Brackish Itch

[RainboWBacoN420]

So...

I haven't been on in a while, I had to put my betta fish down a couple weeks ago, he had dropsy and was really old... So I decided to just put him at rest... So took down his tank, took down the quarantine 10 gallon since I'm actually using the 15 gallon as a quarantine now to house some Purple Emperor Tetra (very rad btw) but the idea came to me in a dream... A brackish water tank! I think once I'm done using the 15 gallon, I'm going to change this into a brackish water aquarium. I'm thinking about housing a crab? Red clawed? Fiddler? I'm not sure of my choices exactly! I want to scape a little rocky shore setting. I already have the tank, lgihting, heater- all I would need is a different filter since the water level will be low.
I think this would be a great practice project for maintaining salinity levels for my future reef tank I'm planning.
The brackish tank wouldn't require much electricity to run, not much water and overall it would be a cool project to do things right for a crab that are usually sold as freshwater species, wouldn't you agree?
I'm researching brackish water environments to get a good idea of how I should make the tank look. I really want to make it look nice and artistic without giving whatever crab I go with some ideas to escape. I don't think I'll house any fish, if I were to do so, I'd probably choose guppies..... Maybe... Fish aren't in my line of thought at all.
And I don't hear or see many brackish water tanks either, so I just think it would be really cool to give one a try, why not?! I already pretty much have most of everything I need.

 

[BaylorPerez]

with a brackish tank a good start would be getting your water to about 1.035PPT and have it maintained at about 1.030 to 1.045 ( as it can vary on fish species but i find my brackish tank for my danios and neons works well at about 1.032PPT) and with that, depending on the size of the tank(15 Tall or 15 wide?) if i wanted to myself, i would want to add some crabs and lobsters(maybe clams) because i just love fish that dwell on the bottom of a tank. 

 

[gmc1]

The above info is incorrect.1.030 is even far too high for full marine never mind a brackish.no idea why your danios and neons are in that water paramater.

 

[BaylorPerez]

research just said to get it to about 1.035PPT, and it seems to be working well for them, no infections,bloating,fin rot etc for the past couple months, just some algae on the side of my tank. 

 

[gmc1]

Your research is wrong

 

[BaylorPerez]

either way, my next scheduled water change is tommorrow, so the water goes to about 1.016PPT before i add more marine salt to it.(dissolved salt check 10-20Minutes later with the hydrometer). if i need to adjust then i just add more or less depending on the fish species i have.
 
And i got my research here (before it was edited it seems, as now it shows 1.002 to about 1.012PPT, rather then the original 1.035 to 1.040PPT) http/www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_4/v4i2/brackish%20systems/brackish.htm

 

[gmc1]

Brackish should be a maximum of 1.015.can I ask why you have your danios in saltwater

 

[BaylorPerez]

it wasnt meant to be saltwater when i had done it at first, but i put them in a "brackish" tank to help with their gills being rotted away(it helps now as their gills are not as bad as they were in the old water), and some swimbladder issues as it seemed 

 

[gmc1]

I am afraid your fish should not be in that environment
Anyway rainbow good luck with your tank.look fwd to seeing it getting set up

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

Brackish water can consist of salinity from 1.003 PPT to 1.015 PPT. 1.030 PPT is WAY, way to high even for marine species as gmc mentioned.
Anyways, I'm debating on what kind of crab I should care for, red clawed? Fiddler?

 

[BaylorPerez]

i always saw the fiddler as a cool looking crab to see and watch, might want to try both species if the room is enough

and as i said, the salinity drops when i do the water change so i will just keep it at the level with the water change

 

[gmc1]

I was going to set up a brackish puffer tank or bumble bee goby before my marine.
I like look of the fiddler crab but I know very little about them
Baylor they shouldn't be in salt at all.

 

[BaylorPerez]

danios can be, but i am not to sure about neon tetras. but the fish are happy and even more lively then they were in the original tank water, even their colors are brighter(possibly breeding time?)

 

[gmc1]

Talking to a brick wall

 

[BaylorPerez]

and for fiddler crabs, heres a post i found about them earlier this week, http/animals.mom.me/care-feeding-freshwater-fiddler-crabs-8639.html