75g Freshwater->Brackish

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

So I'm at the point where I am very worried about my 6-7 inch Columbian Shark Catfish. He's 2 years old, and my first fish, so I'm willing to do anything.

So I decided, I'm going to take my 26 gallon fish, put them in a 55 or 75 gallon tank freshwater tank. Then I'm going to take my freshwater fish from the 75, and put them in the 55 or 75 as well with the fish from the 26g. Then I'm going to make the 75g a Brackish tank. This may sound stupid, but I don't know how.
Should I just dissolve the "Instant Ocean" salt in the water for the next water change? and just have a certain amount?
Or do I need to start with a little amount of salt, then build up; then when they're grown up, make it a full marine tank.

Problems:
1. My dad might not give in to this idea and buy another tank.
2. The pictus catfish from the 75g might eat the zebra loaches and bumblebee catfish from the 26g when put together.
3. My Columbian Shark doesn't make it in time after the other tank being cycled and everything.

ALL HELP IS NEEDED + WANTED.
Thank you so much for any given advice.
<3 Erik

 

[all_or_nothin]

i dont have a brackish tank so i dont kno about the saltilinity but i think the pictus mght be able to go into the ebrackish tank.

 

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

i dont have a brackish tank so i dont kno about the saltilinity but i think the pictus mght be able to go into the ebrackish tank.

One is a spotted pictus and the other a 4-line pictus. You really think both could do it? Because that would be amazing.

 

[fishlover88]

ive never heard of pictus in brackish. Id some research on that, as for taking it to brackish, i would mix the salt into water in a bucket, and then during a water change do one bucket of salt the rest fresh and slowly bring the tank up to the correct salinity, dont want to chance killing your fish by giving them straight salt water.

 

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

ive never heard of pictus in brackish. Id some research on that, as for taking it to brackish, i would mix the salt into water in a bucket, and then during a water change do one bucket of salt the rest fresh and slowly bring the tank up to the correct salinity, dont want to chance killing your fish by giving them straight salt water.

That's what I was thinking. But I do need salinity points at which to start at and how much a week to raise.

 

[fishlover88]

I see what you are saying. This is from badmanstropical.
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

I know your fish is already several years old, but this is a start. Ill keep looking and see what i can turn up

Salt:
All of the fish listed above migrate down the estuary to the ocean when they are several years old, so you will have to mimic this the best of your ability. Buy all of your inhabitants young and start this tank with around 2 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water. Every 6 months, add an additional tablespoon of salt per gallon of water during water changes. Stop when you are adding about 7 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water or when your hydrometer measures a reading of 1.020-1.025. This should take about 3-4 years and they should not be rushed into full marine water. Keep in mind NOT to add the salt directly to the tank.

 

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

I see what you are saying. This is from badmanstropical.
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

I know your fish is already several years old, but this is a start. Ill keep looking and see what i can turn up

Salt:
All of the fish listed above migrate down the estuary to the ocean when they are several years old, so you will have to mimic this the best of your ability. Buy all of your inhabitants young and start this tank with around 2 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water. Every 6 months, add an additional tablespoon of salt per gallon of water during water changes. Stop when you are adding about 7 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water or when your hydrometer measures a reading of 1.020-1.025. This should take about 3-4 years and they should not be rushed into full marine water. Keep in mind NOT to add the salt directly to the tank.

I see what you mean, but what stuck out is when it says "Buy all of your inhabitants young and start this tank with around 2 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water"

Any ideas with the 2 year old catfish?

 

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

I also noticed that this might be the wrong section; and might have to be moved to Brackish/Marine Set ups.

But otherwise, BUMP

 

[fishlover88]

i know that struck out with me too. This is from MFK in the brackish section. Someone better with salt can help you with the conversion, or if you have i hydrometer it should be easy. Which you will need to get. they are like 7 bucks for the cheap ones. I have one and well havent gotten around to my salt tank.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132493&highlight=converting+brackish

What if I already have the fish?

This is a relatively common problem – the well-meaning aquarist buys a “freshwater” fish from Wal-Mart or a large chain pet store, and after doing some research, finds out that the poor fish belongs in brackish water! Don’t panic. The saving grace is that, in an estuarine environment, these fish have adapted to a certain amount of adversity in their conditions, so usually a short stint in plain freshwater will not kill them. You have made the important first step however, in identifying the requirements for the fish and wanting to correct them.

So, we will assume that the fish is home in your tank and acclimated to the situation for the time being. The next question is, what about the other fish in the tank? While brackish species will tolerate freshwater fairly well for a period of time, freshwater species unfortunately do not handle brackish as well. So, if you have a brackish species mixed in with freshwater, they will need separate habitats. At this point, you must make a decision about whether you have the time, space, resources, inclination etc. to devote a new tank to the fish in question. If the answer is yes, then great! If not, then you should probably think about returning the fish to the store if you are unable to properly care for it.

Now that you have the fish and have decided you want to keep it, lets move on to the next step. Get the fish set up wherever it will end up, whether that’s the current tank or a new, cycled one. Now you can begin the process of converting it to brackish. The sensitive part of the system is not the fish at this point, but the bacteria in the filter. They are nowhere near as forgiving of salinity swings as the fish are. So, your goal is to slowly add salt to get the tank to the desired SG. The usual recommendation is raising the SG by .002 per week until you reach the desired SG. This will give the fish and the bacteria ample time to adjust to the change.

 

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

Bump!

"Buy all of your inhabitants young and start this tank with around 2 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water"

What if you have a 2 year old 'inhabitant'