1) Combining shrimps; 2) proper rainbows school in 29 gallon; 3) and
plants in brackish 8/2/16
Hi Neale or Bob, whomever knows best on these shrimp, fish, and plants, or you
can both answer. [��]
<Well, here's my go!>
According to this article below:
http://www.planetinverts.com/Will%20These%20Shrimp%20Interbreed.html, it
appears that I can keep these 2 types of shrimp Neocaridina Heteropoda var. Red
& Caridina cf. spongicola together and there's no risk of interbreeding?
<"No chance" seems a bit over-certain. But different genera, i.e., Neocaridina
and Caridina, shouldn't interbreed, no.>
And they both tolerate my hard water.
<Correct. Water chemistry seems unimportant for most shrimps, whereas water
quality is critical, not to mention avoidance of toxins such as copper.>
Other alternative: is it ok to keep ONLY female shrimp if you do not want them
to reproduce, such as in a 5 gallon nano planted aquarium, maybe 10 female of
each of those two species, or would the shrimp be crabby and fight with each
other all the time with no male shrimp around?
<The females are fine on their own.>
Also: I read Both of your articles on the plants that tolerate brackish! I am
again "considering" a low level brackish when I redo my 29 gallon with new fish.
I have 2 types of Anubias, one with the typical roundish leaves that look like
the terrestrial ivy, and another where the leaves are elongated. So these should
tolerate a slow transition to brackish?
<If you're talking SG 1.002, 1.003 for the needs of fish that want a taste of
salt (Bumblebees, Mollies, Knight Gobies, Chromides, Figure-8s, etc.) then yes,
Anubias will usually do very well.>
And most swords? I saw this sword below, Echinodorus 'Ozelot', that someone is
claiming tolerates lower light. I have a strip of supposedly plant supporting
led's (all our LFS are selling anymore) that claim they're as good as 2
fluorescent lights, and Anubias are thriving and growing larger in size.
<The hardy hybrid Echinodorus will generally tolerate SG 1.002-1.003 without
problems, assuming all else (substrate and especially lighting) are good.>
I am not sure I'll go brackish, but if I do, would a large school of black
mollies be ok to house with a white goby-- I think he's called the Knight goby?
Or would he be likely to attack them, or be attacked?
<Knight gobies, sometimes called "Fan-Dancer Gobies" in the US, are extremely
beautiful fish. Easy to keep, too. HOWEVER, they are extremely good predators,
and will consume any/all tiny fish (such as Molly fry, or even adult male
Guppies) kept with them.>
It seems like it would be a cool setup and I might even add some Val.s or
Sagittarius.
<Again, both these tend to tolerate low-end brackish water.>
Once I purchase the fish I think I will add a lot of Watersprite too, and some
java moss. Is it ok to add the Knight last rather than all the fish at once?
<Knights are a little finicky so far as feeding goes, and territorial amongst
themselves, but otherwise unproblematic, so add them whenever you want.>
The Mollies and plants will need to be transitioned to Brackish gradually,
<The Mollies can be dumped in seawater, so I'd not worry about transitioning
them! Really, if you set the tank up at SG 1.001 at 25 C/77 F, you can add all
the plants and livestock in one fell swoop. Over the next few months raise the
salinity to SG 1.002, and see how things go. Only if you have problems with fish
health, e.g., fungus, would I worry about going any higher than that with this
collection of species. None of them needs a lot of salt. Literally just a taste,
and your Rainbows really don't want anything more saline than this anyway. They
aren't really brackish water fish.>
but I think knights are already sold in brackish environment so I think I'd need
to do it in that order.
<They're very hardy, so a few weeks in hard freshwater won't do any harm. I'd
get them while they're healthy rather than wait too long and see them starve, a
real risk if they're for sale someplace that only offers flake food (which they
won't eat, usually).>
And with the plants I have and mentioned I may add, how many hours should I
leave the lights on?
<12 hours is a good starting point.>
It is programmed to only be on for 8 hours daily. I can reprogram it however I
wish. I tended to get algae before growing on the plant leaves leaving it on 12
hours, and there's not excessive algae now. IF I add Mollies they'll nibble it
I'm sure.
<Indeed. I do the 6 hours on, 2 hours off, 6 hours on thing and find it works
well. Pretty much no algae (I think I clean the glass once a year!).>
My other choice if I don't go brackish (and I would definitely do Val.s or
Sagittarius in this case) would be Melanotaenia boesemanni. In a 29 gallon,
would they be comfortable with heavy plant growth (I'll grow the grassy plants
up before adding them)-- Melanotaenia boesemanni, if I stock 2 males and 4
females?
<Sounds good. Nice fish, even better if you can get wild-caught or F1 specimens,
which are even more brilliant than the farmed ones.>
Thanks,
Jill
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: 1) Combining shrimps; 2) proper rainbows school in 29 gallon; 3) and plants
in brackish 8/2/16
Thanks Neale.
:-)
<Welcome.>
Re: 1) Combining shrimps; 2) proper rainbows school in 29 gallon; 3) and plants
in brackish
What about Mollies, if I keep all females or all males in a largish group?
Would they be ok like that, or fight?
<People do keep single sex groups of Mollies, yes; and I agree, a largish
group, at least three, would be the way forward with the males especially
which tend to squabble. Females are fine as singletons, pairs, whatever...
though odd females become feisty, they're usually pretty mellow.>
There would be no babies to breed, and if I notice one is pregnant later I
could remove her... that's my only hesitation against the Mollie/Knight set
up.
