Is it absolutely necessary to have this fish in brackish water? How much time (if any) would it knock off its life if you kept it in freshwater?
Freshwater Moray Eels
- Thread starter dismantle me
- Start date
morays have a VERY short life in FW, any BW fish kept in FW has an extremely jeopardized immune system. Keeping BW fish in pure freshwater would be like keeping SW fish in high end BW and expecting them to last long. FW morays actually need full blown SW long term, not BW. They should be kept in a specific gravity of about 1.015-1.021
Seaman
Shrimp gumbo, shrimp salad etc...
I sorry but i have to disagree.....at least in Gymnothorax tile's case, I have had one in pure FW for 2+ years and he is healthy as ever and eats normally and has grown A LOT. The good LFS near me has 3 in their FW display tank that are over 8 years old and have been in FW all their lives, and theres a guy on aquaticpredators.com who has had his in FW for a couple years no problems.....take it FWIW but theirs are beautiful and in great health.
I do add aquarium salts FWIW (i know thats not the same as brackish)
I do add aquarium salts FWIW (i know thats not the same as brackish)
"Although traded as freshwater fishes, these are really brackish water fishes best kept with other hardy brackish water fish like monos and scats, and can adapt to marine conditions as well. A specific gravity range of about 1.005 to 1.010 is acceptable for long term health." - Neale Monks
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/brackfaq.html#BM4f
While anecdotal, I also have had great luck keeping these fish in light brackish (1.005 +/- 0.003) for many years. I had one grow to over 2', and I had to sell him on aquabid because he was eating all new introductions. In general they are not bullies at all, but they will eat. . .
I would strongly recommend SOME marine salt be added (1.002 minimum). I believe even this little bit will contribute to the eel's well being, and you'd be surprised how many "freshwater" fish you can use for tankmates that can tolerate such light brackish conditions. Heresy, I know.
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/brackfaq.html#BM4f
While anecdotal, I also have had great luck keeping these fish in light brackish (1.005 +/- 0.003) for many years. I had one grow to over 2', and I had to sell him on aquabid because he was eating all new introductions. In general they are not bullies at all, but they will eat. . .
I would strongly recommend SOME marine salt be added (1.002 minimum). I believe even this little bit will contribute to the eel's well being, and you'd be surprised how many "freshwater" fish you can use for tankmates that can tolerate such light brackish conditions. Heresy, I know.
no offence brackishdude, but while you're an advanced fishkeeper suggesting such ideas to newcomers and those that are nowhere near experienced as yourself may not be such a good idea.
Like I said before what works for some, may not work for others. It's best for newcomers to just stick to what the fish requires.
1.002 is barely BW and most FW fish could live in it short term without any detrimental effects. However, it's not nearly enough to make the moray comfortable in the long run. It IS a SW fish afterall. The use of mangroves and your experience may have also been a large factor for you being able to keep so many BW fish at such a low SG.
Like I said before what works for some, may not work for others. It's best for newcomers to just stick to what the fish requires.
1.002 is barely BW and most FW fish could live in it short term without any detrimental effects. However, it's not nearly enough to make the moray comfortable in the long run. It IS a SW fish afterall. The use of mangroves and your experience may have also been a large factor for you being able to keep so many BW fish at such a low SG.
the more salt the better for morays. no one seems to discus the ph needs of brackish fish in threads about fw attempts a ph similar to marine is needed for the fish ie 8.0. usually this is accomplished by using coral substrate, aragonite sand and other substrates for sw tanks this is hard to maintain using gravel as in most fw tanks