EVERY fish store around here (NH) has told me that african cichlids need brackish in order to color up... Is there any truth to the this? Do they show better color at all in brackish? Are there any benefits to using fresh over brackish? I want to know if I should taper off on the salt in my tanks.
brackish vs freshwater
- Thread starter greenearthlawns
- Start date
Ask these people where some of these fish come from.If they cant answer your question then how did they come up with this brackish stuff.If I were you I would taper off and discontinue with the salt unless you want to get rid of the Africans and really go brackish.The two main lakes where these fish are collected are freshwater lakes and they are not fed from any ocean so how would they get the salinity of brackish water?To my knowledge the only true brackish cichlid are the chromides and they dont come from Africa.The thing is that some of these stores have the information handy and they still give wrong information,I used to work in a store myself and when we were not busy I would read all of the books that they had for sale about the different fish.I could tell customers what they needed to know.
I don't see alot of truth in that. Males having females around will help em colour up. Lighting is important as well , when bringing out colour . And there Diet will contribute too. Clean fresh ordinary water is all you need.
aquaman65;2834427; said:
do you add (any) salt like aquarium salt? I've also heard that epsom salt will help with the ph would it be good to use that type?
Aquarium salt has a lot of benefits and a lot of members here use it regularly.It does nothing to the ph or the salinity but has minerals that dissolve and get absorbed by the fish.One of the best things for the ph is crushed coral.
I agree, Crushed coral works great . I use it as the gravel in my tank . Together with tap water my ph sits about 7.9 to 8.1 . And as for Salt... Good for anti stress for newcomer fish, softens the water a bit. also will help the fish heal minor wounds, just as it does with us.