<The Knights will eat any/all Molly fry, believe me! They're very
predatory. You could also get a Crazyfish, Butis butis, to eat the fry as
well. A classic brackish water sleeper, very attractive, especially when
mature.>
I'm not sure I want to see the knight eating molly babies.
<You won't see it! It's over very quickly. Butis butis hunts at night, if
that helps.>
Rainbows (non-brackish) are more peaceful, I could go that way instead...
no worries that way. If I can find the fish to buy.
<Rainbows will probably eat some of the fry, too.>
Thank you.
<Welcome. Neale.>
Re: 1) Combining shrimps; 2) proper rainbows school in 29 gallon;
3) and plants in brackish 8/2/16
Thanks. That helps.
<Welcome. Neale.>
Vallisneria and figure 8 puffers 3/1/16
I've read as much as I can and it's unclear, is sg 1.005 not low enough for
Vallisneria species that are sometimes kept in brackish water?
<Maintain the tank at SG 1.002 to 1.003, and keep the pH and hardness in the
alkaline range; say, pH 7.5-8, 10-20 degrees dH. This will suit both species.
Higher salinities will probably stress the Vallisneria and won't
confer any great benefit to your puffers. They're happy enough in 10% seawater,
i.e., around SG 1.003. Both prefer hard, alkaline water chemistry. So far as I
know, there are no exclusively brackish Vallisneria,
though you're quite right, several species do occur in slightly brackish
habitats. Cheers, Neale.>
Gulf pipefish 11/6/14
I was researching freshwater pipefish and I ran across this article about the
gulf pipefish
http://www.fishchannel.com/freshwater-aquariums/fish-breeding/gulf-or-freshwater-pipefish.aspx
I was wondering if there was any plant that can handle such a wide shift
of salinity?
<Many species. But few/none traded. Eelgrasses and tapegrasses are native to
such habitats of course, but aren't traded and are notoriously difficult to
settle into aquaria (need massive amounts of light and deep substrates of
appropriate types). Plastic plants would be easier if you're after a wide
salinity range/variation. On the other hand, if you're sticking to salinities
between SG 1.003-1.005 at 25 C, then Vallisneria itself would be an option, as
well as certain Crinum species.>
Even if it sticks out of the water I would use it. And would the filter
feeding wood shrimp be a good tank mate or would it cause nervous behavior from
the pipefish.
<Atyopsis spp are a hassle to keep alive at the best of times, and throwing them
into a brackish water aquarium isn't going to help. I'd skip them. On the other
hand, certain small, euryhaline algae-eating shrimps might work, such as Amano
Shrimps, Grass Shrimps, etc. Cheers, Neale.>
Salt, plants, and crabs --
07/21/11
Dear plant and crab expert,
<Yikes! Quite a combo, there'¦>
I'm converting one of my 10 gallon tanks to a
paludarium. Most of the tank will be water (approximately 4
gallons), with lots of shelves on the back (for plants), and a shelf on
the left with a ramp for easy access in case a land animal falls in the
water.
<I see.>
I'm planting it with hairgrass, several crypts, and any other
plants I can think of, even though I want it to be an Asian biotope
(Samolus sp, baby tears, etc). I'd like to host red claw
crabs (Perisesarma bidens),
<These are best kept as brackish water animals and
don't do well in freshwater indefinitely.>
Hermit crabs (Uca sp.),
<These are 100% brackish/marine animals -- whatever the retailer
says -- and will die unless kept in brackish to marine
conditions.>
and some aquatic insects (springtails, water louse, water
striders).
<May not/will not be compatible with brackish water
livestock.>
I can't really find a solid answer about how much salt is
needed'¦ I was hoping 1 tsp of reef salt per gallon would be
enough.
<SG 1.003 would be the absolute minimum; that's about 6 grammes
per litre of water. Teaspoon measurements are very, VERY inaccurate,
but 6 grammes is about 1 level teaspoon. Check it yourself using
kitchen scales and act accordingly. Above SG 1.003 you'll have
problems with plants; below, the Uca and probably the Perisesarma will
be less robust, dying.>
I also can't really find out whether that would kill the plants or
not.
<May well do unless you choose plants carefully. As it happens,
Samolus valerandi is extremely salt tolerant. On the other hand,
Hemianthus callitrichoides is not. Eleocharis species sometimes
tolerate slightly brackish water but it varies between species. Hardy
Cryptocoryne species like C. wendtii tolerate slightly brackish water,
and C. ciliata is a true brackish water specialist. So do your research
here, for example:
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/FAQ/2d.html
>
If I use reef salt, would I still need iodine supplements?
<Yes.>
I'll also likely add some glass shrimp to the tank- if they get
eaten, that's okay.
<These tolerate slightly brackish water well.>
Because the land area is built of shelves, is it ok if the crabs
don't have a dry area to tunnel in? The terrestrial and aquatic
plants should provide hiding places to help them feel secure.
<The plants will also be food for the crabs, especially the
Perisesarma.>
Can you recommend any other inverts that would do well in this
setup?
<Crabs generally don't cohabit with anything, and you would be
very unwise to mix Perisesarma and Uca; the Uca are essentially
non-aggressive (if territorial) deposit feeders that sift mud and
algae, while the Perisesarma are aggressive opportunists that will view
the Uca as potential food.>
I was also considering Nerite snails'¦
<Can work extremely well with Uca and shrimps.>
Thanks, David
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Salt, plants, and crabs -- 07/21/11
What about moon/Halloween crabs?
