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Brackish h20 question

23 15:12:04

Question
hey i have a tank and in it i have one blue 3 spot gourami, one green spotted puffer, and one bala shark. Im almost 100% percent sure my puffer requires brackish water, i dont have any other tanks for the other two fish though. The puffer requires approximately 1 tsp or tbsp per 10 gallons, if i add this will it hurt my other two fish?my tank is 10 gallons but i am looking to purchase a larger one. but for now, will it kill them or will they be unaffected?

Answer
Hi Carmen;

One teaspoon of salt per gallon is what he needs. (Yes, I did say one teaspoon PER GALLON!) This amount will not harm the other fish. Salt helps all fish fight disease. I use it in all my tanks no matter what kind of fish I have. Add more when you make water changes, but only add more salt for water you replace. For instance when you make your weekly or bi-weekly regular 25% water change, add back salt for the 3 or so gallons you removed. Not for the whole tank or it will get too concentrated. You will eventually have to start buying saltwater fish if you do that! Yikes!

Get a 55 gallon tank for the fish. They will love it and it will be big enough for the balas. Balas get 10 inches long or more. It should provide enough room for the puffer and hopefully he won't pick on the others. Puffers are cute, but they have very sharp little teeth! They will crunch on snail shells and rocks to find food which also keeps their teeth worn down. The teeth can overgrow and then must be clipped. (Weird, huh?!) I love puffers, but you just have to be careful that they don't terrorize the other fish.

The Bala Shark is one of my favorite fish. They have very sweet dispositions and are pretty too. I have two in a 55 gallon that really do great with even my smaller fish.

Here is more info on your fish;

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/puf-nigr.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/fwbracpuffers.htm

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/silver.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/minnowshks.htm

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/bluegour.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/anabantoids.htm

Followups welcome.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins