Brackish fish

[ryanherbst]

Hi i would like to start an freshwater aquarium and monos and columbian cats really got my attension. I know they start out as freshwater and slowly move into brackish. I was wondering if any of these fish could live in brackish conditons. i hope to be purchasing at 125 or 150 gallon tank.

Bala, red finned shark, roseline shark, clown loach, angel fish, pitcus catfish, ompok sheatfish(where can i but this online?), siamese alage eater, blood fin tetra, sissor tail rabora, zebra danio, rainbow fish, kuhli loachs(where can i also but these online) dojo loach, dwarf puffer, bolivian rams, agassive cichlids, or any other great fish you have would be appresicated.

Or should i just throw out the idea of columbians and monos and just stick wiht a FW setup, im actually looking for sort of a shark setup (but they arnt really sharks lol


Thanks,
Ryan

[Butterfly]

The only thing I see in that list is the puffer. The loaches definitely will not do well with salt.
Carol

[ColumbianShark3]

Originally Posted by Butterfly

The only thing I see in that list is the puffer. The loaches definitely will not do well with salt.
Carol

I have a Zebra loach in Brackish water, hes been there for two years

[Butterfly]

Originally Posted by ColumbianShark3

I have a Zebra loach in Brackish water, hes been there for two years

Zebra Loaches(botia striata) are not brackish fish. I don't know of any loach that is or one that will thrive for long in brackish conditions. Many fish will "live" in conditions not native to them but most don't thrive and live to the fullest extent that they could. It's not something I would advise.
carol

[sirdarksol]

Nope. Not even the puffer. Dwarf puffers, like all of the other fish on the list, are freshwater fish. Green spotted puffers are brackish, as are figure eight puffers. Of course, any puffer you get is likely to eat its tankmates.

Columbian sharks get to be huge. My opinion is that, because they get to be over a foot long and are extremely active, no normal tank is large enough for them (the width of the narrow part of most tanks is 18-24" that would be like living in a hallway your entire life). Rather, I would suggest an indoor pond for them.

Also, they eventually end up in full marine water. If you do get some, I would avoid getting them any tankmates until they fully mature, then provide them with marine tankmates if you wish. Otherwise, you're going to have to continually change out tankmates when the salinity goes outside of a given fish's comfort range.

Columbianshark3, what specific gravity is your water at? Brackish water is normally pretty quickly fatal to loaches. They're not built to tolerate salt. It sucks the water out of their cells.

[ColumbianShark3]

Originally Posted by sirdarksol

Nope. Not even the puffer. Dwarf puffers, like all of the other fish on the list, are freshwater fish. Green spotted puffers are brackish, as are figure eight puffers. Of course, any puffer you get is likely to eat its tankmates.

Columbian sharks get to be huge. My opinion is that, because they get to be over a foot long and are extremely active, no normal tank is large enough for them (the width of the narrow part of most tanks is 18-24" that would be like living in a hallway your entire life). Rather, I would suggest an indoor pond for them.

Also, they eventually end up in full marine water. If you do get some, I would avoid getting them any tankmates until they fully mature, then provide them with marine tankmates if you wish. Otherwise, you're going to have to continually change out tankmates when the salinity goes outside of a given fish's comfort range.

Columbianshark3, what specific gravity is your water at? Brackish water is normally pretty quickly fatal to loaches. They're not built to tolerate salt. It sucks the water out of their cells.

My Test setup is broken when I get a new setup I will get back to you

[harpua2002]

What is test setup? Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer to measure specific gravity?

[ColumbianShark3]

Originally Posted by harpua2002

What is test setup? Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer to measure specific gravity?

I used hydrometer not top of the line, could you advise me on a good meter to purchase

[harpua2002]

Refractometer is a lot more accurate once it's calibrated. What kind of salt are you using?

[ColumbianShark3]

Originally Posted by harpua2002

Refractometer is a lot more accurate once it's calibrated. What kind of salt are you using?

Aquarium salt

Should I be using instant Ocean marine salt?

[harpua2002]

Marine salt is needed to replicate brackish water. It has trace elements that are found in sea water. Aquarium salt is just NaCl.

[ColumbianShark3]

Alright ill be sure to switch to Marine salt

[sirdarksol]

Definitely yes. Aquarium salt doesn't make truly brackish water, as it lacks the other minerals found in the ocean water that mixes with river water to make brackish.
Edit: Completely ninja'd on that one.

[ColumbianShark3]

Aquarium To do list
1. Get Marine Salt
2. Get Hydrometer or Refractometer
3. acclimate Tinfoil Barbs to FW and transfer to LFS
4. Get much larger Aquarium
I could always use excuses to visit my LFS