Brackish Fish

MonoSebaelover

MonoSebaelover

Anableps
Apr 20, 2001
1,410
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Phoenix, AZ
www.shiredalefarm.com
There seems to be lots of confusion as of late as to what is a brackish fish and what is not. In my book (along with many others :D) brackish fish are: Anablep anablep (4-eyed fish), Mudskippers, Archers, Monos (sebae and argents), Scats (all 4 species-silver, ruby, green, and African), Puffers (Green Spot and Fig 8-are a few less common species that are too-Dwarfs and Bumblebees/South Americans ARE NOT!), Gobies (Knight, Bumblebee, White Cheek, Dragon/Violet, among others), "Freshwater" Snowflake Moray, Black fin Catfish, the list goes on. Feel free to add ones I have forgotten.
Fish that do well in brackish are the Mollies and Guppies, along with few others.
Most common freshwater fish (Plecos, cories, tetras, oddballs, gourami's, etc) are not brackish and few do well in such.
I don't mind all Puffer talk being here as this is where the "puffer groupies" hang out :). But other than that this forum is for only brackish fish. Posts regarding other fish that are not brackish will be moved or removed! Thanks!
 
When I bought my figure 8 last week the LFS had some pipefish in their brackish tanks. They were a golden yellow color and about 5 inches long. We talked quite a while about them and he said the only thing they will eat is live guppy fry. If I'd known they were in stock I may have set up a larger brackish tank and a small feeder tank for the guppies. But I had to resist the temptation. Anyway, no regrets about the figure 8, it's a class fish.

I've googled around trying find this strain of pipefish but I can't find one that looks quite like it.
 
reiverix said:
When I bought my figure 8 last week the LFS had some pipefish in their brackish tanks. They were a golden yellow color and about 5 inches long. We talked quite a while about them and he said the only thing they will eat is live guppy fry. If I'd known they were in stock I may have set up a larger brackish tank and a small feeder tank for the guppies. But I had to resist the temptation. Anyway, no regrets about the figure 8, it's a class fish.

I've googled around trying find this strain of pipefish but I can't find one that looks quite like it.
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They sound like alligator pipefish, These fish do really well in brackish water, They will eat guppy fry, brine fry and brine shrimp. They prefer live when they can get it, They also like to eat zooplanton. Where did you see them, big als, ? I know of one SW dealer that brings them in every week. Some pipefish need full salt, such as the pgmy pipefish.
 
Toadfish - It seems many LFS are getting these fish lately. I know in this area every store has had them the past 2 months. Not much information out there on them.
 
fig 8 puffer

:help:I keep getting mixed answers when searching for an answer to whether or not fig 8 puffers are freshwater or brackish water: I read this a minute ago on the "about" page.
"Habitat/Care: Controversy exists over whether or not any puffers are actually true freshwater fish. I believe the figure eight to be one of the few that falls in that category. They originate in the freshwaters of the Southeast Asia region, and although they tolerate brackish or even full saltwater, mine have always done best in freshwater. They prefer a neutral pH and soft to moderately hard water. They require ample open space to swim, but also need places to hide."

kinda confused here so thanks for any help,
lovesfish
 
I'm not positive but I have always heard they are brackish. My dad kept his in brackish and they did great for several years.
 
Gars and Pipefish

hey guys, just wanted to add a few to the list....

Many gars are brackish water fish, like many others they are found in brackish rivers. Also a close relative to the gars, the pipefish are also brackish water.

I have a 29g BW tank with 5 needle nose gars (needlefish) inside of it and they all do very well, fun fish to have and watch (well at feeding time at least). These gars (needle nose) come from asia.

-Jay
 
Hi, I'm a "newbe" & for what ever its worth here's my 25yrs. of 2 cents,
Brackish fish originate from areas in which freshwater meets saltwater. Fish that live in these areas are able to tolerate a wide range of salinities. Brackish fish do best in water with a salinity of 1.015, or one to two teaspoons of salt per gallon, and a pH of 7.5 or higher which to maintain requires higher alkilinity, the higher the ph the higher the GH/KH. Pretty simple eehh, lol:). Source for this particular def.-http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=16&cat=1944
There is no way anyone could possibly give an absolute list of all "brackish" fish. They are found all over the world where ever freshwater meets saltwater. Hope that might help anyone in ? & if I may just say collectively good to meet all of you.
Hard as it is to believe I just got the internet in my home & have not taken the time till now to persue this enviroment & wow its aaahhhh well wow what a world.:)
This was reposted because of a couple of pertinent changes I thought should be made & I didn't know there was a time limit to do, k, k:)
 
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Brackish fish do best in water with a salinity of 1.015, or one to two teaspoons of salt per gallon
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You can't just generalize BW fish like that. BW fish in captivity should be kept in the SG that is best for that specefic species. F8s for example, have been proven to be best lept (long-term) at a SG of 1.005. We have a research scientist at my forum that put several T. biocellatus from a single population, into a bunch of freshwater and brackish water tanks, each exposed to identical maintenance regimes and diets. He found the fish to live the longest (18+ years), was kept in a SG of 1.005. (We are still wating for his findings to be published though.)

As far as how much marine salt makes a SG of 1.015--I found (roughly) a cup of salt/5g to make a sg of 1.005, so how could "one to two teaspoons of salt per gallon" make a SG of 1.015?
 
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