15 Popular Saltwater Aquarium Fish
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If you’re planning on installing a saltwater aquarium in any space, one of the most important elements to include in your tank is coral. Saltwater coral provides shelter and other benefits for any fish or other animals you keep in your tank. However, you need to select the right saltwater coral for your tank based on the environment you want to create.
There are several types of saltwater reef tank corals you can choose from for your aquarium, depending on the desired ecosystem.
Small Polyp Stony (SPS) corals are a type of hard coral that falls under the Scleractinia order. They’re critical in helping form a natural reef environment. They provide shelter for a variety of aquatic life through their calcium carbonate skeletons, with the ability to support fish, invertebrates, and symbiotic zooxanthellae.
Their hard skeletons help protect the coral in harsh oceanic environments from harsh waves, as they’re found at the top of coral reefs near the surface of the water. The calcium carbonate structure also enables them to absorb sunlight at this level.
The biological makeup of SPS corals makes them a bit harder to maintain compared to soft corals, with saltwater aquariums requiring an environment that mimics natural sunlight and higher water flow.
Zoanthids, also known as zoas, may refer to three different kinds of coral that feature similar characteristics. These include zoanthids, protopalythoa, and palythoa. Collectively, these zoas are soft corals.
They tend to be located closer to the surface of the water, which is why they’re photosynthetic and flourish in environments with higher levels of light. As such, you should replicate sunlight in saltwater tanks containing zoanthids. You’ll also need to provide them with krill, brine shrimp, or mysis shrimp, which are rich in protein. They also do well in aquariums with medium to medium-high water flow.
Corallimorphs are mushrooms that are in the same class as sea anemones. They have a unique thin body and a distinctive upturned mouth in their oral disk’s center. They’re also similar to hard coral internally, only they don’t feature a hard skeleton.
These mushrooms grow in deeper parts of the ocean along with shallow areas. Similar to photosynthetic coral, corallimorphs typically have zooxanthellae that help absorb sunlight. However, it’s important to keep in mind these mushrooms may cause harm to nearby hard coral and other similar types of life that sit nearby.
Depending on the variety, you can use low to moderate or high-intensity lighting. The majority of them need low to medium water flow.
There are multiple types of soft corals that don’t have the same hard skeleton as hard corals. Instead, they have larger and softer polyps that all have fragments of calcium carbonate.
Soft coral can live in just about any saltwater environment, including shallow areas and in the deep sea. However, they primarily thrive in tropical or subtropical environments. They feed on small organisms such as plankton using stinging cells known as nematocysts.
Soft corals are far more tolerant of changes in temperature and other elements in aquariums, which is why they’re better for beginners. Water flow needs to be low to medium for these organisms, and they only need moderate lighting.
Large Polyp Stony (LPS) corals are hard corals like SPS corals, which means they have a hard calcium carbonate skeleton. They often appear somewhat similar to soft corals and SPS corals, but their polyps are considerably more prominent than those in SPS corals.
Unlike SPS corals, LPS corals benefit from low to medium water flow, and they’re slightly more aggressive. They’re also generally easier to care for compared to SPS corals. They can also handle a wide variety of lighting settings depending on the species.
Gorgonians include a variety of organisms in the suborder Holaxonia, including sea fans, sea whips, sea rods, and sea blades. They feature a fibrous but durable protein known as gorgonin, which is softer than the calcium carbonate that forms hard coral’s skeleton. This gorgonin base lends stability to the gorgonians that hold them together against rough waters.
Gorgonians typically feed on zooplankton and phytoplankton, with some facilitating the growth of zooxanthellae. They’re generally easy to take care of, which is why they’re ideal for novice to expert aquarium owners.
When it comes to lighting and water flow, it’s best to use moderate to high-intensity lighting for photosynthetic gorgonians, while non-photosynthetic gorgonians require little to no light. To facilitate growth, gorgonians require high water flow levels.
Coral reproduction works in a couple of different ways, depending on the circumstances and the nature of the coral.
This reproduction method involves the removal of a small piece of coral from a larger colony. These pieces are known as frags, which eventually grow into new coral. This method of reproduction is sustainable and environmentally friendly, as fish stores that use this method of reproduction don’t tend to harvest coral from the sea.
Corals may also reproduce through mass spawning. This entails a yearly occurrence when different species of corals reproduce sexually in a matter of days in the moonlight. During this period, corals will release eggs and sperm that produce new coral. These embryos then form planula, which are coral larvae that float on the surface of the water before touching down on the ocean floor and forming a new colony.
Some corals are easier to maintain than others, making them ideal for beginner aquarists. If you’re considering adding coral to your aquarium as a novice owner, the following are some of the best beginner corals to use:
If you don’t want to use moderate or high-intensity lighting for your aquarium, some corals fare better than others in low-light environments. Some of these species could include:
Depending on the type of coral you have in your aquarium, you may feed it in a few different ways. These methods may involve:
Many corals harbor zooxanthellae, which is a type of algae that lives symbiotically in the coral and provides the coral with energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. The effectiveness of this process depends on the amount of light the coral receives in the aquarium and the spectrum of light you use.
The majority of corals will benefit largely from photosynthesis, but it may be necessary to feed your coral more directly with certain foods. Depending on the type of coral, this food could include plankton, krill, or even small species of fish.
The best way to determine if you need to feed your coral directly is to look at its mouth. If your coral is an LPS coral or something similar, you might see a mouth that it uses to feed on larger organisms.
Keep in mind that your coral may need lower water flow levels to enable easier feeding. On the other hand, some species may need higher water flow to facilitate the removal of excess food.
If you want to feed your coral properly, the following are a few of the different types of coral food and general considerations to keep in mind:
If your tank includes other types of aquatic life, you may be able to feed your coral indirectly when feeding fish or invertebrates. Once these animals digest their food and produce waste, the coral can then feed from certain elements within these waste products.
Additionally, some foods that you give to animals, such as plankton, may wind up going to the coral instead.
When containing coral in your aquarium, the fish you select need to be able to live comfortably with the coral. Some fish may bite coral and kill it, particularly fish that are notoriously aggressive. The diet that the fish require could also negatively impact coral health if excess fish food is harmful to coral. Additionally, some fish may require a larger tank to thrive, which may not be the best environment for coral.
To help you find the right fish for your tank when caring for coral, here is a list of some of the most reef-safe fish:
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