<Gecarcinus quadratus.>
I was thinking maybe mixing a mostly terrestrial crab with a mostly
aquatic crab so the smaller ones could escape'¦
<Not a chance of mixing Gecarcinus quadratus with Uca
spp.; do understand that crab species DO NOT cohabit in the
wild, and most view one another as either rivals for living space or
potential meals. There is an ample literature on this based on crabs in
reef tanks; do read.>
It's ironic to me that Uca might be less likely to eat plants, but
prefer more salt'¦
<Hmm'¦ not really ironic, merely a reflection of the fact
these crabs come from beaches and salt marshes where freshwater
aquarium plant species are absent.>
I might have to decide whether to kill my plants with salt or serve the
crabs a salad bar. It's a shame. I might end up having to scrap the
crabs altogether,
<Do look at Thai Micro Crabs.>
and go with Cambarellus Patzcuarensis var. Orange, also known as the
dwarf Mexican crawfish.
<A fine beastie, though irregularly traded.>
At least it's plant-safe and peaceful according to everything
I've read.
<Hmm'¦ the smaller crayfish are less aggressive and less
destructive, but it would be unwise to assume non-aggressive and
non-destructive. Potentially safe in mixed species tanks, but do bear
in mind these have only been in the trade a year or two, so there's
very little experience to draw on, and certainly not every combination
of crayfish, fish, and plant hasn't been tried.>
Not sure if it would ever leave the water though..
<Fully aquatic.>
I don't want the land area to go to waste.
<Paludarium systems tend to work best with frogs, to be honest,
rather than inverts. You might consider tree frogs alongside, say,
similar sized aquatic frogs or newts. Mudskippers are of course another
possibility, and can, if species are chosen carefully, cohabit with Uca
spp. and certain brackish water livebearers, such as Mollies. Provided
the plants above the waterline are insulated from the brackish water
and watered with freshwater, there's little risk of salt poisoning
them, and conversely, there are true brackish water plants that might
be placed under the waterline to green things up there. Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: Salt, plants, and crabs 7/23/11
Sorry, I've been doing a lot of research. I think instead of giving
the fiddler crabs (Uca sp) the minimum amount of salt, I'll give
them whatever is ideal. Do you think 1.008-1.010 would be about
right?
<Ample.>
After a lot of research, I've found a list of plants that should
survive at those levels... I'll put it here so you can share it
with others. I assume some of these plants won't make it, but most
should, as long as they're
acclimatized slowly.
Variegated Acorus (Acorus gramineus var. 'variegatus')
Terrestrial/Emersed
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia Terrestrial/Emersed
Crinum Calamistratum Submerged
Lilaeopsis novae-zealandiae (Microsword) Terrestrial/Emersed
Glossostigma Terrestrial/Emersed
Java Moss Terrestrial/Emersed
Java Fern 'Windelov' Undecided
Anubias Nana Emersed
Azolla Floating
Various Crypt species (already had) Submerged, will allow to grow
emersed
Hairgrass Submerged
<Would be very, VERY surprised if most/any of these would survive
above SG 1.005 at 25 C/77 F. Would strongly recommend you run the tank
at SG 1.003 at 25 C/77 F to start with, using those plants. That's
just short of 20% seawater, and more than ample for most brackish water
fishes and livestock.
It'd be acceptable for your Fiddler Crabs, and being relatively
benign animals, you'd have lots of options for things like Endler's
Guppies, Black Mollies, or, if you can get them, oddball livebearers
such as Micropoecilia parae melanzona, Micropoecilia picta, and Limia
nigrofasciata.>
For livestock, I'm thinking (I know, I can't seem to make up my
mind!) 3-5 Fiddlers, 5-10 opae'ula shrimp AKA Halocaridina rubra
(I'll have hiding places to let them get away from the fiddlers in
case they think they're food)
<Very likely. Do bear in mind Cherry Shrimps adapt well to slightly
brackish water, and in fact virtually all shrimps are worth trying at
low-end brackish water.>
In addition, Fiddlers are mostly Diurnal, while the Opae'ula shrimp
are mostly nocturnal. To wrap it up, I think I'll throw in a couple
horned/corona Nerites and a ghost shrimp.
<Clithon corona, Clithon sowerbyana and Neripteron auriculata would
all thrive in brackish water.>
The tank is a 10 gallon. I know they like to dig, but I think
they'll have to settle for man-made tunnels made out of 1/2"
PVC pipe.
<Cheers, Neale.>
plants and cycling
1/27/11
Hello Neale,
Me again...
My 55 gal brackish tank has been cycling for about 7
weeks now. Still no ammonia spike.
<Probably because the plants are using the ammonia directly. After 7
weeks it should be perfectly well cycled. I'd start adding
fish.>
I know that's not entirely unusual as it could take months to spike
but when I set up the tank I used about 10.- 12 cups of substrate from
an established tank to boost the beneficial bacteria and help along. I
also used part of the filter media from the same established tank and I
added 5 mollies. I was going to do a fishless cycle but I decided
against it seeing as my 10 gal was getting overstocked with the fry and
so I had to move some fish anyways.
<Okay.>
So my first question is, is it possible that I added enough bacteria
that the ammonia may never spike
<Possible.>
or have I simply delayed the cycling process by doing that.
<Unlikely.>
Secondly, I want to strip down the 10 gal and use it's filter in
the 50 gal as well as the filter I'm already using. Then I'll
have more water movement as well as filtration. Both tanks have the
same water parameters and I switch fry/fish back and forth between them
pretty regularly they're like the same tank. The 10 gal filter is
cycled and established, it's for a 10-20 gal tank. I'm not sure
how many gallons it turns an hour. So my question is if I switched this
over now and put all my fish into the one tank (50 gal) would this keep
the ammonia from ever spiking?
