Brakish water

[shelly]

Fraggle lives in slightly brakish water. wondered if any of you guys keep yours in the same kind of water?

he is a bit blah at the moment. not really eating much and gills seem small and pale but ive noticed his toes have started to go black and i think he has just had a growth spurt so that might explain why they look small. so maybe he just doesnt need to each like a pig anymore. his tank is a bit to small for him at the moment so maybe thats depressing him? roll on payday and tank shopping

 

[jennifer]

A bit of salt doesn't hurt, but HOW brackish is the water? And how do you maintain a constant salt concentration?

 

[shelly]

thats what i wondered yesterday...whether or not the salt concentration had built up to much. i added about the same each time i removed a bucket of water. me being stupid. ive done a large water change and added fresh water without salt. tellingly the shrimp which need brackish water are still alive. tomorrow a new 3 foot tank is coming for him so hopefully that will help.

 

[jennifer]

It's non-trivial to maintain a constant salt concentration. Water that evaporates should be replaced promptly with fresh water (no salt). For partial water changes, the water should be replaced by water of exactly the same salt concentration as what's in the tank. Getting water to be exactly the right salt concentration requires fairly exact measurements of the water and the amount of salt in it. Be careful.

 

[shelly]

well he ate last night and today for the first time in a week. gills are still very pale but he can swim about when i make him and that makes his gills take on more colour. i really do think that lazyiness is as much his problem as anything. keeping my fingers crossed that he will perk up in the new tank tonight.