hydrophyte
New member
Am I allowed to post a topic about brackish tanks here? I do not currently have any saltwater setups, but I am interested to explore the idea of growing brackish plants. Of the species that I have been looking at the only one that can apparently tolerate full-strength seawater long-term is red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), but the number of suitable plants expands a lot at lower salinities.
Most of the information that I run into on the Internet regarding brackish planted tanks describes certain aquarium plants that seem to be able to withstand brackish water, such as Java fern, Anubias, Valisneria and certain others. However, I see scant references to these sorts of plants actually growing in estuaries or mangrove swamps out in nature, so it might be possible that many of them are not such good representations of that sort of habitat. In contrast, there are several riparium plants that could be grown above water in a brackish riparium to make a more authentic representation of a mangrove swamp or estuary. I already have several such plants established in riparium planters...
I had all three of these going in my 50-gallon tank, but I have since moved them around. Here is a quick shot showing the black mangrove and the leather fern pretty well in the 50.
These specimens that I have are all currently growing in freshwater, and I imagine that for best results I would need to slowly adapt them to brackish water. Several of the plants in that setup, including the Caladium (with white-spotted leaves) are strictly freshwater and would not survive in brackish water.
Here is a quick picture showing the foliage of one my black mangroves. These plants grow slowly. This specimen is more than two years old but only about 24" tall.
Like most kinds of mangrove plants, black mangrove has leathery leaves.
Here is a list of additional brackish species that I can get ahold of to try in riparium planters...
There is a common aquarium plant, Bacopa monnieri, for which I have run into several references as growing in brackish water. I don't know how accurate this is, but once I did see some in Florida growing pretty close to the beach. I have some of that one and I will plan to try it too.
I have my already-established mangrove plants scattered around in various tanks. I just need to shuffle around a few things to make room in the 40 breeder where I plan to set this thing up.
There is also some fun research to do on fish selection. I don't have any fish yet for this project.
Most of the information that I run into on the Internet regarding brackish planted tanks describes certain aquarium plants that seem to be able to withstand brackish water, such as Java fern, Anubias, Valisneria and certain others. However, I see scant references to these sorts of plants actually growing in estuaries or mangrove swamps out in nature, so it might be possible that many of them are not such good representations of that sort of habitat. In contrast, there are several riparium plants that could be grown above water in a brackish riparium to make a more authentic representation of a mangrove swamp or estuary. I already have several such plants established in riparium planters...
- black mangrove (Avicennia germinans)
- white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa)
- leather fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium)
I had all three of these going in my 50-gallon tank, but I have since moved them around. Here is a quick shot showing the black mangrove and the leather fern pretty well in the 50.
These specimens that I have are all currently growing in freshwater, and I imagine that for best results I would need to slowly adapt them to brackish water. Several of the plants in that setup, including the Caladium (with white-spotted leaves) are strictly freshwater and would not survive in brackish water.
Here is a quick picture showing the foliage of one my black mangroves. These plants grow slowly. This specimen is more than two years old but only about 24" tall.
Like most kinds of mangrove plants, black mangrove has leathery leaves.
Here is a list of additional brackish species that I can get ahold of to try in riparium planters...
- red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle)
- buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus)
- ciliata crypt (Cryptocoryne ciliata)
There is a common aquarium plant, Bacopa monnieri, for which I have run into several references as growing in brackish water. I don't know how accurate this is, but once I did see some in Florida growing pretty close to the beach. I have some of that one and I will plan to try it too.
I have my already-established mangrove plants scattered around in various tanks. I just need to shuffle around a few things to make room in the 40 breeder where I plan to set this thing up.
There is also some fun research to do on fish selection. I don't have any fish yet for this project.
