Fish Freaks... Salt or phresh!

[Cap'n]

I voted FW.

How many people you know with more than 20 SW tanks? There are many more dedicated FW fish-rooms than SW and a lot more basements with dozens of gurgling airstones than multiple skimmers.

As for cost, I think they are very comparable. Wildcaught cichlids are commonly sold for $100 more or less, and usually in quantity. Even the G1 fry are worth the same as an ocean fish or coral.

And that brings up the breeding, a commitment many FW freaks also take on, which means more tanks, etc...

The "I should try SW someday" is part of the fascination and appeal of SW that doesn't really exist in FW. You could, within reason, easily keep pretty much any FW fish you want, so you really have to want that fish in order to pass on the extra excitement of trying something you may have thought impossible.

Finally, have you met the fresh water freaks? These are the people who hang out at the fish stores talking for hours about a single species of ugly 2 ft catfish that they have 12 of in their bedroom. Don't get me wrong, I'm a borderline fish geek myself, but I consider most of you that I have met "people with marine tanks", and a few real "reef geeks". But the freshies are hardcore. They have fish and that is what they do.