sugar and salt.

The cell membranes of fishes are semipermeable; it means they can permit smaller molecules while blocking the larger ones.  The saltwater and freshwater fishes can survive based on the salinity levels their body is meant to sustain.

How long does saltwater live?

When they receive good care and proper growth environment, the saltwater fishes can live for around 20 years or even more. There are some reports about clownfish living as long as up to 28 years in the reef aquarium. It is even possible to find many more exceptions because when fishes receive better care, they are more likely to live longer.

How long does freshwater live?

Well, there are several internal and external factors that have a close relation to the life cycle of an aquatic creature. Their metabolic abilities may also vary, and the life expectancy also varies equally. In general, the freshwater fishes may survive for around 15 years. However, f they are provided a healthy living environment with proper cleaning and feeding habits, they may live longer.

Which type is best for beginners?

As we have already discussed, the saltwater fishes require more care for survival. On the other side, the freshwater fishes are very adaptable, and they may live in a variety of conditions with ease. That is why beginners are encouraged to bring freshwater fishes to the home.

There are plenty of freshwater fishes that you can consider beginner-friendly; the list includes barbs, betta fish, platies, Corydoras, tetras, common goldfish, rasboras, Bolivian Cichlids, Kuhli Loaches, and Angelfish.

In case if you are more interested in bringing saltwater fishes to home, it is better to start with the ones that require less care. You may think of Basslets, Firefish, Hawkfish, Cardinalfish, Blennies, Clownfish, Mollies and Damselfish.

Beginners should usually avoid fishes that are more sensitive to water quality. Moreover, they may demand frequent care and special arrangements for survival. Such fishes can belong to both categories, freshwater and saltwater as well. Hence, one needs to be more careful while making a selection.

While bringing a fish to home, it is also important to be more careful in making a selection of a healthy specimen. Make sure they do not have some unwanted spots or white marks on the body, and their eyes are clear.

Check by feeding them some food in the store; if they refuse to eat, the chances are that fishes are ill. Start by bringing few fishes to your home first, and when they start surviving, you can bring more that are adaptable to the same environment.

Are tropical fish saltwater or freshwater?

Tropical fishes are generally found in the tropical aquatic environments; you can find both saltwater and freshwater species in this category. It is important to mention that tropical fish doesn’t belong to any specific taxonomic group; rather, it is a name given to the general fish which is found in the tropical environment.

Tropical fishes usually refer to the fishes that live in the heated environment. Most of the fish keepers prefer tropical freshwater fishes as compared to the saltwater fishes due to easy availability of freshwater. Moreover, a wide range of fishes that are sold as tropical fishes with aquariums is freshwater fishes.

They are bred in large proportion in different fish farms and are available at a low price to the aquarium owners. You can easily find some of the most attractive and healthy varieties of tropical freshwater fishes in the pet stores.