Coius Quadrifasciatus

[STD]

I bought a small Coius quadrifasciatus from wildwoods about a month ago and was told it was fine in fresh water

Since then my reading suggests that the need Brackish

It is doing well at the moment - eating well & looking healthy

Will it continue to be OK in fresh water?

 

[england]

Water parameters: pH 7-8, not below 6.5, temperature 76-82 F. Prefers light brackish conditions.

this is what i got wilst reading about those beauty's

 

[STD]

Water parameters: pH 7-8, not below 6.5, temperature 76-82 F. Prefers light brackish conditions.

this is what i got wilst reading about those beauty's

yeah my reading to

I need to raise my ph - the brackish water isnt going to happen tho

I guess as long as it is looking good & eating I shouldn't worry to much

 

[england]

what is your ph at at the moment?

 

[nmonks]

I need to raise my ph - the brackish water isnt going to happen tho

Why not? It's not a fish for the community tank, so almost by definition it'll need an aquarium set up for its specific needs. So what's the big deal about adding a small amount of marine salt mix? More pertinently, why buy a fish you know needs brackish water conditions if you don't intend to keep it thus? Regardless: marine salt mix at ~6-9 g/l (SG 1.003-1.005) will take care of salinity, pH, and carbonate hardness in one fell swoop. Easy.

I guess as long as it is looking good & eating I shouldn't worry to much

Famous last words! To be fair, there are many experienced fishkeepers who maintain all Datnioides species in freshwater tanks. Hard, basic water conditions do seem important though. On the other hand, these are unquestionably brackish water fish in the wild, and their longevity and health in freshwater conditions is likely to be less assured than if they are maintained in brackish water conditions. It's difficult to say for certain because the various Datnioides species have been routinely misidentified in the hobby, and reports of a brackish water species "doing well" in freshwater could easily be explained as nothing more than a freshwater species being maintained in a freshwater aquarium.

Cheers, Neale

 

[STD]

Why not? It's not a fish for the community tank, so almost by definition it'll need an aquarium set up for its specific needs. So what's the big deal about adding a small amount of marine salt mix?

At present it is in a tank with fish that arent brackish and I cant have another tank

More pertinently, why buy a fish you know needs brackish water conditions if you don't intend to keep it thus?

Because I asked in the shop what the requirements were and was told it was in Freshwater & didnt need salt added

 

[nmonks]

Ah, here's where you need to be careful. Anything could be "in" freshwater. There are marine fish that will live for long periods in freshwater. I've bought marine puffers (Arothron hispidus) being sold as freshwater fish.

What you're interested in is more specific: what water conditions can a fish be relied upon to live its full lifespan. No ifs, not buts. Always remember an aquarium shop exists primarily to sell fish. While many will also dispense good advice, there's no reason to assume their advice will be 100% reliable on every single fish they sell. That's why you need to read books, Fishbase, etc.

Cheers, Neale

Because I asked in the shop what the requirements were and was told it was in Freshwater & didnt need salt added

 

[STD]

Ah, here's where you need to be careful. Anything could be "in" freshwater. There are marine fish that will live for long periods in freshwater. I've bought marine puffers (Arothron hispidus) being sold as freshwater fish.

What you're interested in is more specific: what water conditions can a fish be relied upon to live its full lifespan. No ifs, not buts. Always remember an aquarium shop exists primarily to sell fish. While many will also dispense good advice, there's no reason to assume their advice will be 100% reliable on every single fish they sell. That's why you need to read books, Fishbase, etc.

Cheers, Neale

Because I asked in the shop what the requirements were and was told it was in Freshwater & didnt need salt added

you are of course correct

Unfortunately this was an impulse buy and I had not researched first

 

[T1KARMANN]

many fish that are brackish water fish can live in fresh water short term like scats monos and some puffers doesnt mean its right

i have always said that silver tigers the type you have need brackish water

 

[STD]

Here is a picture

Could you confirm he is a quadrifasciatus

He is about 1"

Sorry about the picture - the glass looked clean untill I took the piccie

 

[nmonks]

This would appear to be Datnioides polota. Black bar through the eye, and then four on the flanks. Overall body colour silvery rather than yellow, coppery or white. Please note the change in name: this fish hasn't been called D. quadrifasciatus for a while, and if you go hunting for info using that old name alone, you're limiting your range of sources.

Cheers, Neale

Could you confirm he is a quadrifasciatus

 

[STD]

This would appear to be Datnioides polota. Black bar through the eye, and then four on the flanks. Overall body colour silvery rather than yellow, coppery or white. Please note the change in name: this fish hasn't been called D. quadrifasciatus for a while, and if you go hunting for info using that old name alone, you're limiting your range of sources.

Cheers, Neale

Could you confirm he is a quadrifasciatus

Thanks for that

Seems to be both Brackish & Freshwater

Lives in brackish water at the mouths of large rivers and coastal lagoons, as well as in freshwater lakes and rivers above tidal influence

 

[nmonks]

Please understand what this "brackish & freshwater" statement means: it doesn't mean it's equally happy in both. It means fish have been captured from both environments. Fishbase exists as a scientific resource, and isn't really designed for fishkeepers (though it does provide some useful info for commonly traded species).

Anyway, a fish like this may well spend weeks or months in freshwater. But sooner or later it will move back into the estuary, and then back into freshwater again. Or perhaps the fish itself doesn't move, but as the seasons pass the ambient salinity in one particular location goes up or down. In other words: while Datnioides polota may well be found in freshwater if you go fishing, that doesn't mean it spends it's whole life in freshwater. Go to the Thames estuary and you'll find bream in the brackish water parts as well as flounders. Neither will breed there; the bream breed in freshwater, and the flounders in the sea. This is the "magic" of brackish water habitats -- they're not stable with fixed populations of fish that live their entire lives there. Rather, the fish found in brackish water habitats move about.

Cheers, Neale

Seems to be both Brackish & Freshwater

 

[STD]

Please understand what this "brackish & freshwater" statement means: it doesn't mean it's equally happy in both. It means fish have been captured from both environments. Fishbase exists as a scientific resource, and isn't really designed for fishkeepers (though it does provide some useful info for commonly traded species).

Anyway, a fish like this may well spend weeks or months in freshwater. But sooner or later it will move back into the estuary, and then back into freshwater again. Or perhaps the fish itself doesn't move, but as the seasons pass the ambient salinity in one particular location goes up or down. In other words: while Datnioides polota may well be found in freshwater if you go fishing, that doesn't mean it spends it's whole life in freshwater. Go to the Thames estuary and you'll find bream in the brackish water parts as well as flounders. Neither will breed there; the bream breed in freshwater, and the flounders in the sea. This is the "magic" of brackish water habitats -- they're not stable with fixed populations of fish that live their entire lives there. Rather, the fish found in brackish water habitats move about.

Cheers, Neale

Seems to be both Brackish & Freshwater

Thanks - that makes sense