setting up 10 gallon saltwater

[Otto_VonBacon]

thats probably true about the water but should i keep that water or just put them in a mixed saltwater im not going to catch them till the summer im reserching right now should i setup a tank and just put some cheap fish in there to get the tank cycled

That might be a good idea. Do not use water right from the ocean, that's never a good idea. You just don't know what's in it.

You don't have to start it now... But say... 1-2 months before doing it I would start up a tank with some homemade saltwater. Make sure it's cycled before adding anything. Unless you want to start it now and keep some little things. I don't know how a Gulf native would react to living in a 10 gallon with non native fish though.

 

[Tjend]

what about live sand the beach sand there is probably not a good idea though right

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Just like water, beach sand is a bad idea. If people have been on it chances are it's contaminated with something you don't want in your tank. Unless you get it from somewhere far far away from civilization I don't think the risk would be worth it.

 

[mr.reef24]

Please don't take any animal from the wild and try to keep it in an aquarium until you have done a lot more reading. The basic question of what kind of salt to use implies that you're nowhere near ready to take this on. In addition, there's very little chance that, at this point, you would even have an idea on the care requirements of a random animal taken from the wild.

To start with, try learning about setting up a saltwater tank:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marineSetUp.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marsetupii.htm

Then, learn about the types of fishes who can live in a ten-gallon tank (there aren't that many, and chances that you're going to randomly pull one from the ocean are pretty slim). Try reading here, and those linked pages underneath "small system set-ups" for some ideas on stocking and maintaining small systems:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/smmarsystksfaqs.htm

Please understand that it is not acceptable for any responsible aquarist to release an animal to the wild once it has been kept in captivity. This is why you must be educated before ever stocking the tank:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18675&highlight=releasing+fish

well said and agreed ^

mr.reef24

 

[Tjend]

k thanks and do you know of any freshwater fish that can be coverted to saltwater i heard stuff about that and idk if it works or not

 

[justonemoretank]

Mollies and guppies are ones I know for sure. Do it very slowly, in order to allow the fish to adjust. Also, there's the issue of the biological filter -- it has to convert (the bacteria) from freshwater to brackish, and then to saltwater, as well. There's a lot to consider if you want to keep the fish healthy and alive throughout the process. Brackish would be better than full salt, really. I've seen it done to full salt, but I know most livebearers actually fare better in brackish conditions.

 

[Tjend]

about how much water do i add a day or week idk never done this before

 

[justonemoretank]

I'm not sure what you're asking. How much water to add -- what do you mean?

 

[Tjend]

like in converting them to saltwater how much freshwater do i take out and replace with saltwater so they aclimate or should i just add a little marine salt mix each day ?

 

[fhawk362]

hey you also have to consider state laws for taking the fish, im not trying to put your idea down, im all for it, just make sure youre legit (or be sneaky), i know for a fact youll atleast need a saltwater fishing license and quite possibly more, some fish are nearly impossible to take in full legality.