Terry
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I have notice since joining this group that a lot of you that haven't gone marine ask questions about brackish water fish, if you haven,t yet then read this. It goes on a bit but i hope you enjoy it.
You take a standard aquarium a little salt and you can have a set-up with a differance. Creating a river estuary in your own home.
What type of fish do you have- freshwater or salt? The fishkeeping world may be divided into the two, but the natural world is less clear-cut. many of the fish in our tanks come from rivers, but all rivers have the same destination. As they reach the coast, they blend with the incoming sea, to create the dynamic enviroment of the estuary. An estuary accurs where the mouth of a river nears the sea, and the freshwater enviroment starts to merge with the marine waters of the ocean. In the lower reaches of the estuary are found the true brackish fish - monos, scats, archerfish, sharkcats, etc. Most of these are essentially marine fish that can tolerate some fresh water, in order to exploit the abundant resourses of this area. Once adult they often return to the sea.
However, the reverse process occurs at the other end of the river delta. Here, fresh water fish venture into the upper reaches of the estuary, where the salinity is low.These are not so much brackish species as freshwater species that like a little salt, Mollies etc.
A set-up containing salty water must not have any components made of metal, as salt corrodes most metals. As with any tank the larger the better. Larger volumes of water are not only more stable, they also allow extra elbow room for any inhabitants that are not getting on. Rivers in estuary stage are usually sluggish, so for these species, filtration should be adequate but not to strong, but remember that increased dissolved salts content slightly lowers the oxygen- carrying capacity of water. The salinity of the set-up which is slightly brackish is 1.002 - 1.005. Most of the species found in these areas like a temperature of 22 - 27c.
The salinity is measured by the amount of dessolved salts in the water, bodies of water are divided into fresh (low dissolved salt content), marine(high dissolved salt content), brackish (somewhere between the two). Salinity is usually expressed either as parts per thousend or as a conductivity ratio. However, these are not easy to measure, and specific gravity is generally used for aquarium purposes. Freshwater has a specific gravity of 1.000; sea water of about 1.023 - 1.027 (depending on area) while brackish is usually between 1.002 - 1.018.
To read your specific gravity you use a hydrometer.
An estuarine aquarium is an alternative freshwater tank, It is easy to set-up and enables you to keep many species under conditions they prefer, If you are bored with the usual community aquarium why not dip your toe in the sea.
Here is a list of fish that are great for a brackish aquarium.
Scats
Mono's
Puffers
goby's
Fingerfish
Mollies
guppies
Orange chromides
Shark cats
Here are some recommended plants
Bacopa monnieri
Raffled onion
Java fern
Anubius spp.
Onion plant
Elodia
hygrophilia spp.
Vallis ( Bigger varietys )
java moss.
Again this is only a guide line.
You take a standard aquarium a little salt and you can have a set-up with a differance. Creating a river estuary in your own home.
What type of fish do you have- freshwater or salt? The fishkeeping world may be divided into the two, but the natural world is less clear-cut. many of the fish in our tanks come from rivers, but all rivers have the same destination. As they reach the coast, they blend with the incoming sea, to create the dynamic enviroment of the estuary. An estuary accurs where the mouth of a river nears the sea, and the freshwater enviroment starts to merge with the marine waters of the ocean. In the lower reaches of the estuary are found the true brackish fish - monos, scats, archerfish, sharkcats, etc. Most of these are essentially marine fish that can tolerate some fresh water, in order to exploit the abundant resourses of this area. Once adult they often return to the sea.
However, the reverse process occurs at the other end of the river delta. Here, fresh water fish venture into the upper reaches of the estuary, where the salinity is low.These are not so much brackish species as freshwater species that like a little salt, Mollies etc.
A set-up containing salty water must not have any components made of metal, as salt corrodes most metals. As with any tank the larger the better. Larger volumes of water are not only more stable, they also allow extra elbow room for any inhabitants that are not getting on. Rivers in estuary stage are usually sluggish, so for these species, filtration should be adequate but not to strong, but remember that increased dissolved salts content slightly lowers the oxygen- carrying capacity of water. The salinity of the set-up which is slightly brackish is 1.002 - 1.005. Most of the species found in these areas like a temperature of 22 - 27c.
The salinity is measured by the amount of dessolved salts in the water, bodies of water are divided into fresh (low dissolved salt content), marine(high dissolved salt content), brackish (somewhere between the two). Salinity is usually expressed either as parts per thousend or as a conductivity ratio. However, these are not easy to measure, and specific gravity is generally used for aquarium purposes. Freshwater has a specific gravity of 1.000; sea water of about 1.023 - 1.027 (depending on area) while brackish is usually between 1.002 - 1.018.
To read your specific gravity you use a hydrometer.
An estuarine aquarium is an alternative freshwater tank, It is easy to set-up and enables you to keep many species under conditions they prefer, If you are bored with the usual community aquarium why not dip your toe in the sea.
Here is a list of fish that are great for a brackish aquarium.
Scats
Mono's
Puffers
goby's
Fingerfish
Mollies
guppies
Orange chromides
Shark cats
Here are some recommended plants
Bacopa monnieri
Raffled onion
Java fern
Anubius spp.
Onion plant
Elodia
hygrophilia spp.
Vallis ( Bigger varietys )
java moss.
Again this is only a guide line.
