Plants and brackish?

[dblondfemme]

I have a few questions...
Can any of the regular plants survive in semi brackish tanks?
Can plecos survive in semi brackish tanks?
Does anyone have bumblebee gobies?

Right now, the tank is a 20 regular, with moderate filtration, and only has about 3.5 tablespoons of marine salt.  I have 6 bumblebee gobies, a clown pleco, and some other kind of catfish (is black with white stripes that go the length of it's body).

Will this work or should I pull the plants and the catfish and pleco?

[dblondfemme]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I found this article

http://www.xolesfishies.com/pleco.htm

I guess I need to find the pleco and catfish

[armthehomeless]

Re: Plants and brackish?

You'll probably want to pull the plants as well... what type are they?

[dblondfemme]

Re: Plants and brackish?

um..I think I have some vals in there... they have already sent out shoots... and I also have some guppy grass in there.

[sproett]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I used to have a brackish tank and java moss grew in there just fine. I didn't do anything special, just chunked it in there right from my fresh water tank.

[Mzungu]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I like this page for brackish plant info:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracplants.htm

I did quite a bit of searching a bit ago when I wanted to do a brackish, because I can't imagine a tank without plants.  

However, 3.5 tablespoons isn't much at all. I would think that a lot of plants would do well in there.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I don't think 3.5 table spoons of marine salt would qualify that tank as brackish......I have put more then that in my Tropheus tank.

[dblondfemme]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I didn't want to toss the gobies in from fresh water to what WOULD qualify as brackish all at once.  I wanted to do it gradually.... going to add another two tablespoons tonight.  I was told they would be fine in fresh, but the more I read, the more it shows they are happier in brackish *shrugs*.  They are the goby with the species name that starts with the "x" um.... need to look it up

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Plants and brackish?

The generally accepted salinity of brackish tanks is around a specific gravity of 1.015 or so, with a ph of 7.5 to 7.8. Most plants won't do well at that salt concentration, but your brackish fish will be happy. Offhand, the only live plant I can think of that does well in that set up is the mangrove, which grows with it's "feet" in the water and the rest in the air. Plastic plants or silk would be a decent alternative, IMO.

Mark

[Mzungu]

Re: Plants and brackish?

Do you have a hydrometer or refractometer? What salinity are you planning on for this tank? Brackish tanks have a huge range of salinities, so it all depends on how "salty" you want to get.  :)

[dblondfemme]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I do have a hydrometer....need to dig it out ;-)  I have strayed from working on that tank for right now though.  The bumblebee gobies are very adorable and I want them to live at their happiest possible potential.  Thanks everyone...as soon as I get everything around here situated I will work harder on it.

[slyfox]

Re: Plants and brackish?

interestingly a british company was marketing their silks based on their use in brackish tanks..

The generally accepted salinity of brackish tanks is around a specific gravity of 1.015 or so, with a ph of 7.5 to 7.8. Most plants won't do well at that salt concentration, but your brackish fish will be happy. Offhand, the only live plant I can think of that does well in that set up is the mangrove, which grows with it's "feet" in the water and the rest in the air. Plastic plants or silk would be a decent alternative, IMO.

Mark

[alexarae]

Re: Plants and brackish?

I've had around 9 bumblebee gobies so far, all of them lived for over a year and a half. I loved those little guys. I also did alot of research considering *covers other fishes ears*....they were my favorite fish.

They really do thrive in brackish water. Infact, within an hour or so of adding salt ...you could actually see them "popping" around all over the place, being much more active. Also, be careful, once they become more active, mine became somewhat aggressive...and that was in a 110 gallon.

Just keep an eye on their tails.  

[mahoro]

Re: Plants and brackish?

get some archers, put like 2 in a 55, that will be sweet...