<No, you should be fine.>
As if it was always an established tank. Or would this not to be a good
thing to do? Should I wait?
<If you move live filter media, or a mature filter, from one
aquarium to another, the new aquarium should cycle
"instantly" assuming the bacteria aren't killed off
somehow (e.g., by exposure to radically different water
chemistry).>
Also, I ordered a few plants off eBay, java fern, java moss and a small
Anubias plant. Should I add these to the 50 gal?
<Sure. All these should do well in brackish, provided the salinity
is fairly low, I'd say 3-5 grammes/litre if all you're after is
Mollies and other low-end species. That's about SG 1.002-1.003 at
25 C/77 F.>
Or should I leave them floating in the 10 gal until the 50gal spikes
and then set it up?
<No, don't think it's necessary. It doesn't really
matter whether ammonia goes into plants or through a biological filter
-- just so long as the ammonia goes away! There are in fact
"vegetable filters" that rely 100% on plants using up
ammonia. They can work extremely well.>
So many options! I'm just not sure what to do...
Thanks for any input
Jessica
<Hope this helps Jessica. Cheers, Neale.>
Strange Behaviour from My Columbian Sharks
(Arius seemanni), and BW plants 3/20/10
Hello,
<Hello,>
I have a 60g Tank that is set up as brackish. The salinity is about
1.008
<I don't think this can be the case. At SG 1.008, Java ferns and
other plants would be dead. Here's the best approach: weigh out the
marine salt mix first, and then use your hydrometer to check the
specific gravity. On
my web page there's a little program called Brack Calc that tells
you how much salt mix you need for a certain salinity at a certain
temperature.
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Programs/brackcalc.html
For SG 1.008, you'd have to be adding 12.8 grammes of marine salt
mix per litre at 25 degrees C (1.7 oz per US gallon at 77 degrees F).
There's about 6 grammes of marine salt mix per level teaspoon, so
we're talking 2 teaspoons per litre; that's quite a lot of salt
mix. Many folks get reading hydrometers completely wrong, so weighing
the salt out first is a good way to get roughly the correct salinity,
and from there you can fine-tune your ability to use a
hydrometer.>
and pH, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia levels are normal; temperature
varies from 29 - 31 degrees.; I have to small pieces of driftwood with
attached Java Fern and another type of brackish plant.
<"Brackish plant"? Never seen anything like that on sale.
What plant are you talking about here? My concern here is that because
there are no brackish water plants sold explicitly in the trade, if you
have freshwater plants, then your salinity cannot be nearly as high as
you think it is.
This in turn leads to the most obvious conclusion here that if salinity
is too low, Colombian Shark catfish won't be happy, and most
behavioural abnormalities they exhibit come down to this issue.>
This other plant I am not sure of type it is; it has long light green
leaves that are fairly thin and the stem leads into the leaf. They look
very similar to the Java only lighter and thinner (I've searched
and cannot find a name for them and the manager of the LFS where I
purchased them is not in for another week).
<Hmm... doesn't ring any bells, I'm afraid. A photo would
help.>
On one side of the tank I am using a lighting that is made specifically
for fish while the other side is plant/fish. I have a Castle Decoration
that is about a foot tall that is used for hiding.
<For the most part, Colombian Sharks don't hide. They live in
estuaries in large groups, and rely on schooling for defence.>
I was originally doing about a 10% water change every week and it was
suggested that I should be doing at least 25%. So I did a 50% change
and the last change was 25%.
<Yes, 25% every week or two is a good idea.>
After letting the tank cycle for about 3 weeks
<Generally not long enough to fully cycle the tank; I'd expect
non-zero nitrite levels, and these will stress your catfish.>
I purchased 3 Colombian Sharks, about 2 months ago (I am planning on
upgrading the tank to 150g as they get bigger). For the first month or
so they were very active, eating normally, and schooling together. They
were about 2.5" and now are just over 3". About a month ago
they became Lethargic. This was around the time I added the plants but
I have never heard of plants effecting sharks in this way.
<Actually, Colombian Sharks are very easily spooked, and adding
things that clutter up the bottom of the tank can cause them a little
upset. Best to make sure there is ample swimming room, and keep
decorations along the edges. But I still think salinity and/or water
quality are the issues here.>
Two of them spend time in the light green plants and one of them hides
in the castle. The two that hide in the plants are a very, very light
silver compared to when I first purchased them and the one in the
castle is almost black in color.
<Stress.>
They are still eating actively and at night they still explore the tank
but not quite as enthusiastically as normal. If I leave the light off
during the day they are a bit more active but not by much. They also
seem to be more territorial with each other, even at night.
<They will get over this in time.>
There are no growths or fungus that I can see and they are not rubbing
on any of the decorations. I also purchased 3 Sailfin Mollies and they
are doing fine and are very active. Is it possible that it is just the
plants that are causing the issue?
<Unlikely, but I'd remove the plants anyway, since they
won't be happy at the salinities required in the long term.>
and if not what can I do to help my sharks?
Thank You Very Much for All Your Input.
<Cheers, Neale.>
Brackish decor 1/25/2009
Hi!
I am going to start a brackish fish tank and I am wondering what kind
or decor substrate bubblers, and plants rocks I should put
in it.
<Rocks and bogwood are fine. Ceramic ornaments good too. Shells,
fake corals, etc... if you want. Plants are trickier because only some
species tolerate slightly brackish conditions.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/brpltsnealeart.htm
At SG 1.003, good choices including Java ferns, Vallisneria,
Cryptocoryne wendtii, Amazon swords, etc.>
I was thinking
'¢Small small substrate with the natural look no colour
rocks
'¢wall bubbler
'¢live plants if there are any or plastic'¢
and some rock caves
<Do go here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/BrackishSubWebIndex.htm
Many articles on decor, planting, etc. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Planted or brackish for
mollies...
