Water Changes in a Brackish Tank

[Chris & Jacqui Tondreau]

I have seen some dwarf pufferfish at my LFS and would like to get a couple
for a spare tank I have. I have never kept fish that require brackish water
and am concerned about water changes. I siphon water out of the tank into
a bucket & put clean water in the tank using another bucket. Will the
changes in salinity adversely affect the pufferfish during the water change
process? Should I add aquarium salt to the new tank water before I put it
in the tank? Or should I just proceed as usual & the aquarium salt in the
tank will fine & the water will be uniformly brackish in no time?

Thanks for any input,

Jacqui

[Jeff Pratt]

Chris & Jacqui Tondreau wrote:

> I have seen some dwarf pufferfish at my LFS and would like to get a couple
> for a spare tank I have. I have never kept fish that require brackish
> water
> and am concerned about water changes. I siphon water out of the tank
> into
> a bucket & put clean water in the tank using another bucket. Will the
> changes in salinity adversely affect the pufferfish during the water
> change
> process? Should I add aquarium salt to the new tank water before I put it
> in the tank? Or should I just proceed as usual & the aquarium salt in the
> tank will fine & the water will be uniformly brackish in no time?
>
> Thanks for any input,
>
> Jacqui

You'll want to add the salt to your new water prior to adding the water to
the tank. Salt goes into water change water, but not top-up water. IE:

It's maintenance day, and the water level is down 1/2". Fill up the tank
with new, unsalted water, then vacuum your gravel, and add your replacement
water that does have salt in it. This should keep salinity swings to a
bare minimum. Also, if your evaporation losses are high, you might want to
do top-ups more often than you do water changes.

Salt does not evaporate out, so you need to take that into account when
doing your water.

Jeff

[Eric Schreiber]

"Chris & Jacqui Tondreau" > wrote:

>I have seen some dwarf pufferfish at my LFS and would like to get a couple
>for a spare tank I have. I have never kept fish that require brackish water
>and am concerned about water changes.


If they are Carinotetraodon travancoricus, commonly known as Dwarf,
Pygmy, Malabar, or Indian puffer, then they are actually freshwater
fish.

http://www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/fish-dwarfpuffer.html


>Should I add aquarium salt to the new tank water before I put it
>in the tank?

That would be the best way. If you've got room somewhere, you might
consider setting up a container in which to mix your brackish water
ahead of time, like a medium Rubbermaid trash can with a lid. Heck,
you can even toss a powerhead and a heater in it to keep the water
perfect for water changes.

--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Chris & Jacqui Tondreau]

"Eric Schreiber" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris & Jacqui Tondreau" > wrote:
>
> >I have seen some dwarf pufferfish at my LFS and would like to get a
couple
> >for a spare tank I have. I have never kept fish that require brackish
water
> >and am concerned about water changes.
>
>
> If they are Carinotetraodon travancoricus, commonly known as Dwarf,
> Pygmy, Malabar, or Indian puffer, then they are actually freshwater
> fish.
>
> http://www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/fish-dwarfpuffer.html
>
Snip..

Oh dear. Well, if they are freshwater fish, currently living in brackish
water (I saw the dish of salt in the tank), then what will happen if I put
them in fresh water? Would I need to gradually decrease the amount of salt
in the water? Why on earth would the LFS have them housed in a brackish
tank if they're freshwater fish? I haven't purchased them yet, but I really
have my heart set on them. They are so cute!!! Perhaps I should look a
little farther afield and see if I can find a shop that has them kept in
fresh water. Yikes! Nothing is every easy.

Jacqui

[~*~ Vosklady ~*~]

"Chris & Jacqui Tondreau" > wrote in message
.. .
> I have seen some dwarf pufferfish at my LFS and would like to get a couple
> for a spare tank I have. I have never kept fish that require brackish
water
> and am concerned about water changes. I siphon water out of the tank
into
> a bucket & put clean water in the tank using another bucket. Will the
> changes in salinity adversely affect the pufferfish during the water
change
> process? Should I add aquarium salt to the new tank water before I put it
> in the tank? Or should I just proceed as usual & the aquarium salt in the
> tank will fine & the water will be uniformly brackish in no time?
>
> Thanks for any input,
>
> Jacqui

Hi Jacqui . . . :)

When I kept and raised Mollies (another brackish fish) this is what I'd do,
and with great success/results:

Just do your water change normally, the way you always have done them. Only
add salt every OTHER water change. Also, check your water's salt parameters
with a Hydrometer and shoot for a reading of 1.005-1.01 (brackish water salt
level). I used Instant Ocean salt for my mollies rather than plain aquarium
salt.

