Bringing home brackish

[Reefmonkey]

I have found when I have kept brackish fish that many LFSs, and especially the chains (petco, petsmart) will be keeping young brackish species in pure freshwater. When I am putting the first brackish fish into a newly setup brackish tank, I plan ahead, set the tank up with just freshwater, then stock the tank. Every time I do a water change, I add water mixed to a little above my target SG, so I slowly raise the SG of the whole tank to my target over a few months. That's fine for the new tank, but I am always concerned about adding, say, a young scat that has been kept in freshwater to my established brackish tank, possibly causing osmotic shock. In general, if I had the extra tank, I would plan ahead and set up a freshwater quarantine tank, and while the fish was in quarantine, I would raise the salinity on an accelerated pace. If I didn't have room or time for a quarantine tank, I would bite the bullet and trust that estuarine fishes can handle wide fluctuations in salinity, especially when young. Does anyone have any other way to introduce brackish fish kept in freshwater to an established brackish tank?

[SHIFT_Unique]

if you find a good petco, they add aquarium salt/pond salt to the tanks

the petco i work at has the MaRs system we add salt to our sumps and in the tanks the selves

heya...

one of my LFSs sells mollies from brackish tanks. Here is how they suggest acclimating from brackish to fresh. I am sure it would work in reverse


Using a large bucket or bowl, put the molly in with brackish water

stasrt a very slow drip acclimation from the fresh to the brackish bucket with an air stone. Drip acclimate to 50% fresh/50% brackish solution

do 50% H2O change

Drip acclimate again to another 50%

50% h2o change.

Drip again

Do this over 5 days, slowly, changing 50% each day, dripping to fresher and fresher. if the fish starts to look stressed, back off the acclimation.


sorry if my typing is poor, i had my eyes checked today and they dialated them and i can't see very well.

[penpitt]

Originally Posted by SHIFT_Unique

if you find a good petco, they add aquarium salt/pond salt to the tanks

Aquarium salt/ pond salt is completely different then the salt needed to create a brackish environment. You need to use marine salt mix.

The drip method is the best way to acclimate a fish to a different salinity

[hc8719]

petsmart also adds aquarium salt, not that it helps brack fish. most, if not all brack fish are born in fw, so its ok for the dragon gobies, needle fish, silver sharks... to be kept in fw when young at the petstore

[SHIFT_Unique]

lol.. petco is dumb when it comes to brackish and saltwater fish..

i learn something new everyday

[coldmachineUK]

Originally Posted by penpitt

Aquarium salt/ pond salt is completely different then the salt needed to create a brackish environment. You need to use marine salt mix.

The drip method is the best way to acclimate a fish to a different salinity

You can use aquarium (tonic) salt to raise the salinity but it will need much much larger quantities and in doing so you will cause a pH increase. Marine salt contains more 'additivies' (such as magnesium and so on) which will benefit your brackish water fish too. It's better to use Marine, but it's not impossible to use aquarium/tonic salt.