Thank you so much for your help! I do have a couple more questions
though.
Would a 28 watt light be good enough to grow lower light plants? And in
my aquarium the maximum amount of space for a light is a little over 7
inches.
I can find any higher watt bulb that will fit. I have found this...
http://www.1000bulbs.com/28-Watt-2-Pin-GX32d3-Base-Compact-Fluorescent-Bulbs
/39616/<http://www.1000bulbs.com/28-Watt-2-Pin-GX32d3-Base-Compact-Fluoresce
nt-Bulbs/39616/> but I'm not sure if using just regular
fluorescent from a bulb store would work. My tank does get a days worth
of sunlight every day so if the bulb in the link I included doesn't
work would the 13 watt plus sun be okay? If not what other ideas do you
have to up the wattage? Would my best bets for plants be Java moss and
fern, Anubias Vallisneria, and Cryptocoryne wendtii in these
conditions?
You guys are the best!
Hannah
<Hello Hannah. Unless the tank is open at the top, daylight is best
excluded from the equation. At best, sunlight is useful for stimulating
day-length responses in fish, such as spawning. But usually all
sunlight
does is encourage algae on the front pane of glass. I've had
open-topped tanks on windowsills, and the plants grow right out the top
without any need for artificial lighting. It's cool to see, but not
really practical in most situations, not least of all because too much
sunlight can raise the temperature excessively high. In your aquarium,
you have 12 gallons of water and a maximum of 28 watts of light;
that's a bit over 2 watts per gallon. That should promote
reasonably good growth amongst a range of plants. Certainly, the ferns,
moss and Anubias will do very well, and the crypts should too.
Vallisneria usually does well under such conditions, but I'd try
just a few specimens first to see how things go. I find some varieties,
particularly the tightly-spiraled ones, more finicky than others. Hope
this helps, Neale.>
Brackish water Plant ID 12/02/08
Hi I have been guided by your excellent website form time to time. I
live in India, during a walk on the sea shore during low tide, I picked
up bud like plants, I tried to find out about them, but can't get
an id.. I put some in tub of freshwater, and they started to grow,
sending out roots and opening up, I have planted one of them in my
planted tank, it is throwing up a leaf now. Can you help in identifying
it. (pic attached).
<<And lost>> Thanks Sandeep <Greetings. The short answer
is I have no idea what this plant might be. There are of course many
species of plant in brackish water habitats, as well as a few, like
mangroves and seagrasses, fully adapted to marine conditions. However,
with the exception of one or two mangrove species and a handful of
naturally brackish-tolerant freshwater plants such as Cryptocoryne
ciliata, very little of the brackish water plant flora ever makes it
into the aquarium trade. Consequently, I'm not really able to
identify the plant that you've got here. Your best bet is to
contact the botany department of your local university or natural
history museum. Failing that, some time spent looking through books on
native plant floras would be worthwhile, though I imagine comparing a
seedling like you have here with the photos of adult plants usually
featured in books will be difficult. In the meantime, enjoy your plant,
and thanks for writing! Cheers, Neale.>
Chemistry, I guess... Brackish and
plants 11/9/07 Hi Guys, <Greetings,> I have a 40 gal.
tank that has 5" of 50% Floromax and 50% Fluorite. I let it cycle
for about 6 weeks before adding plants. This eventually is to be a
brackish tank with the following flora/fauna: (1) bunch Egeria densa
(1) bunch Cabomba fucata (1) bunch Myriophyllum simulans (2) Nomophila
corymbasa (1) Cryptocoryne ciliata (1) Nymphoides aquatica These plants
were added individually a week ago in 2" net pots. <Hmm... not
a fan of pots. Most plants do better freed from pots even if supplied
in them. Gently trimming any damaged roots also helps stimulate new
growth and prevents decay.> After these species grow and offer some
shade, I'd like to add: (2) Bacopa caroliniana Some? Sagittaria
subulata (2) Microsorum pteropus Some? Fontinalis sp. (2) Anubias
barteri v. Round Leaf Then, when these species grow out, I will add:
(6) Caridina japonica (2) Jordanella floridae (a pair) Then I will need
to slowly bring the SG to 1.006 and add: (5) Poecilia sphenops (1 male,
4 females) [these are already at 1.006 at the LFS] Done! <Raising
the SG to 1.006 is overkill here and likely to stress the plants. While
some of these are brackish water specialists (Cryptocoryne ciliata for
example) most are not, and will not do well above SG 1.003. I tend to
recommend planted brackish water tanks be set up to SG 1.003 and then
the plants left for a few months to settle in. You'll soon learn
which are flourishing and which are not. Brackish water fish are fine
at this salinity, so no harm is done. Acclimating Mollies from SG 1.006
to SG 1.003 is something that takes 30 minutes in a bucket via the drip
method or similar. Likewise acclimating Jordanella to brackish water
from fresh. Amano shrimps are a bit tricky, because invertebrates on
