I've been to 3 Aquariums, one of them was Petland so I didnt pay much mind to them, but when I asked some questions about starting up a saltwater tank they all pretty much said, "Dont worry too much about the fish you start off with, there not going to live that long" or "Your going to go through a lot of fish" Just from reading some posts its obvious that things happen even to the most experienced people, but I feel like no matter what I do I'm destined to kill a lot of fish...is this really inevitable ????
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- Thread starter jrella
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the people you've spoken with at shops probably just want to warn you that a SW setup is more demanding. it will take a lot of research to decide on your fish stock and everything else that goes into a SW tank.
it's not necessarily inevitable that you will lose a lot of fish. just takes some good planning, patience, and a commitment.
you should take some time to browse through the salt water forum and the stickies
and feel free to ask lots of questions!
it's not necessarily inevitable that you will lose a lot of fish. just takes some good planning, patience, and a commitment.
you should take some time to browse through the salt water forum and the stickies
and feel free to ask lots of questions! 
No, it's not inevitable. Don't get me wrong you will probably loose a fish or two, but not necessarily because of something you did. Try not to buy a first the first time you see it at the LFS. As them to hold it for a week and check on it, ask them to feed it, and just watch it for any bad sign.
Ask questions here before you buy, read the stickies over and over, read, "The new marine aquarium" book, and be patient. I lost 4 fish since I started and they have all been my fault because I didn't take the time to research first.
Ask questions here before you buy, read the stickies over and over, read, "The new marine aquarium" book, and be patient. I lost 4 fish since I started and they have all been my fault because I didn't take the time to research first.
What they might be referring to is cycling with fish, which is an old-fashioned method for starting a tank. It's completely unnecessary, and does kill a lot of fish. If a store is giving you advice like that, I wouldn't really trust them on advice in general.
Buy yourself the great book Joe Fish is recommending, and then you'll understand how you can cycle with live rock, then safely add fish. It's also really important to choose your fish well. Some are much easier to take care of than others. Some types are almost always destined to die in a tank, simply because they don't adapt well to life in an aquarium. You need to know which species these are, and avoid them.
I really hope the stores aren't saying this because their livestock is bad!
Buy yourself the great book Joe Fish is recommending, and then you'll understand how you can cycle with live rock, then safely add fish. It's also really important to choose your fish well. Some are much easier to take care of than others. Some types are almost always destined to die in a tank, simply because they don't adapt well to life in an aquarium. You need to know which species these are, and avoid them.
I really hope the stores aren't saying this because their livestock is bad!
