Can the Cacatuoides live in brackish waters?

[Phlash17]

I am considering adding a small amount amount of salt to the tank and I'm wondering if my fish would be able to thrive in these conditions.

 

[gerald]

What do you mean by "small amount" ? I would not use more than 1 teaspoon salt per 5 gallons (~ 0.3 g/L) for Apistos, other than short-term use ( a few weeks) for treating disease. It's better to keep your Apistos and other soft-water fish in separate tanks from your livebearers and other fish that like higher mineral content. The threshold between fresh and brackish is usually defined as 0.5 g/L.

 

[Phlash17]

Thank you. I am somewhat new to Apistos so any help with them would be greatly appreciated. And that would be the amount I would put in. I do not want a completely brackish tank but I do have invertebrates for which I would like to add some salt for. Would the Apistos not be able to handle a small change for a long period of time?

 

[gerald]

Sorry, I don't understand what you are asking: "Would the Apistos not be able to handle a small change for a long period of time?"

I'm guessing that A. cacatuoides would probably do OK long-term at 0.3 g/L (= conductivity about 600 uS), but I wouldn't go much higher. Some other Apisto species (especially blackwater ones) may have trouble even at that low level. They evolved in water with extremely few mineral ions, so their ion-uptake cells are extremely efficient. Some fish species (like neon tetras) can reduce their mineral ion uptake rate when minerals are abundant, and can survive OK in mineral-rich water. Other species just can't slow down their uptake cells, and get kidney damage or a weakened immune system from absorbing too much salt ions. The types of ions are also important. The +2 ions Ca and Mg seem to be more of a problem (for blackwater fish) than Na and Cl.

 

[Phlash17]

Yes thank you, that answers that question, but I did not know about the different kinds of ions before when using it with freshwater tanks. Would using Instant Ocean Sea Salt be okay regarding the ions mentioned in your last post?

 

[Mike Wise]

Just a question. Why use salt (NaCl) for intertebrates (unless brackish species)? They need Ca and Mg for shell growth. NaCl isn't important in this respect. In this case I'd use one of the Rift Lake salts instead. These contain a fair amount of Ca ions in the mix.

 

[Phlash17]

That sounds great, thanks! How would the Apistos do in those water conditions?

 

[Mike Wise]

Just stick to gerald's concentration recommendations.

 

[Phlash17]

What would this change do to the pH of my tank water?

 

[gerald]

NaCl has very little if any effect on pH, KH, or GH.
Rift Lake Cichlid salts contain carbonates that will raise pH and KH, and Ca and Mg that will raise GH.
Instant Ocean is mostly NaCl but also contains some Ca, Mg, and Carbonates (not nearly as much as in Rift Lake salts).
Relative amounts of each mineral should be listed on the bag; you can do the math to determine how much you're adding.

 

[Phlash17]

Thank you! I had to search around to find the amounts since neither the bag or the box in came listed any details but I eventually found it on the internet.