Hope this Helps! :)

Regards,

~*~ Vosklady ~*~

[Eric Schreiber]

"Chris & Jacqui Tondreau" > wrote:

>Oh dear. Well, if they are freshwater fish, currently living in brackish
>water (I saw the dish of salt in the tank), then what will happen if I put
>them in fresh water? Would I need to gradually decrease the amount of salt
>in the water?

If they are indeed currently housed in brackish water, and they are in
fact Malabar puffers, then yes, you'd need to slowly back them down to
fresh water.

However, don't be too sure that dish was full of salt - that seems
like a pretty unlikely way for a store to make a tank brackish. More
likely it was a granular phosphate or ammonia absorbing chemical of
some kind. My local PetSmart has a cup of something like this in
almost every one of their tanks.

>Why on earth would the LFS have them housed in a brackish
>tank if they're freshwater fish?

The first answer that springs to mind involves the phrase "minimum
wage" :)

>I haven't purchased them yet, but I really have my heart set on
>them. They are so cute!!!

They are indeed cute. I had four in a 3-gallon tank, of which only one
puffer remains, but they are nifty little fish. If/when you do get
some, make sure to get a package of frozen bloodworm cubes as well.
That and live snails are the only things I ever got my puffers to eat.
Picky little buggers.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

[NetMax]

"Eric Schreiber" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris & Jacqui Tondreau" > wrote:
>
> >I have seen some dwarf pufferfish at my LFS and would like to get a
couple
> >for a spare tank I have. I have never kept fish that require brackish
water
> >and am concerned about water changes.
>
>
> If they are Carinotetraodon travancoricus, commonly known as Dwarf,
> Pygmy, Malabar, or Indian puffer, then they are actually freshwater
> fish.
>
> http://www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/fish-dwarfpuffer.html
>
>
> >Should I add aquarium salt to the new tank water before I put it
> >in the tank?
>
> That would be the best way. If you've got room somewhere, you might
> consider setting up a container in which to mix your brackish water
> ahead of time, like a medium Rubbermaid trash can with a lid. Heck,
> you can even toss a powerhead and a heater in it to keep the water
> perfect for water changes.
>
> --
> www.ericschreiber.com

As Eric pointed out, first research whether they are freshwater or
brackish water puffers. From my limited experience, brackish water fish
do not need as stable a level of salinity as you might expect. Unlike pH
or temperature for freshwater fish, salinity variation is a natural
occurrence. The amount of downflow from the river, how deeply the fish
migrate into more marine conditions, and the different densities creating
layers of freshwater & sal****er which they swim through, all contribute
to a variation which is normal. Also many brackish water fish spawn
upstream, so they are born in freshwater and later make their way to the
mouth of a river, to more varied conditions. If you maintain a salt
concentration which is above a minimum level, and below a maximum level,
then I would not be overconcerned about the variation in-between. What
this means to a hobbyist, is that you don't need to be too meticulous.
When I salt, it's a pretty unceremonious dumping of aquarium salt
directly into the tank. When I use marine salt (to also boost gH) then
I'm more gentle ;~). This is what has worked for me, but as always,
ymmv.

NetMax

[Chris & Jacqui Tondreau]

"Eric Schreiber" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris & Jacqui Tondreau" > wrote:
>
> >Oh dear. Well, if they are freshwater fish, currently living in brackish
> >water (I saw the dish of salt in the tank), then what will happen if I
put
> >them in fresh water? Would I need to gradually decrease the amount of
salt
> >in the water?
>
> If they are indeed currently housed in brackish water, and they are in
> fact Malabar puffers, then yes, you'd need to slowly back them down to
> fresh water.
>
> However, don't be too sure that dish was full of salt - that seems
> like a pretty unlikely way for a store to make a tank brackish. More
> likely it was a granular phosphate or ammonia absorbing chemical of
> some kind. My local PetSmart has a cup of something like this in
> almost every one of their tanks.
>
> >Why on earth would the LFS have them housed in a brackish
> >tank if they're freshwater fish?
>
> The first answer that springs to mind involves the phrase "minimum
> wage" :)
>
> >I haven't purchased them yet, but I really have my heart set on
> >them. They are so cute!!!
>
> They are indeed cute. I had four in a 3-gallon tank, of which only one
> puffer remains, but they are nifty little fish. If/when you do get
> some, make sure to get a package of frozen bloodworm cubes as well.
> That and live snails are the only things I ever got my puffers to eat.
> Picky little buggers.
>
>
> --
> www.ericschreiber.com

How many puffers would you recommend for a 10 gal. tank? I was thinking of
2, but they are so tiny, and don't seem to get very large. I suppose
territory is a consideration. Also. would they eat brine shrimp if I set
up a hatchery for those?

Thanks again,

Jacqui