butterfly_koi
Aquarium Advice Addict
mfdrookie516 said:
Lol well said, very much agreed. This topic is a never ending battle, each person has a different opinion and I don't think it will ever come to a mutual understanding.
I just wanna see if....
- Thread starter caveman0777
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Lol well said, very much agreed. This topic is a never ending battle, each person has a different opinion and I don't think it will ever come to a mutual understanding.
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
Some people don't. There isn't a huge following for native fish, but it's not necessarily because they are less colorful, it's because they haven't been marketed like basic tropicals. Your average joe thinks of native fish and thinks of bass and bluegill.
Some of the fish farms and wholesalers do have some natives on their lists now though and it seems to be increasing more and more as more people realize that there are many colorful and aquarium compatible native fish out there. I linked a couple of sunfish in this other thread http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/native-or-tropical-210469.html#post1971376 and there are a lot more. Photos - Freshwater Fish - Perches (Percidae) | Biological Indicators of Watershed Health | US EPA
I think that in time and with selective breeding that there will be natives on the shelves alongside tropicals and the average person will not know the difference.
I would say that the majority do want a colorful fish,though, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. Some people like fish based on their behavior or other factors, like predator tanks for example.
I do agree that it shouldn't be one over the other, I know lots of people who keep both FW and SW tanks.
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
I think that FW and SW people can have a basic mutual understanding in that they are connected by a love for fishkeeping, but it's no different than the ford vs chevy debate, everyone has their own opinions and each side has its pros and cons.
butterfly_koi
Aquarium Advice Addict
jetajockey said:
Well that's true, but like I said before I don't believe that any one is better than the other. its all the hard work we put in our tanks what makes them what they are. Anyone can make their tank anyway they want, so I don't believe that any type is just the same old same old. Its all what you make of it.
paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
I know there are a lot of people who think Saltwater is more visually appealing, but in MY personal opinion, I think it all looks like gray and blah and very similar to every other sw tank. I've only been to the ocean once in my life and I wasn't impressed. The only time I've ever been impressed by anything sw, was when I watched a show on tv that showed some particularly colorful portion of the bottom of the ocean.
I grew up in the boondocks, swimmin in the creek, playin in the river, fishin from the pond... Lol my heart will always be with freshwater.
Now I realize that some people get great enjoyment from sw setups. That's awesome but I don't get it. Lol. I love the green. That's just my personal opinion
I grew up in the boondocks, swimmin in the creek, playin in the river, fishin from the pond... Lol my heart will always be with freshwater.
Now I realize that some people get great enjoyment from sw setups. That's awesome but I don't get it. Lol. I love the green. That's just my personal opinion
Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
People will always prefer the side that they started out doing. For example, for someone who only has freshwater they will probably prefer freshwater, and for those who have only ever had saltwater tanks they will prefer saltwater for the most part. I have done both. I had multiple freshwater tanks and then i slowly made my way into saltwater and once i started i couldnt stop. Again this is just my opinion, but it is unbiased because i did experience both salt and fresh. I think saltwater is better because there are way more things for you to do with your tank. There is a greater variety of fish/coral/inverts in saltwater and you can have a very unique set up. Overall, i like both salt and fresh, but in my opinion saltwater is better because of variety and options
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
People will always prefer the side that they started out doing. For example, for someone who only has freshwater they will probably prefer freshwater, and for those who have only ever had saltwater tanks they will prefer saltwater for the most part. I have done both. I had multiple freshwater tanks and then i slowly made my way into saltwater and once i started i couldnt stop. Again this is just my opinion, but it is unbiased because i did experience both salt and fresh. I think saltwater is better because there are way more things for you to do with your tank. There is a greater variety of fish/coral/inverts in saltwater and you can have a very unique set up. Overall, i like both salt and fresh, but in my opinion saltwater is better because of variety and options
Doing both doesn't make you unbiased, it just means you have experience with both. We are all biased in some way or another, and in the realm of opinion the bias is irrelevant anyway since there is no right or wrong answer.
And no, people don't always prefer the side that they started out doing. Most, if not all of the SW people that I know started out with a FW tank.
paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
How are there more things to do in a sw tank? You've got fish and then You can have stuff growin on rocks, or stuff growin on rocks. Lol
Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
That not what i meant. I was trying to say they they prefer the side that they have experience with. For example you prefer freshwater because you only have experience in freshwater
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
But I don't prefer freshwater because of that at all. It's kinda backwards, I have experience with FW because I prefer it, so it's something I do.
Like I said earlier I spent most of my life in and around the water here, fishing, snorkeling, you name it. I have vivid memories of collecting seahorses and seeing all kinds of colorful fish off of rock jetties and on grass flats. It may not qualify the same as keeping a saltwater tank, but it does play a factor in my preference for SW or FW fish.
MrPillow
Aquarium Advice Freak
I prefer whatever type of water the individual fish I am interested in comes from for that particular aquarium. There are plenty of interesting fish from fresh, brackish, saltwater, coldwater, tropical, temperate, whatever waters to keep any reasonable person occupied for a lifetime.
To assume that the only "interesting" fish are those which are commercial sold en masse, or those which are discussed on this website at large, is a foolish notion. Ignorance of other options does not eliminate their viability.
I would also venture that the "average joe" is more interested in big, mean predators than small colorful clownfish. Just look at the prevalence of monster tanks, catfish, piranhas, pacus, oscars, gar, lionfish, groupers, sharks, snakeheads, etc. Those fish aren't flashy in the slightest, compared to most of the "wimpy" offerings in the trade, yet the obsession still remains.
If you want to waste time insisting that one environment is superior to the other and beating that horse to death, be my guest. I'll be too busy enjoy my fish
Toodles.
To assume that the only "interesting" fish are those which are commercial sold en masse, or those which are discussed on this website at large, is a foolish notion. Ignorance of other options does not eliminate their viability.
I would also venture that the "average joe" is more interested in big, mean predators than small colorful clownfish. Just look at the prevalence of monster tanks, catfish, piranhas, pacus, oscars, gar, lionfish, groupers, sharks, snakeheads, etc. Those fish aren't flashy in the slightest, compared to most of the "wimpy" offerings in the trade, yet the obsession still remains.
If you want to waste time insisting that one environment is superior to the other and beating that horse to death, be my guest. I'll be too busy enjoy my fish
Toodles.
MrPillow said:
But i think the difference here is that not many aquarists have a big enough tank to keep those species. By large, the smaller, more colorful fish are more popular. The Clownfish is one of the most popular in the saltwater trade!
MrPillow
Aquarium Advice Freak
You seem to be under some strange assumption that only people with "big enough" tanks keep those species.
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
Don't tell everyone about my shark bowl =[
MrPillow
Aquarium Advice Freak
Tanks housing monsters, not tanks of monstrous proportion.
MrPillow said:
Gotcha lol. Misunderstanding..
Even if we factor in the amount of beginners buying an oscar or other monster and killing it, do you still think that there would be more than the amount of people buying clowns, guppies, or other smaller fish? We need some facts lol
LyndaB said:I think it's a very personal choice..... I don't find either better than the other. I just know what suits me.
Don't get out much, do you......
Actually, I've had fw for 3 years before moving onto sw and the hobby wasn't even close to being as exciting as sw. I feel like all fw fish look like trouts and catfish...Ect....I've never seen any fw fish that have bright colors or designs.
MrPillow
Aquarium Advice Freak
I'm pretty sure the only freshwater fish that look like trout and catfish are trout and catfish.
