Mixing brackish with fresh
- Thread starter rcrumpw
- Start date
Longterm, No.
Read up on Osmoregulation. Osmosis in brackish fish is very interesting.
Most Brackish fish need a high amount of solids in their tank to prosper. They will die a short-lived life if kept in freshwater for too long. Some brackish fish have acclimated and lived for long periods in complete freshwater, but I would imagine their growth would be stunted and their immune system suppressed due to the immense amount of energy that would be used to osmoregulate.
ie: "I kept a mono in complete freshwater for 2 years! Then one day it turned black, quit eating, and died.. it did good for a long time".. fyi - Monos can get huge, like 1 ft' from tail to dorsal, and 10" across.. They will probably live for 20-25 years if kept in marine conditions.
Read up on Osmoregulation. Osmosis in brackish fish is very interesting.
Most Brackish fish need a high amount of solids in their tank to prosper. They will die a short-lived life if kept in freshwater for too long. Some brackish fish have acclimated and lived for long periods in complete freshwater, but I would imagine their growth would be stunted and their immune system suppressed due to the immense amount of energy that would be used to osmoregulate.
ie: "I kept a mono in complete freshwater for 2 years! Then one day it turned black, quit eating, and died.. it did good for a long time".. fyi - Monos can get huge, like 1 ft' from tail to dorsal, and 10" across.. They will probably live for 20-25 years if kept in marine conditions.
only if the brackish are (mono ,scat,puffer ,archer) babies but when hey grow you have to add salt
Yeah the basic rule of thumb is this:
If it belongs in fresh - keep it in fresh
If it belongs in brackish - keep it in brackish
If it belongs in salt - keep it in salt
As Miles put it perfectly, you can get away with some for awhile, but long term its just not good for them.
If it belongs in fresh - keep it in fresh
If it belongs in brackish - keep it in brackish
If it belongs in salt - keep it in salt
As Miles put it perfectly, you can get away with some for awhile, but long term its just not good for them.
If you really want to do this it would be easier to keep fresh water fish in brackish than the other way around. to make brackish water and fresh water fish live when kept in water that is less than or more either you really need to add calcium chloride. Calcium chloride can replace the sodium chloride for osmotic regulation and it won't hurt either fresh or salt water fish within reason. having said that there will always be fish that can only exist in fresh or in salt water. Brackish can bring some them together especially if you use lots of calcium chloride instead of lots of sodium chloride.
there's some fish though that could be kept well in both IMO, like the more brackish of the tilapias. otherwise agree with the above posters