Betta in Brackish?

edlockhart

edlockhart

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Jan 17, 2005
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I read on a site about Bettas that they do well with Marine Salt added to their water, it said somewhere around 1tsp/10gallons. Has anyone here ever heard of this or done it? I really want to provide a Brackish environment for my Bumblebee Gobies (which were in FW at my LFS so I bought them), but I currently do not have any other place to put them except in my Eclipse 6 with my Betta. I'm also worried that even if the Betta will do well in Brackish water what are the chances that he'll get along with the little gobies...
 

FroggyFox

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May 16, 2003
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1 tsp per 10 gallons is really not brackish. I'm not entirely sure what the level of salt for brackish is, or that I've ever heard of a betta doing well in it. The level of salt at 1 tsp per 10 gallons is more medicinal than anything, a lot of FW people keep a little bit of salt in their tanks because it may help keep some fish healthier...some people swear by it...while others dont believe it.

I'd say you'd probably be pushing it that A) the betta would be ok in brackish and B) that the gobies would get along with the betta. Why dont you do some more brackish research, I know there's a few people on the board with brackish tanks.
 

JNevaril

JNevaril

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Jul 10, 2005
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brackish water is roughly 4 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water. That will give you a salinity/S.G. (i never remember which is what....) of 1.010....you need to check with your hydrometer, b/c different mineral compositions in your water may give you different readings with those porportions. A good hydrometer is made by MarineLand....it's a plastic 'box' that has a 'dial' on it....about twelve bucks at petco. easy to use, easy to read.
I think it is called 'instant ocean hydrometer' or somekthing like that.


I don't think a Betta can handle that much salt.

marine salt is totally different from aquarium salt though. if you want to do brackish, use marine.....and acclimate your fish to the brackish water verrrrry slowly as not to shock their systems. start out at 1.001 S.G., ....and bump it up .001 every 3-4 days or so till you get to 1.010 S.G.


Froggyfox is right...aquarium salt is mainly used for medicinal purposes....and, IME, I don't find it to help much, aside from being a good treatment for ich.

If you need any pointers on acclimiating a fish from FW to brackish, I can help you....i have about another week or so before the puffers i am introducing to brackish will be going to a fully brackish system.....they were kept, sadly, in a FW system.....
 

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nicolleen

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Oct 27, 2004
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hi,

there are different types of bettas, but as far as i know they all belong in soft water - the opposite of brackish.

brackish water does not have a defined salinity. anything ranging from 1000 to 1020 g/L is brackish water. it occures where a river runs into the sea for example. depending on the tide, on the temperature of the different waters etc. the salt content changes in the mixing area all the time.

for bumblebee gobies 1002-1006 is normally quite well tolerated, although it is difficult to say which type of bumblebee goby it is. h. xanthozonas is the only one that is all right longterm in fresh water. b. doriae needs salt.

lg
niki
 

echoofformless

echoofformless

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Sep 11, 2005
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I'm pretty certain that a betta splendens is anything but a fish that likes salt. I would think that a fish who tends to like soft, acidic water and who spends lots of time in small pools and puddles wouldn't appreciate any salt at all. But that's just my assumption.

Why chance such a thing?
 

W

wayne

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Oct 22, 2002
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I agree - these fish are from soft, acid waters (but the puddles thing is an urban myth) - brackish is a bad idea.
 

Pure

Pure

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Nov 1, 2005
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Yes but the myth Wayne is talking about is them living in a "puddle". Rice patties are for the most part quit large. And as aggressive as they are the species would have wyped its self out long ago if it only lived in confined areas.
 

echoofformless

echoofformless

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Sep 11, 2005
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Pure said:
Yes but the myth Wayne is talking about is them living in a "puddle". Rice patties are for the most part quit large. And as aggressive as they are the species would have wyped its self out long ago if it only lived in confined areas.
Click to expand...
You mean people go around thinking that bettas live in puddles as in the sense of the sort one sees after it rains along the streets? How would they get there to begin with? haha

The notion of rice paddies and puddles is really about the seasons of dry or rain. Bettas often end up in little puddles as the paddies dry, but that's only very temporary as the rainy season comes again and refills those areas.

Plus, and most importantly - even when bettas are waiting around in the puddles, there is still fresh water exchange going on because the water is slowly flowing through the areas. That's why if one is going to keep bettas in bowls, water changes must be frequent.
 

W

wayne

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#12
Oct 22, 2002
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'You mean people go around thinking that bettas live in puddles as in the sense of the sort one sees after it rains along the streets? How would they get there to begin with? haha'

Sadly yes. I've seen it said they hop from puddle to puddle, and live in tyre ruts by the road. That's how come it's ok to live in little cups.

'Plus, and most importantly - even when bettas are waiting around in the puddles, there is still fresh water exchange going on because the water is slowly flowing through the areas.' - if you're implying that water is flowing in and out through the soil I doubt that's the case. If it's a pool made of a clay type soil , that's not going to happen, and even in a far more porous peat or loam I still don't think there'll be a bunch of flow. Peat pools get stagnant very quickly - I don't believe a betta would come from those though I'm happy for someone to tell me otherwise. I think the situation is rain in, evaporation out.
 

sweetvegan74

sweetvegan74

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Sep 2, 2005
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I put in a little aquarium salt, like 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. UB doesn't mind it at all. I changed my sister's friend's Betta bowl and added a little salt. He seems more healthier and active then he usual is.

The workers at Petsmart told me they come from puddles too. Ever see pictures of paddies they can be miles long..
 

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