More Advice Please.....

[HARRIRABBIT]

I am still looking to purchase my tank the end of March and in the meantime have been doing a lot of research and spending a lot of time on this forum,but can't find the answers to the following

1) The tank needs to be brackish so when cycling, should this be done with marine salt added or is the salt only added at the very end of the cycle just before adding fish?

2) I am intending to plant the tank, am I right in thinking these should be added when the tank is fully cycled and if so, do I need to then wait further before adding the fish?

The tank will be either a 20g or 28g all Molly tank

Many thanks in advance

 

[OldMan47]

Planting in brackish water can be tough. Very few plants can tolerate much salt at all. It will take some intensive research to find plants that will work in a brackish tank.
If it were me, I would do the cycle with the brackish conditions established. You do not say how brackish you intend to make the water but if you go too far you will in essence have a salt water tank that is a bit light on salt. When setting up your brackish conditions, be sure to use the same sea salt mix that a saltwater person would use to establish a reef tank or similar setup. Brackish fish don't just like their water to be salty, it should be the right salt.

 

[HARRIRABBIT]

Thank you for the advice. I was sure I'd seen some planted tanks with Mollies in on here, but must have been mistaken, might have to rethink that!

From what i've read, the water doesn't have to be too brackish does it for the Mollies? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

I am one of the people who keeps mollies with plants. My tanks are not brackish at all. A molly can be raised in brackish, pure freshwater (my approach) or pure saltwater. They are very versatile fish that only need fairly hard water or otherwise high in mineral content and a pH above about 7.5. In my case I have some fairly hard tap water with a KH and GH above 10 degrees each and a pH of 7.8. That straight tap water is what my mollies live and thrive in. Check out this old girl.

She is shown with some of her own fry, some real java moss and a few silk plants.

 

[Truck]

If you stick within the low end brackish scale (1.001-1.003 sg) then some plants will tolerate the salt, some species include:

Microsorum pteropus
Anubias species
Cryptocoryne species