Guppies and salt

[TKOS]

Since I finally got my parents to move there poor silver tip tetras into a more spaceous 20 gallon, I now have a free 5 gallon so I thought I would use it to keep 5 guppies in. Is it 1 tsp or tbsp of salt per gallon of water that is the standard. And what specific gravity does that equal.

Also what kinds of plants (easy to find ones) don't mind that level of salt.

Thanks

 

[tricksterpup]

Ok, I just recently read an artical on this somewhere about adding plants to a brackish tank. From what I recall, the best thing to do is slowly acclumate the plants first. They need to first be established in a freshwater tank, and then slowly convert the tank into brackish over time. But really as guppies go, you can keep them in a strictly freshwater tank with no problems.
But if you feel the need to make this a Brackish tank. The I would use a 5 gallon bucket with a power head and setup your specific gravity you want. Then let this set for a few days. Fresh Salt can be very Caustic to your fish and plants. And do maybe 5-10 % water changes every 2-3 days. I personally like to take my time in setting up a tank like this.

Here is an artical, i found on the Krib. It gives a nice list of plants you can use for a Brackish tank.
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Plants/brackish.html

 

[TKOS]

Thanks that is helpful....I would have to do a slow acclimation anyway as the only place for me to buy guppies keeps them in fresh water and I don't want to shock the little fellows...but I also want them to live as long as possible and in good conditions so brackish it is

 

[tricksterpup]

Here is another helpful brackish plant link.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/../BrackishSubWebIndex/bracplants.htm
jim

 

[TKOS]

Thta last link was great. I am happy to know that water sprite is capable of growing in brackish. My tanks are full of that stuff and it is one of the few plants that I am able to grow successfully.