GAM055

Hi,

I'm thinking of setting up a 29 gallon brackish planted aquarium for plants and black mollies (and perhaps platies, too.)

I'm seeking your advice when it comes to substrate and (commonly found in pet shops) plant species that will do well in this tough environment.

* Will anything else other than Vallisneria thrive in medium light^ in such water conditions?
* Do you suggest a mixture of crushed coral and plain aquarium gravel, or something else?

I would like the aquarium to be heavily vegetated (foreground, midground, background) by a few easily kept species that thrive in such an environment. Any suggestions? (I may make my own CO2 system and/or even put top soil in nylon mesh bags to help the plants.)

Thank you.

Looking forward to your advice,

John

^ two T5 HO lights by AquaticLife

HX67

Hi.
I'm running a mudskipper tank on about 1.003 salinity.
Water section in not very brightly lit, no CO2.
The plants doing good in there are Vals, N. lotus and Sagittaria teres. Lilaeophis brasiliensis was doing good both submerged and emersed untill algae suffocated it.

A plant actually thriving in mild brackish is Samolus valerandi, but it likes to grow emersed with roots in water.

Good luck, John!

GAM055

Thank you for your advice!

I looked at your Mudskipper paludarium project thread, and must say the paludarium looks amazing!

HybridHerp

I've heard that Java Fern does well in brackish, and I might be wrong on this so please correct me but I think there is a chance that a crinum species might work as well

HybridHerp

Oh, and mangroves, definitely mangroves

asukawashere

I have a mildly brackish tank full of wild-caught sailfin mollies and olive nerite snails. It's overrun with vallisneria and a few other species (dwarff Sagittaria, NLJF, etc.). Specific gravity is about 1.004...

Here are a few species I've had good experiences with in a brackish environment:

Java Ferns
Anubias
Crypts
Sagittaria
Vallisneria
Hygrophila corymbosa


... generally speaking, plants that tolerate hard water also tolerate mildly saline conditions. Hardness and salinity are two different things, but there's some overlap in the adaptations a plant needs to have to thrive in either.

Plants like Samolus valerandi, Hydrocotyle spp., and Lilaeopsis spp. naturally occur in tidal areas, where some degree of salinity is to be expected. As such, these plants are well-adapted to brackish conditions.... in the aquarium, your mileage may vary, but they're good points to start experimenting since we already know that salt won't hurt them.

Substrate-wise, my brackish tank uses regular pool filter sand. It doesn't impact the water chemistry, but is fine enough for the vals to root in. On that note, most of the species that do well in brackish setups either don't need substrate (like the rhizome species) or are not known for their pickiness with regard to it. There are exceptions, but unless you've got your heart set on something needy, I'd just use an inert, low-CEC, inexpensive substrate. Dirt probably wouldn't be a good idea...

My biggest trouble with the tank is hair algae... which I can reach in and remove manually, so it's not the end of the world.

Might I suggest a background of vals, some mid-sized crypts/ java ferns, and a carpet of dwarf Sagittaria or Crypt parva for your particular setup?

GAM055

Thanks, A.!

Looking forward to our next CAPE meeting : )

DogFish2.0

Getting ready to do the same in a 40B, riparian style.

Good overview pc - http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Proje...rg/wiki/Samolu

I'm planning on MTS w/crushed coral sand/gravel cap.


Plants - I have 6 pots of Cryptocoryne ciliate, 50 Dwarf Sag on the way, Red Java and I just found Red Mangrove on E>Bay.Everything will be in a outdoor grow-out tank for the summer, Mid July I'll start transitioning to brackish water