How do you make brackish water for Bumblebee gobies?

Question
QUESTION: Hi! I've been an Aquarius for the past 17 years and I'm always looking for new challenges and lately I've been interested in acquiring Bumblebee gobies, actually I already have one, and he's not too happy in his current home (I guess you cannot always trust the teenagers who work at pet stores to know every thing). Anyway I'm trying to make amends with my grumpy new compadre. I'm in the process of setting up my old 1 1/2 gallon Beta tank in to a gobie home. I already have sand, lots of shells, and hiding places, proper food, and adequate heat. But I've ran into a rather silly problem, I don't exactly know how to make brackish water :)  My dad bought me the API aquarium salt (in the blue box), first is this the right kind of salt and if it is how do I know how much I need to add to make my water brackish? I'm also planing to get about four or five more Bumble's for that tank.Any help you can give would be great! Thanks!
Oh! I almost forgot I already have a Hydrometer, if that help's.
Thanks again

ANSWER: Hi Emily,
Hydrometers definitely help!! ;-)

The issues with brackish water are:

1.) Petstores usually force their brackish fish to live in freshwater so when you buy them and if you know what's best for them you have to gradually convert their environment over to brackish water to avoid shocking them and even the beneficial bacteria.

2.) "True" Brackish water can really be best created by using marine salt meant for saltwater aquariums. Like Instant Ocean brand. Sometimes that can be expensive but thankfully you have a small aquarium and so water changes will not be costly with the salt.

~       ~     ~     ~     ~      ~       ~        

I doubt the petstore kept their bumblebees at a proper salinity level, so you must be very careful to convert your little fellas environment over to brackish. This will be somewhat more troublesome in a little tank due to standard measurements of salt for bigger tanks and there is little room for error. Many people would advise against keeping the gobies in a small aquarium-- however, I believe you have the experience to know how to keep water quality in check and definitely know beyond the basics of proper fish care. There are many people nowadays who keep "Nano" aquariums. Even Nano-reef systems.

Converting the tank from fresh to brackish... I prefer to add tiny measurements at a time to the tank until I am up to the recommend salinity level. You may decide to add in a little bit of marine salt along with the freshwater you replace when doing water changes. Keep track of the exact measurements and check your hydrometer carefully until you reach about 1.004 or 1.005-1.008

Brackish water can vary a lot and most brackish species are quite adaptable.

These fish have lots of character and I do hope your setup turns out successful and enjoyable!

Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm sorry, but that this isn't exactly a follow up question. My angle fish has just gotten very sick and extremely unexpected. My baby, Scoots is a marble angelfish and he has developed a case of Popeye. One of his eyes has bulged out completely and is starting to be surrounded by this solid whitish stuff. His infected eye has gone cloudy and now as we speak I think that his other eye is "popping". His feces are a clearish white and stringy. He's lethargic and he will not eat. I cannot guarantee him because I have no more tank's. But I did divide my 30 gallon so the female, Libby, cannot pester him. As of now I am treating the tank with Maracyn and Maracyn-two. I don't know if I should change the water because the package doesn't say. I also put a little bit of salt in the tank, but Scoots disliked that so I stopped. Before he developed Popeye he had some small white bumps on his head like zits(not ick), I didn't think much of it at the time but now I think that was a horrible mistake. I don't want to lose my baby, so any advice you can give me would be much appreciated.

Answer
Hi there and I'm sorry to hear about your Angel.

Popeye is fluid buildup behind the eye in the fish and it is usually a reversible condition. The condition is triggered by either injuries from fighting or bumping into object in the tank, bacterial infection and/or poor water quality. Treatment definitely should start with going to any possible sources of the problem. Sometimes our aquariums are more polluted than we can imagine and I would recommend to start doing daily 50% water changes on him. The medication directions most likely say to not do a water change but Scoots needs that clean water more than anything both for his immune system and eliminating waste that will harbor infection causing bad bacteria.

Scoots sounds very stressed. It would be ideal if you could check the water quality of the tank. String white poo is a definitely stress symptom and it could also be a sign of internal infection. Does his belly look bloated at all? No scales sticking out on his sides?

Epsom salt is often added as a treatment to Popeye. Because it can help draw excess fluid from the fish and it is quite safe. I would recommend you try it. Dosage is about 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons.

I'm not sure what the white bumps were. That's not something I've encountered in Angels before. It may have been a skin problem.

I would work hard to keep the water quality very good with water changes. Continue with medication treatment (redose after each water change) as well as the epsom salt according to however many gallons you took out.

Have you tried Scoots on tempting foods like chopped earthworms (from your bait store) or frozen bloodworms and shrimp? These might help him eat. Garlic extract is also an appetite stimulator as well as internal parasite deterrent.

I hope an infection hasn't set in his little body where he will have a huge struggle trying to recover. All you can do is try your best.

Best wishes!
Karen~