the whole are less tolerant of rapid changes in salinity. There are
exceptions of course, the true estuarine invertebrates like Shore Crabs
and Nereis ragworms, but Amano shrimps don't fit into this
category. Yes, they are common enough in brackish water marshes, and
yes, the larvae live in the sea. But Amano shrimps don't live their
whole lives in estuaries, and my guess is you'll need to acclimate
these over several hours.> Lighting is at 192 W PC, half
6700K/10,000K "sun" light, half 420/460 nm actinic with
moonlight. Not ideal, I would like to replace the actinic with another
"sun" lamp. I'm not big on the blue lighting. maybe for
corals, but.. <Plants are generally much more adaptable to different
types of light than corals (i.e., algae). Plants are, of course, far
more advanced and sophisticated organisms. Because plants have a range
of pigments, they can adapt to whatever wavelength is available. Up to
a point, at least. So provided you have sufficient light (around 2
Watts per gallon) most plants will adapt to whatever lamps your hood
contains. Something between 5500 and 6500 Kelvin seems to work
well.> Temperature is running at 77* F, but I'm trying to get it
to 75* F. pH 7.7, but I would like 7.5 <Trivially unimportant, and
probably impossible to do given the calcium carbonate content of marine
salt mix.> NH4 0.00 NO2 .025 <Too much.> NO3 2.5 dKH 3.3
<Ideally needs to be raised to at least 5 degrees KH, but water
changes and marine salt mix should take care of this.> My tap water
is hard (12 dKH extrapolated from GH) in SE PA and I add it after a
week or so of aeration and circulation. <OK.> I have a media bag
with aragonite (an attempt to raise dKH naturally, I don't like
chemicals) and activated charcoal in my filter (converted skimmer) with
2 mesh pads on top of each other that I rotate (clean one at a time)
for continuous biological filtration. <Carbon filtration is
pointless in my opinion. Replace that part of the filter with crushed
coral. That'll take care of the hardness.> 10% water changes
weekly. <I prefer 50% weekly, but this does rather depend on water
quality. If the nitrates stay low, then your regime may well be
viable.> I would like my tank water to be in the neighborhood of
11dKH. <Brackish water fish don't really care that much. The
marine salt mix, and a bit of crushed coral in the filter should
maintain adequate carbonate hardness. Unless you observe wildly
fluctuating pH levels, then your hardness content may well be
sufficient.> Do I just need more time/maturation, or is there
something I'm not doing properly? <Seems fine.> Does
Fluorite/Floromax buffer to the acid side? It's hard for me to
believe that my tap water is that hard/alkaline (we lie on a limestone
bed) and when it hits the tanks it loses all that carbonate. <Plants
will remove carbonate if there is insufficient carbon dioxide in the
water. This "biogenic decalcification" is rapid and
potentially serious.> I can deal with the couple of degrees of
temperature, but I need to lower the pH by about 0.2 and significantly
raise the alkalinity it would seem. <Why? What do you think you will
gain by such a small pH change? Carbon dioxide fertilisation may well
be useful in this instance. But otherwise the thing with brackish water
fish is to remember they are adaptable. They don't have narrow,
fixed chemical parameters. Provided you do adequate water changes an
thereby ensure the pH stays on the basic side (between 7.5 and 8.2) and
the nitrate levels stay relatively low (less than 50 mg/l) they will be
perfectly happy. Your Mollies, for example, can adapt between
freshwater and salt water in about 30 minutes, and Jordanella do just
as well in soft and acidic water as in mildly brackish. This is
obviously completely different to keeping a marine aquarium, where
maintaining water conditions within a very tight band of values is
essential.> I would appreciate your thoughts. Also, your site is
fantastic. I've researched lots of aquaria here and have done well
with most of them. (My bad on the ones that went south.) Thank you so
much for your efforts. Mike <Good luck, Neale.>
Molly Fry
-11/14/07 Hello Crew! After conquering the black moor, I decided to
move onto the black molly hybrid. I have a twenty gallon brackish tank
with four mollies (three female and one male). The tank is
approximately two months old, and has been cycled via help of the
common milfoil, java moss, and time. So far, the water tests have been
exceptional in general. Here's the problem. Besides the four adult
fish, I have 21 brand new molly fry. They are currently one week old
and in a well circulated breeding net. What is the right size for the
reintroduction of these fish back into the aquarium? Please let me know
my best options, and also please direct me to more information on other
fun plants to grow in the tank! (Who knew that live plants added so
much?) Thanks, Megan <Hello Megan. Rearing Black Molly fry isn't
too difficult, though there are some things to watch. Yes, the parents
can eat very small fry. But if you grow the fry on for 3-4 weeks, they
should be easily big enough to go back into the tank with their
parents. To get good growth, feed the fry often but small amounts.
