Which Of My Fish Like Brackish?

[fishlette]

after seeing the description for this thread i thought i would ask some questions?

do bumblebee gobys and glass catfish deal ok with brackish water?

i have gobys in my livebearer fry tank that contains salt and glass catfish in my livebearer tank that also contains salt. so far everyone is doing well but i thought i would ask and make sure

 

[Puffdaddy]

Are these tanks true brackish, meaning did you mix the water with conditioning salt(aquarium salt) or did you use marine salt such as Instant Ocean? Unfortunately it does make a difference.

Sorry Glass Catfish are not a brackish fish and should be kept in groups of 4 or more. I have however put conditioning salt in with a school of 7 Glass Catfish are they tolerated it, although I have never kept them in a Brackish Tank so I cannot tell you if they will survive or not. I would keep them in a freshwater tank if I were you.

Yes the Bumble Bee Goby should be housed in true brackish water.

 

[nmonks]

do bumblebee gobys and glass catfish deal ok with brackish water?

Glass catfish certainly do not want brackish water, and their tolerance of brackish water is not likely to be very high. They need the same conditions as gouramis, barbs, and other Asian freshwater fish. Bumblebee gobies are bit more tricky. In the wild at least some species are primarily freshwater fish that occur only sometimes in brackish water. While all BBGs do well in brackish water, what isn't clear is if brackish water is essential. Most of the time, BBGs die because they don't get enough to eat, and expert fishkeepers have kept and bred them in freshwater alongside even things like neons.

i have gobys in my livebearer fry tank that contains salt and glass catfish in my livebearer tank that also contains salt. so far everyone is doing well but i thought i would ask and make sure

BBGs and livebearers will both be fine in slightly brackish water, though they will eat livebearer fry. What are the livebearers? Guppies, platies, and swordtails do not need salt. For mollies, it is more debateable. In pristine freshwater they do not need salt, but in the average aquarium with more than 20 ppm nitrate, the addition of salt seems to help. Regardless, all mollies do very well in brackish or salt water.

Cheers, Neale

 

[fishlette]

Are these tanks true brackish, meaning did you mix the water with conditioning salt(aquarium salt) or did you use marine salt such as Instant Ocean? Unfortunately it does make a difference.

Sorry Glass Catfish are not a brackish fish and should be kept in groups of 4 or more. I have however put conditioning salt in with a school of 7 Glass Catfish are they tolerated it, although I have never kept them in a Brackish Tank so I cannot tell you if they will survive or not. I would keep them in a freshwater tank if I were you.

Yes the Bumble Bee Goby should be housed in true brackish water.

i do know it makes a difference what salt you use and i use marine salt. i also know catfish should be kept in groups of four or more. my question was simply wether or not they can live in it. i have had them in this tank now for bout 2 weeks and they seem to be doing really well. however i have room in my main tank so i may just move them into there.

neale - although my water conditions are excellent: pH 7.2, ammonia 0.0ppm, nitrites 0.0ppm and nitrates 0.15ppm i was once told by a local breeder to keep the mollies in brackish water if i can. he also said that the others (guppys, platys and swords) would also do ok in there. which they are. i was more only asking about the gobies and the glassies.

thanks for your help

 

[fishlette]

do bumblebee gobys and glass catfish deal ok with brackish water?

Glass catfish certainly do not want brackish water, and their tolerance of brackish water is not likely to be very high. They need the same conditions as gouramis, barbs, and other Asian freshwater fish. Bumblebee gobies are bit more tricky. In the wild at least some species are primarily freshwater fish that occur only sometimes in brackish water. While all BBGs do well in brackish water, what isn't clear is if brackish water is essential. Most of the time, BBGs die because they don't get enough to eat, and expert fishkeepers have kept and bred them in freshwater alongside even things like neons.

i have gobys in my livebearer fry tank that contains salt and glass catfish in my livebearer tank that also contains salt. so far everyone is doing well but i thought i would ask and make sure

BBGs and livebearers will both be fine in slightly brackish water, though they will eat livebearer fry. What are the livebearers? Guppies, platies, and swordtails do not need salt. For mollies, it is more debateable. In pristine freshwater they do not need salt, but in the average aquarium with more than 20 ppm nitrate, the addition of salt seems to help. Regardless, all mollies do very well in brackish or salt water.

Cheers, Neale

just thought i would add that the fry do not go into the fry tank until big enough to not be gobbled up by the BBGs. ive had great success leaving mothers in their own tank to birth and only keep a fry tank so that the livebearer tank doesnt get filled up with babies. i do a head count every day in the fry tank and havent lost anyone in there yet so im assuming im putting them in there at a big enough size not to get gobbled up. my gobies are well fed on live foods so i guess they have no need to eat my babies anyways