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Someone on this forum has a beautiful fish. I think it is a saltwater fish.
After frequntly seeing this fish, I am very interested in setting up a saltwater aquarium. Any pointers?

I better direct that one into the saltwater section, you will find more help there....

Hi, luvryukin--I'm in the process of setting up a SW tank and lemme tell you, it's a whole different world. Unlike here, where the vast majority of us agree on how to take care of GF (at least in the broad sense), there's a huge range of choices to be made in SW--from what kind of tank to what kind of lighting to whether to have a sump . . . it's also very expensive (I'll be over $2000 into my 75 gallon tank soon; my lights--not the best--alone cost $300). "They" say expect to spend about $25 a gallon, and that'a about right for me so far. There's also a much higher mortality rate than with properly cared for GF; even with good care marine fish sometimes just die. (Most of them are caught in the sea and shipped to the LFS in little baggies and the stress is literally a killer.)

Okay, that's all the bad stuff! :-) I don't say any of this to be discouraging; while I'm not far enough into it to say it's rewarding (no fish yet!) you will find many, many people who love the hobby despite its challenges. I'm enjoying the process of planning my tank, but I am surprised at how much there is to think about.

My pointer, I guess, would be to research, research, research! There's a SW saying that "Nothing good ever happens fast in a reef tank; only bad things happen fast," and that includes the planning stage. Some suggestions:

The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta (a great first book--he lays it out step by step for you.)

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner (good all-purpose beginner's book)

www.reefcentral.com (the biggest online resource, I think)
www.aquariumadvice.com (less active, but very friendly)

Your knowledge of GF will be helpful; if I didn't understand the tank cycle, etc. I think I would feel really lost--as opposed to just "lost." :-)

Anyway, I think that it's a great hobby but one that can't be jumped into--read up and then decide if it for you. HTH--I don't know much, but I'm happy to be what help I can if you need it.