Starting brackish tank

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brackishwannbe

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Dec 17, 2002
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I had a 29g fw community tank for the past year. Last week I empty the water, clean the sides of the tank and filter, except I left the gravel and about 3" inches of water in the tank and I also reused the wood and plastic plants so that there would be plenty of useful bacteria remaining in the tank. I let the tank settle for a day and then introduced two 4" silver Scats that were in fw from the the fishstore. My plan is to do a 20% weekly water change and raise the salinity of tank by .001 each month until it reaches .005. I'd like to hear what others think about my plan. Also, is .005 to high to later add other brackish fish to the tank if they come from fw. The scat are the only fish in the tank.
 

cdawson

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Having scats, you're gonna have to go higher than 1.005, they need at least 1.015 to stay healthy and eventually need marine conditions after a year and a half of their life. I would add some coral substrate or something to buffer the water as well. You're also going to need to upgrade to a 100+g tank in the next 6 months as scats are like pacu. They get huge, and in a hurry. They also eat alot and need a constant supply of greens in their diet. They're very messy and need filtration with a GPH of at least 8x the tanks capacity with alot of current.
 

brackishwannbe

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I have an Aquaclear 300 for filteration and I thought that silver scats only grew to 8"? I've been feeding frozen brine shrimp to them (nuked by the microwave). What is the best type of greens for them? I was told lettuce but they won't eat it. Also I noticed that over the last couple of days they been hiding and do not like the lights being on, however this could be to the fact that I haven't been feeding them a lot at first. The PH has jumped from 7.2 to at least 8.6 in the last couple of days.
 

cdawson

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they're hiding because there's probably alot of ammonia or nitrite if the tank isn't properly cycled. There may have not been enough of the bio filter left (as most of it lives in your filter) after you emptied the water out for a week. Either way they're hiding because they're stressed. Also having 4 - 8" fish in a 29g is WAY overstocked anyways, yes they only get that big but the mythical rule is 1" per gallon. You should NEVER follow this rule with brackish/saltwater fish, you should actually NEVER follow this rule. You have 40" for 29g, which in the end with decorations, gravel and alll will be around 21-22 gallons. I suggest returning them and getting something a little fit for your tank.
I also think it's a bad idea to microwave your frozen foods. I just let mine sit out in a dish for about 10-15 minutes till it thaws then plop it into the tank. works great. As for greens, DON'T FEED THEM REGULAR LETTUCE!!! It makes a HUGE mess in the tank as they don't digest it properly and whatever gets left uneaten melts and goes all over the tank. Use romaine lettuce. The ph has probably jumped with the addition of the instant ocean, it buffers the water and raises the ph to where it should be for brackish and marine fish.
 

MonoSebaelover

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Actually I believe the Silvers get at least 10 almost 12 if my memory serves me. They are only a little smaller than their larger cousins. Back when I had my Silvers (I had 3 and they were at least 6 inches but got rid of them when they started picking fights with the Queen Triggers and they couldn't finish/hold their own so they had to go back to the fish store since I didn't have another tank that could hold that size tank) I fed them the seaweed select algaes available for marine fish. They like all 3 "flavors" Red, Green, and Purple/Brown algaes. Why has your pH shot up so much so fast? This can seriously stress fish and can even kill them, luckily scats are pretty hardy but be careful with that. The saying a Fat Scat is a Healthy Scat is very true so don't skimp on feeding them. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck.
 

brackishwannbe

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just 2 silvers...

in the tank and I haven't added any instant ocean yet. I think the Ph raised because of the piece of bogwood in the tank, the same thing happened when the tank was fw.

Here is the water quality;
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite <5.0
Nitrate 0.0
Ph 8.4ish
Hardness.. off the scale, around 400!
 

OrionGirl

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Ammonia and nitrite increase in toxicity as pH rises, so that would explain their sudden change in behavior.

Woods in general release tannins, which actually lower pH, not increase it. If the wood is raising the pH, it may be because it soaked in hard water--otherwise, something else is causing the change.

Any other fish will need to be acclimated to the salinity prior to introduction. If the difference is more than about .002, you should acclimate them slowly. A direct introduction can kill them. Quarantine new arrivals and acclimate them during this time.
 

brackishwannbe

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what a water change and some salt can do...

after the first weekly water change I added Instant Ocean to make the salinity 1.003 and the scats are loving it. Its amazing how almost instantly the salt is changing the scats behavior, they're more active and beginning to have a better appetite. I can't wait for the pair to start growing..
 
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