converting a freshwater fish to saltwater

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darcy12877

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 17, 2007
337
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Ontario, Canada
Im in enriched science at my high school and every student is required to complete a science fair project. I was thinking of different way I could do this while doing something interesting using some of my fish tanks. Then I got the idea of trying to convert a freshwater fish to strait salt water. Now I would do this very slowly adding a little bit of salt to the tank every week over a 3 and a half month period until I have converted the fish. Now does anyone think this would work??? If not does anyone have any other ideas that I could do??? What kind of fish should I use (they should probably be fairly tough/sturdy fish, not delicate)??? I was thinking I would like a bigger fish and not mollies/guppies/tetras but these could work, I was thinking of a fish maybe 1-2 inches fully grown. Also I would probably need between 25-??? fish I think so that I would have a higher chance of having some survive the process (they would have to be fairly cheap). What do you guys think???
Cant wait to get started soon!!!
 
Also how would I be able to test the amount of salt in the tank untill it reaches a average amount of salt found in a marine tank???
 
I think that would be cruel to do. Do something that does not involve the possibly tortuous death of an animal.
 
But I think slowly over time by adding little amounts of salt that the fish could possibly get ustue the water. Its not like im just dumping the fish into strait salt water and seeing which ones are going to live if any. Its simply an expieriment. Also if you dont think i should do this what else could I do it on then. It doesn't seem inhumane to me, whats the difference between feeding feeders to predator fish.
 
It could be done. Try a fish that exists in both fresh and salt water, like black tip sharks (catsharks) or trout. 3 1/2 months isn't a real long time to aclimate them though. A few larger blacktips might make the transition fast enough... Try to get them as their color is fading or is already gone. That might give you enough time.

BTW, there is a big difference between purposely killing fish and using them in the food chain. However, if they stand a chance, then it doesn't seem wrong to me. Also, I can't think of a single fresh only fish that would survive the process. The experiment would be a TOTAL failure.
 
My boss at my lfs a few years ago was able to do this with mollies, he started out with a whole bunch and ended up with a few that survived the process. Also what black tip catfish are you talking about, because I really dont want this project to be a total failure.
thanks for the help
 
Btw are you refering to the Columbian Catshark??? If so I think that these could work and I have had these fish in the past and really enjoyed them lol the only problem was that the columbian shark was to small and my stingray took a bite out of it, I was sad to see it die. I also have read in some threads here that these fish are sometimes used in complete marine tanks so hopefully thins could work. Does anyone now how I can test the amount of dissolved salt in the water and does anyone have any other ideas???
 
A mollie's range includes fresh, brackish, and full salt IIRC. But as for other small/cheap fish, go with mosquitofish/guppies and the like. Both seem to be virtually indestructible and have been converted in the past. As for larger fish, what is your price range?​
 
mollies are basicly brackish fish and require a certian amount of salt to spawn and be happy so I could see them surviving in salt water longer than most other fresh water fish. The question I have with this project is this...

What value...other than a grade does this project have? What's to be learned from it?

A better and more creative use of your time as far as fish go would be along the lines of behavure....I.E. learning to swim an acryllic maze....respond to signals...colors...ECT.
 
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