StacieS
04-20-2009, 09:09 AM
Hi all,
I'm planning to buy my first aquarium (either 5 gal or 10 gal) this week, and I've been doing research on the types of species that I'd like to put in there.
I read that bettas and neon tetras are suitable for beginners, so I'm considering these types of fish (would just get 1 betta). I'm also interested in getting either a fiddler crab or a red clawed crab, and I would purchase a small underwater environment for him at www.crabhomes.com. However, it sounds like the crab needs brackish water to survive. I'm wondering if the betta and/or neon tetras would do ok in brackish water as well. I read on www.crabhomes.com that it's good for all fish to have some salt added to the water:
"To provide an ideal environment for fiddler crabs, you should have some marine or sea salt (never use table salt) to your aquarium. For true brackish water you need to have 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. If you don’t want to worry about having true brackish water, you can add half this amount of salt and the fiddler crab would still be fine. For fresh water aquariums it is good for the fish to have some salt added to the water. It helps the fish to have a protective layer over them, thus preventing diseases."
If I add one tablespoon per gallon of water, would this be fine for the betta and/or neon tetras? Also, if I decided to get a mystery snail or ghost shrimp later on, would they do ok in this type of brackish water?
Your help would be much appreciated, thank you!!
I'm planning to buy my first aquarium (either 5 gal or 10 gal) this week, and I've been doing research on the types of species that I'd like to put in there.
I read that bettas and neon tetras are suitable for beginners, so I'm considering these types of fish (would just get 1 betta). I'm also interested in getting either a fiddler crab or a red clawed crab, and I would purchase a small underwater environment for him at www.crabhomes.com. However, it sounds like the crab needs brackish water to survive. I'm wondering if the betta and/or neon tetras would do ok in brackish water as well. I read on www.crabhomes.com that it's good for all fish to have some salt added to the water:
"To provide an ideal environment for fiddler crabs, you should have some marine or sea salt (never use table salt) to your aquarium. For true brackish water you need to have 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. If you don’t want to worry about having true brackish water, you can add half this amount of salt and the fiddler crab would still be fine. For fresh water aquariums it is good for the fish to have some salt added to the water. It helps the fish to have a protective layer over them, thus preventing diseases."
If I add one tablespoon per gallon of water, would this be fine for the betta and/or neon tetras? Also, if I decided to get a mystery snail or ghost shrimp later on, would they do ok in this type of brackish water?
Your help would be much appreciated, thank you!!