Moving Fish - brackish to saltwater

[j_wishbone]

Hi guys

I have 2 puffers (White spot Toadfish and a banded toadfish) currently in a brackish water tank. With the following parameters.

Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
SG 1.019

..and i have been cycling a saltwater tank. nitrite is still a little high, waiting for it to go down a bit and i will start moving the fishes. Parameters are:

Ph 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 1.0
Nitrate 40
SG 1.021

Im just wondering that there is a bit of a gap on both the ph's. What is the best way to acclimatise the puffers into the new saltwater tank.. im thinking of the drip method? any other ways? if not how long should i be doing this drip method for?

Also, for a FOWLR tank what is the max. acceptable nitrate reading?

thanks!!!

 

[billsreef]

One of the cool things about brackish fish is that they are very adaptable to sudden change, i.e. tides, rain storms etc. There isn't much difference between your brackish and SW tank, a simple drip acclimation for about an hour will be sufficient

 

[j_wishbone]

oh ok kewl... so it shouldnt cause too much shock with the littlies then.. cool...

nitrite is still high isnt it.. really need it to be 0

wat about nitrates?? what level should it be? thanks.

 

[billsreef]

Yup, nitrite should come down to 0. While nitrite itself isn't toxic in SW, it does show that the cycle isn't complete. For nitrates, is this a fish only, or a reef?

 

[j_wishbone]

While nitrite itself isn't toxic in SW <== oh ok dats interesting. So its more toxic in freshwater is it?

it does show that the cycle isn't complete. <== how could I speed it up? without any chemical/medical additions?!?

This is a Fish Only Tank (with Live Rock). Thanks

 

[billsreef]

With nitrite, the chloride ion happens to block the site on the gills that would otherwise adsorb nitrite. Hence it's toxic in fresh water, but not a problem in SW.

As for speeding up the cycle, you don't. Just have to wait it out. In this hobby, only bad things happen fast, so take your time

 

[j_wishbone]

No worries... I will let nature take its course!

thanks for your help!!!!

 

[alpine36]

off-topic,

are cichlids brackish water fish?

 

[billsreef]

Only in a very few cases If your thinking of the off stated, but very erroneous idea that African Rift Lake Cichlids are brackish, they are not On the whole, Cichlids are a very widespread Fresh Water family of fishes with a few members known to wander into brackish water.

 

[g0rFz]

african cichlids are all from 3 lakes, making brackish unlikely. i have like 20 africans in a tank and then i got a green spotted puffer in a seperate one with two completely different types of salt.

puffer is marine salt while all my africans can use some aquarium salts and the cichlid essential salts. although u read stuff about compatibility, it doesn't work. i tossed my gsp in and it was like the cichlids just found the answer to their hunger and he had about 15 of them cornering him. and im sure if i didnt rescue him they would have got him and he would have got them while they slept because gsp's are more nocturnal hunters

bottom line is cichlids cannot handle brackish water but gsp's can handle freshwater...so if you must combine them then keep a lower sg. puffers are very hardy while cichlids are moderate and die a LOT easier.

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12854654#post12854654 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by g0rFz
african cichlids are all from 3 lakes, making brackish unlikely.

There are plenty of cichlids in Africa that are found outside of rift lakes The popular Kribensis sp. is but one common genera found in the rivers of West Africa, with some found in brackish areas of those rivers. Cichlids are so wide spread, it's impossible to generalize much of anything about that family.