Experts recommend at least 6 meals per day! This obviously means you
need to give tiny amounts each time, or water quality will plummet. If
you decide to keep the fry in a large breeding trap (certainly do-able,
if not as good as a breeding tank) be sure and put some floating plants
in the breeding trap. This helps give the fry shade, so they don't
overheat. Lots of plants work well in slightly brackish water. Almost
anything that does well in hard water can be expected to do well at SG
1.002-1.003. Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias nana, Java fern, Vallisneria
spiralis, Elodea, and the Indian fern Ceratopteris are all good
choices. As you've spotted, plants have a great impact on aquaria,
especially breeding traps. They give baby fish a place to hide, helping
you rescue them. Plants also get covered in green algae and other
microbes, and baby fish love to eat all this stuff. Cheers,
Neale>
Old Discussion on Dragon Goby, New Discussion on
Glassfish, BW plt.s 2/22/07 On 2/20/07, crew
<crew@mail.wetwebmedia.com> wrote: Dragon Gobies Stuck in
Aquarium Ornaments 2/20/07 [...]<Actually, that's
exactly where my Dragon lives. The fake mangrove root I have
in my BW tank, has an end of one of the roots broken off & he slips
inside it & lives in there. He has no problem turning
around inside the ornament & comes out often, to eat.> LOL how
cool :) I'm such a worry-wart (my girls call him
"Mama's little bog monster.") - just had this vision of
the poor little guy getting stuck in something like that. <
[...]<Sounds like a happy life for your Dragon!> So far so
good! I've bought 2 glassfish (au naturale, no ink
thanks) - Chanda ranga, for the brackish tank They are still
in quarantine, but for all I've read, they should be good tankmates
for him. I know that they were eating flake food in the
store but I can't seem to get them to eat anything so far (have
tried flake food, frozen brine shrimp, frozen AND freeze-dried
bloodworms, freeze-dried plankton). I've read varying
accounts of glassfish, some say they are good eaters, others say they
need live food. They are very timid, I'm wondering if
they would eat better if there were more of them in my tank (5 or 6
total)? <<A school of them would be
nice. They may just be adjusting to their new home.>>
I don't even know where to get live food - I tried to grow my own
brine shrimp for my livebearer fry but I'm filing that one under
"failed experiment." <<I get blackworms from my
LFS. Rinsed well in a brine shrimp net & stored in a
shallow container with a little water, in the
refrigerator. My dragon's favorite food!>> Seems
like I read that you have a planted brackish tank? <Nope, I have a
90g planted discus tank. No surviving plants in my BW
tank. ~PP> Heheh well that might be us pretty soon too, I
have read it's very hard to keep plants in salty
water. What about marine plants though? Do you
think any of them could do well in BW? <Marine plants won't fair
well till a SG of around 1.018. There are many BW plants
that folks have success with, just not worth the trouble for me, since
I already have a FW planted tank I'm happy
with. Here's a great thread on BW plants:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4792&highlight=brackish+plants ~PP>
Thanks again, Cathy
Brackish water aquarium 12/31/06
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracsetupfaqs.htm
I was just wondering if you could give me a better picture of the tank
<Mmm, nope... not our pic> and also i <I> would like too
know where you can find mangrove branches because i could not find any
at the LFS <Try some of the big etailers... some are listed on our
links: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracsyslinks.htm
Bob Fenner>
Possible error... fix -
06/07/06 Hi Bob, <Spike> Was looking at your nice site and
ran across a possible error. On http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracplants.htm
under the definition of Brackish, it says "...most seawaters have
about 2.5% salt content..." I think most sea water is
about 3.5%, right? <Yep... about 35 ppt... 'cept the Red Sea
which is about ten percent higher. Will fix. Thank you. BobF> Best,
Spike
Brackish Plants? 3/7/05 <Hi Barret, Pufferpunk
here> Hello, I've got a brackish tank, and now I'd like to
have LIVE plants. All the aquarium stores around here say that plants
don't do well in them or they don't have any plants. Can I
order some from you? I've got 2 GSPs (green spotted puffers) and 2
Monos (1 of which is a Sebae). I'm also upgrading the tank size to
a 75 gal. Please e-mail me back if you could. <The shops are right.
FW plants will "melt" in most any amount of salt. Especially
the high amounts of salt that the fish you have will need (even marine
conditions as adults). In very low-end BW, you can try keeping java
fern/moss, but your fish really need more salt than even those plants
can tolerate. There are many nice silk plants which will look fairly
realistic in your tank. You may find that as the puffers mature, they
will pick on your Monos. Monos really belong in a school & grow to
around a foot. Here's a good article on your puffers: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/gspsart.htm>
Thanks a lot, Barret <Good luck with your fish. ~PP>
Plants in brackish? 3/7/04 Right on man (girl :))...
Looks like I'll get down to scraping algae. Beautiful tanks by the
way. I just started adding live plants to my puffers aquarium. I have
one of those plants that have banana looking roots and some other
plants I have no idea but they look a hell of a lot nicer then plastic.
You suggest a heavily planted tank for the puffer? I got a nice little
cave place for him, but your tanks look so dope I may have to take
those as an example and plant the hell out of them. <There are a few
plants that will survive in low-end BW--java fern & moss (up to
around 1.005), but higher than that, there are no FW plants that will
live. As soon as you starting adding salt, all your FW
plants will "melt" & could foul your
water. That's why I went for the saltwater
"look" (everything in that tank is fake).> My GSP should
grow to full size in a 20 Gallon if he is kept solo, right? Even with a
heavily planted tank? <Yes, with the proper care & feeding, it
should grow to 6". Have you read my article on GSPs?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/gspsart.htm>
Thanks for all your advice once again. I deleted all my other bookmarks
to fish pages because the advice received from your crew has been right
on for what I'm looking for. Focus on a fish, not on some
overcrowded "show" tank. PEACE <Thanks & peace to you
too! ~PP>
Brackish Water Plants I realize that there are many
plants that can tolerate brackish water conditions, but can you
specifically recommend any that are ACTUALLY from native brackish
conditions and prefer brackish water? I have a G. Tile
"freshwater" moray eel who was originally kept in my heavily
planted freshwater tank. I sincerely believe that one of the main
contributors to his settling in and eating so quickly is that I
originally placed him in a heavily planted tank. I also got to view him
more frequently then b/c he felt comfortable enough w/ all the plant
life around to stick his head out toward the open more and even
occasionally explore the tank a little while still in view beneath the
foliage of my plants. I am now converting my current tank to brackish
conditions (min SG 1.010, using a commercial sea salt mix) and my
formerly happy plants, which are listed as being ok for brackish
systems, are currently biting the dust. I am also using fertilizer, but
I am limited as there is some evidence that copper is HIGHLY toxic to
G. Tile and must be avoided under all circumstances. Any suggestions
for plants that are originally from brackish water conditions and will
thrive in them, rather than merely tolerate? <Hey Keri, congrats on
moving the your G. Tile to brackish conditions. Check out
the link below for some info on brackish water plants. Best
Regards, Gage http://wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracplants.htm >
Thanks, Keri
Re: Java Ferns Hello, On the website it says that Java
is naturally brackish. Can it survive a brackish system with
higher levels of salt than 1.005? And if so, how much higher
do you think? <I have had java ferns in a tank with a specific
gravity of around 1.008, and they grew fairly slowly. I actually raised
the specific gravity in that tank to 1.015 for a brief period, and the
java ferns didn't flinch. They didn't grow much during that
time, either.> Secondly, a 55 gallon tank I have houses about 10
cichlids. I've always used an air-pump, a Fluval
canister filter, and an AquaClear power filter. My first
question is, can I get rid of this air-pump with a lot of
plants? <You not only can get rid of it, but you should
get rid of it. The air pump will take the carbon dioxide out of the
water column and away from the plants that need it.>
I have a decent amount of hornwort, five large Java ferns
(at least 8 full leaves), and a few less developed Java
ferns. <Very nice.> Also, I read in a book yesterday
that power filters weren't so good, because they leave no CO2 in
the water. Should I think about going without the AquaClear,
or is this bad advice? <I've seen the same advice. I don't
have any experience with canister filters. I have a power filter on one
of my planted tanks, and my plants are still growing. If your Fluval is
big enough to filter the tank by itself, you could try it solo for
awhile.> Thanks, Andy B <You're welcome.
