starting saltwater

Question
Hey! Im a fish hobbyist and i have a freshwater tank, i've always dreamed of a saltwater tank though....
So i just wanted to ask you:

1: Are saltwater hrader or easier to take of?

2: what fish would you recommend?

3: at least how big would the tank have to be?

4: Are freshwter diseases the same as saltwater?

5: what coral or plants are sturdy and easy to take care of?

Thanks!

~*~Much Obliged~(~

Answer
hi,

1 well i kept malawi cichlids for a number of years before geiing into marines and i think that the marines were much easyer, the key is preperation!

2 i think the fish is something you will have to reserch yourself, husbandry is much more important with marines than fresh water. just bear in mind that 99% of marine fish are wild caught.

3 well the bigger the tank the easyer it is to look after, i would say 100gal is ideal to start with.

4 they do share some common diseases, ich being the most common. it is dealt with in different ways though. most marine treatments are copper based and this is fatal to invertebrates. i found the most effective way to deal with disease is to feed the fish well to boost its immune system and fights it off on its own. there is alo a number of cleaner fish and inverts that are always good to have in a tank, these cleaners eat common parasites off the fish.

5 most soft corals are very simple to care for, 99% f them only requiring strng lighting to thrive. there are no real marine plants only algaes but the decorative ones prove pretty expensive.

hope that helps, all i will say is make sure you read tons of books, join forums and ask questions.