Kois and salt
- Thread starter Jentry
- Start date
Jentry said:
sounds like you were asking about ich to me.....
Some poeple say mollies do best in brackish water, but most mollies do just fine in fresh. if youre going for a brackish tank, you need marine salt, and I doubt the other fish would tolerate that. I wouldnt put salt in regularly, though, unless youre treating for something.
You might want to get a hydrometer to test for specific gravity or salinity. I use a little cheap-o plastic one, cost about $6. I would not recommend going above 6 ppt = specific gravity of 1.004. That's about the same salinity as their bodies, so half that much salt will probably do just fine. Don't know how many teaspoons per gallon that would be. Just add salinity slowly and keep testing.
Also, dissolve salt crystals in some water completely first before adding it to your tank. Otherwise, salt crystals can burn your fish if it lands on them.
If you have really soft water (the fish store can test for that), you might want to use marine salt instead of freshwater aquarium salt, as it has all the elements needed to support life. Basically, all natural waterways contain a little bit of almost every element on earth, because they are dissolved during runoff from soil, rocks, etc. FW aquarium salt is just NaCl, from what I can gather. So most people on this forum consider it junk.
Also, dissolve salt crystals in some water completely first before adding it to your tank. Otherwise, salt crystals can burn your fish if it lands on them.
If you have really soft water (the fish store can test for that), you might want to use marine salt instead of freshwater aquarium salt, as it has all the elements needed to support life. Basically, all natural waterways contain a little bit of almost every element on earth, because they are dissolved during runoff from soil, rocks, etc. FW aquarium salt is just NaCl, from what I can gather. So most people on this forum consider it junk.
ok cool thanks for your help
we're gonna just add a couple of tablespoons of regular salt and see how they do. Is that what brackish water is? like the salinity of an estuary?
we're gonna just add a couple of tablespoons of regular salt and see how they do. Is that what brackish water is? like the salinity of an estuary?
estuaries have highly variable salinity levels, depending on time of year (amount of rainwater input, storms mixing water). that's why living in an estuary is so demanding physically for fishies!
as for the 6ppt thing, I just know from fish physiology classes that that's about the salinity of their tissues. If you go above that, it will stress the fish's systems to maintain enough water in their own bodies. FW fish have to worry about water wanting to come into their tissues, while SW fish have the opposite problem of water wanting to leave their bodies. It's called "osmoregulation" and it's very sexy
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For exact salinity of "brackish" water, maybe you could direct that to the brackish forum as I have never kept one of those myself.
But like theZoo said, not all your fish may tolerate the permanent salinity. If they are truly freshwater fish (as I suspect guppies and goldfish, at least are) then the salt may not make them happy in the long run. As fishcatch said, you might have to end up separating them permanently.
as for the 6ppt thing, I just know from fish physiology classes that that's about the salinity of their tissues. If you go above that, it will stress the fish's systems to maintain enough water in their own bodies. FW fish have to worry about water wanting to come into their tissues, while SW fish have the opposite problem of water wanting to leave their bodies. It's called "osmoregulation" and it's very sexy
:For exact salinity of "brackish" water, maybe you could direct that to the brackish forum as I have never kept one of those myself.
But like theZoo said, not all your fish may tolerate the permanent salinity. If they are truly freshwater fish (as I suspect guppies and goldfish, at least are) then the salt may not make them happy in the long run. As fishcatch said, you might have to end up separating them permanently.
Jentry said:ok cool thanks for your help
No that is nothing like brackish at all. You need marine salt mix if you wish to create a brackish condition, and goldfish and koi won't take real brackish water, another reason why you shouldn't have them together, as you CANNOT have brackish and freshwater in the same tank. It just isn't possible.
it seems everywhere i turn to people are mistreating their goldfish and koi. i just can't stand a koi being undervalued like that. they need a larger volume of water. all you have to do is dig a whole in the ground maybe 2yds by 2 yds and add liner, water, dechlorinator, pump, plants, and then the koi and goldfish would be much happier.
Actually, fishcatch22 is right.
Mollies and Guppies should not be housed with Koi and Goldfish.
First off, Mollie and guppies are more tropical, they prefer warmer water than the goldfish and koi. They also like more brackish water.
Goldfish and koi get rather large, kois up to almost 2 feet if housed properly. And maybe you think its fine to stunt their growth, its not. It's cruel and it shortens their lifespans. They also do not like salty water, and like cold temperatures.
So, don't call fishcatch22 an ametuer, when you are the one acting like one.
Mollies and Guppies should not be housed with Koi and Goldfish.
First off, Mollie and guppies are more tropical, they prefer warmer water than the goldfish and koi. They also like more brackish water.
Goldfish and koi get rather large, kois up to almost 2 feet if housed properly. And maybe you think its fine to stunt their growth, its not. It's cruel and it shortens their lifespans. They also do not like salty water, and like cold temperatures.
So, don't call fishcatch22 an ametuer, when you are the one acting like one.