--Ananda>
Moving freshwater plants to marine? Hi I have a salt
water tank and also a fresh water tank. can I transfer a plant I have
in the fresh water tank into the salt water tank? or is that dangerous
for the salt water fish thank you bob <Mmm, some
"freshwater" plants are more brackish... but none can be
plunked from fresh to marine (or vice versa). Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brackishplts.htm Bob Fenner>
Re: FW Puffer Mr. Fenner, I've been doing a little
looking around for those brackish plants I asked about. I found a web
site http://geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/4541/salties.htm It seems
like a good list of plants. <Yes, do agree with all
presented... and would/will add a handful more genera> I will do
some research to see if any match my water conditions. Just thought I
would pass it along. :) <Do appreciate it, thank you> I believe
that the best rock I have found for my figure eight puffer tank (10
gallon) is tufa. I have posted on WetWebFotos and hope for some feed
back there too. Thank you again for your time! Don <Thank you my
friend. Bob Fenner>
FW Puffer Mr. Robert Fenner, I enjoy your book CMA a
great deal. It has helped me through the set up of my 80 gallon FOWLR
system. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with so many through your
books and web site. <Thank you for your kind encouraging words>
My question is not about my SW system but about a 10 gallon brackish
system I am going to set up. <Am too tuckered out this eve or was
going to key a piece I penned a couple of weeks back, and place on
WWM... on brackish system components... perhaps tomorrow AM> I have
always wanted a puffer. Now that I know that I want to lean more
heavily on the invertebrate side in my SW, I thought I would attempt a
small SW system. Not a good idea from what I am reading. I now know
that it would spell disaster being that I have only been into SW for
seven months. Too small of a system anyway. :) So I went to the middle
and thought that an attempt at a brackish system with the figure eight
puffer would be a good thing. My question is how to aquascape the tank.
I know from your web-site good brackish plants (would like to see
more.. hint-hint) <Ah, yes...> I could use. What I would like is
to give as much of a biotopic environment as I can. I have done a great
deal of research online (not a very good surfer) about water conditions
but have never see pictures or even hints of their natural environment.
Could you point me in the right direction? <Am in agreement with you
re the paucity and quality of brackish information... will augment, put
together what I can from an old Braz Walker book, many hobbyist and
bulletin articles... and glean what I can from the scientific
literature...> Rock, plants, wood work? More of one then the other?
<Depends on the species kept... but more plants in general... and
rock/decor that will lend alkalinity and biomineral content to the
water for this puffer> Another question and I will leave you be. I
want a SG of 1.011. I have the equipment to measure that thankfully. I
would like to know if it is the same rule as SW, to top-off with fresh,
not salt water? <For fresh for intermediate maintenance, pre-made
similar/same spg water for actual change-outs> Thank you so very
much for your time and any help you can offer. Don <Be chatting (and
writing!) my friend. Bob Fenner>
Re: FW Puffer Mr. Robert Fenner, Now that was what I
call a fast reply. All I did was go and clean out my skimmer cup on my
SW system and came back online to see your post. Wow, I commend you for
your level of devotion on answering your email. <It's a
"reflex defensive mechanism/exercise... If I don't
"keep-up" I get buried...> I will look forward to you next
brackish works! I am in the process of finding a LFS that has or can
acquire plants that will do well in my BW puffer tank. <Will key the
pieces I outlined then finish the one on "brackish plants",
key, place, send out to hobby 'zines. If you don't see this
work in a week or two, please contact/goose me> >Rock, plants,
wood work? More of one then the other? ><Depends on the species
kept... but more plants in general... and rock/decor that will
lend alkalinity and biomineral content to the water for this
puffer> Thank you for that suggestion! I thought crushed coral
(aragonite) would be a good Alk booster and ph stability helper. I will
do the research on your web site for the best rocks. :) I will look
forward to upcoming additions to you BW site. Take care and I hope a
good dose of rest is in you near future. :) <Thank you my friend.
Much better this AM. Bob Fenner> Don
