I rescued 3 scats from a guy who couldn't keep them. They are only small ones maybe 3 inches in diameter and have only been in freshwater. I know they are supposed to eventually be in brackish but I have no plans on converting..is there anyone out there who has successfully kept scats in freswater for life? I don't like getting rid of fish these guys are cool id like to keep them but is a lifetime in freshwater a DEFINATE no?
scats in freshwater for life?
- Thread starter vr6fan
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hi i don't know , but my sister had a scat called puppy and he was magnificent and was just like a dog. but she kept him in brackish perameters as a community fish with silver dollars etc he grew to be the size of a tea plate and was a soft a soap. i would like to keep one in a f/w community too but i'm afraid i'm not much use to you on your question, i think in retospect that as long as osmoregultion is fine they should be fine because that is the regulation of salt and mag + calcium that every fish needs to survive. any thoughts? visit seachem and look up replenish and i think they may have a brackish section . if not click on support and ask them they are really knowledgable, and say it like it is.
Forcing a BW fish to live in FW for it's lifetime will compromise it's immune system, causing eventual disease & shorter lifespan. Columnaris is a common disease that occurs from this.
Ok but how long before they have to be in brackish? They are red scats btw and are more like 2 1/2 inches around
from the looks of it sounds like they need to be in brackish water asap, just following the logic of: if a fish is not going to be healthy in the near future due to different water needs then the sooner the better. It's like living in a house with air thats polluted although it's livable after a while, either your gonna get lung cancer or die from lung failure. I know it's not this extreme but just an example. Goodluck!
Some fish require a narrow range of salinity, others do well across a broad range up to full FW/SW or both. Many regularly spend time in both extremes, able to stay indefinitely as needed and cross from one to the other with impunity (which can occur at river mouths where cool/heavier marine water sits under the warmer/lighter FW).
I believe scats fall in this latter category, though they do seem more suseptible to illness in pure FW with poor water conditions .
I believe scats fall in this latter category, though they do seem more suseptible to illness in pure FW with poor water conditions .
brackishdude;4632796; said:
Very helpful info thanks...I'm very anal about water conditions so I'm going to see how they do..still hoping people can chime in if there's anyone out there who have kept scats for extended periods of time in fw??
from what i know from reading scats do not fair well LONG TERM in fresh water in fact as they mature they need to be high brackish and even full marine conditions, they are more subceptable to illness and just dont thrive LONG TERM in plain ol fresh water..but thats just from reading as i have never had a scat in fresh water only have had one in full marine conditions
my scat has been in full marine conditions for about 6 years now and was in full marine conditions when i bought him from the pet store
my scat has been in full marine conditions for about 6 years now and was in full marine conditions when i bought him from the pet store