Was in one of my LFS today and checking out a couple of cool fish they had. When I asked what their system was running at (after he found someone who knew) they said it was 1.012. I'm new to this but have been reading for months and months. I'd that not incredibly low and how long can they actually keep fish at that level?
LFS salinity
- Thread starter Dombake
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Sciencing Daily
They keep their salinity low on their fish systems to save a little money and to help fend off parasites/infections.
Ok, so why don't all people with FOWLR tanks keep it at that sort of level?
This was a "chain" store and one of their stores in the next town runs theirs at 1.022-023. Would you buy from either or from the one with lower or higher levels or should I not even be worrying about this?
This was a "chain" store and one of their stores in the next town runs theirs at 1.022-023. Would you buy from either or from the one with lower or higher levels or should I not even be worrying about this?
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Sciencing Daily
You could, but it's not ideal for the long term health of the fish. It's an acceptable treatment for short periods of time but not for the life of the fish.
That's not just low that's super low. The Chesapeake Bay is 1.011 and that's brackish water. I'm not marine biologist but that seems a little extreme
While the stores do save a little money on salt with the lower salinity, the major reason why they keep their salinity low is because fish are shipped from overseas in low salinity water since ammonia is less toxic to the fish at lower salinity. The fish stores would need to spend a lot of time acclimating all fish shipments to a higher salinity if they kept their tanks at 1.026. The lower salinity really does not inhibit parasites.
heathlindner25
New member
I worked at a really nice fish store for a few years and I do believe it's more about the money aspect of the salt.... acclamation was always high priority on new shipments
kmbyrnes
New member
It is very low, but not hypo-salinity low. That low level will mask certain disease symptoms and perhaps inhibit its spread. The cost of salt is also a factor.
However, consider that these fish will likely be in the store for a short time - they will either die from disease and shipping issues or get purchased and hopefully get to a more suitable environment.
If you do proper acclimation and QT this should not be an issue.
However, consider that these fish will likely be in the store for a short time - they will either die from disease and shipping issues or get purchased and hopefully get to a more suitable environment.
If you do proper acclimation and QT this should not be an issue.
Ron Reefman
Active member
Ammonia is less toxic in low salinity water? I've never head that before. And as much as I trust your knowledge in this hobby (I seriously do), can you direct me to some corroborating evidence like an article or scientific paper? I just want to understand why ammonia would be less toxic in lower salinity water. It seems to me that ammonia is ammonia and would be just as toxic even in fresh water as it would be in regular sea water.
panhandler01
Member
I've never heard that ammonia is less toxic in low salinity but have read that ammonia is less toxic in lower pH (acidic) conditions. I am not a chemist but the article said the reason for this lies in the fact that there are more OH- ions available in higher pH (basic) water. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/
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cougareyes
New member
I check the salinity in the bag of all my new arrivals, it's all over the charts even from the same source. I've found acclimation more successful when I match the sg in my quarantine tank to the bag, otherwise the higher the difference the longer you must take to acclimate, especially when going higher. If you don't do this expect a death in a day or two. Also running a non therapeutic amount of copper does nothing more than organ damage to a fish and prolonged exposure probably means a shortened lifespan. My friend does necropsies at a lfs and tell me about the organ damage and liquified insides of the fish she examines, usually unexpected deaths and alot of times traced back to repeated and prolonged exposure to medications.
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