The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by OHRD

Woah! This is the most crazy awesome thread ever! I had no idea there was such a hobby to this. I had fish growing up, had an albino frog, etc, but nothing since. Crazy!!!

How long will the fish you have live? Will you trade/sell them, or keep them till they pass? Can you insure such expensive fish?

Originally Posted by shilala

Reefkeeping isn't so much about keeping fish, it's more about keeping invertebrates. Corals, "bugs", shrimp, snails, live rock, starfishes, sea cucumbers, sponges, things that live in a reef system. Fish are a part of that system, but only a part.
When corals get too big, you "frag" them, which means you cut off pieces and they turn into new animals. That's how you keep your population under control. You can sell those fragments to other hobbyists.
No, you can't insure the stuff, at least not to my knowledge.

To add to what Scott said, as far as the fish lifespan goes, many saltwater fish can live as long as 15-20 years in captivity and as long as 30 in the ocean.