I'd have to say, getting into the reef hobby has been better for ALL my fish. The habbits I've developed on my saltwater tank has given my cichlids a much better environment. There's all sorts of stuff I'm not doing because of my saltwater "work habbits."
It's not overstocked, it's under 10ppm nitrate, fed regularily and nutritiously with live/frozen food often. Water changes and top-off like clockwork. I even go through the chemistry trouble trying to match tanganyikan water. When the fish are no longer juvenile, I'm hoping they'll start breeding. I NEVER had that happen in high school. (ducked out of the aquarium hobby for about 6 years)
Who else has well run freshwater tanks?