Want an aquarium with a large variety of colourful fish? Been jealous of the dentist and the little girl in the movie Finding Nemo? Well, don’t be, because here we are with tips to keep your living room colourful and beautiful. Come along, take the briny plunge and get to know all those fishy details on how to maintain your very own saltwater aquarium.

Why saltwater? Because brine is home to many more fish than freshwater. But exotic varieties aren’t cheap! If your wallet can take it, dump your interior decorator’s textbook recommendations and go in for your made-to-order one-of-its-kind saltwater aquarium! If you’ve been to the Underwater World in Singapore, you’ll know what a large saltwater aquarium is. Imagine a similar one, albeit smaller, at home! Wouldn’t it be just fabulous? No it isn’t a dream, you can! Read on …

Saltwater aquariums, also known as marine aquariums, house most varieties of colourful tropical fish found around ocean reefs. Normal freshwater fish on the other hand are devoid of colour and have a less dramatic impact on viewers. They aren’t eye-popping enough!

Where do you get them? Markets, after all, are for dead fish on ice slabs! You’ll certainly find a couple or more pet fish dealers in your town, pick one that’s friendly! He’ll tell you to start with hardy fish. Damsels, mollies and clownfish are hardiest and brine’s home to them. Other hardy fish include hawk fish, grammas, dotty backs, wrasses and basslets. For beginners, though, we recommend the hardiest three. Damsels are the hardiest of marine fish and it doesn’t matter if the water quality is bad. They are cheap and aren’t very finicky eaters! They aren’t very colourful and stand warned that they’re aggressive, so limit yourself to only two per tank else you’re in for trouble! Damsels are sure “Yes” from our side and a great addition to your tank.

Mollies live in both fresh and saltwater. If you’ve bought mollies in a freshwater pack acclimatise them to saltwater by dripping off the former and gradually filling up with brine over a period of eight hours. I guess it’s now time for your Nemos Yes, he’s a clownfish, and clownfish are beautiful and gorgeous additions to a stable aquarium, although they’re not recommended as starter fish since they need time to adjust to community life in a tank! They are also very territorial, so they’re a good choice only if you want a community aquarium. Do you want your Nemo to live in a sea anemone just like the movie? Well, to a pet fish novice, we say “no-no” since anemones are very hard to maintain. Let your fish do without one for a while!

Avoid keeping pet fish that are hard to maintain --- even though they’re a glamorous draw, because the whole thing will just end in tears. Exotic denizens of brine that beginners should avoid include seahorses, butterfly fish, blue ribbon eels, stone fish and mandarin fish.

Instead, choose saltwater pet fish that will easily survive – Go ahead, create your precious marine aquarium!