I'm risking a lot here, mostly because I've spent weeks, if not months, trying to find a set-in-stone answer. I currently have 4 Mollies and other various tankmates, and I've been wanting to buy a dragon goby for years now. Now that I'm older and understand the care needs for this goby, I also understand that some of my other inhabitants might not fare so well.
30 Gallons (will be upgrading to 55-75 if I decide on the Dragon Goby)
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4 Mollies/ 3 Fry (in breeder net)
2 Platties
1 Albino Rainbow Shark
1 Kuhli Loach
1 Common Pleco/ 1 Pleco baby (trying to sell the adult pleco)
2 Fiddler Crabs (which I know won't last long, because Wal-Mart employees are dumb enough to sell these as fully aquatic to people like me who buy on a whim [which I never do, but these I didn't do my research on until i got home, so I'll enjoy them while they last.])
I already know my Mollies will be fine with the addition of salt, but I'm worried about the Loach, the ARBS, the plecos and the crabs, being scaleless. I wouldn't mind having to get rid of the loach and plecos (i barely have algae growth as is, and arbs takes more care of that), as well as the crabs and platties, but I'm really hesitant on getting rid of the albino rainbow shark, she's one of my favorites. Is there any reasonable medium to how much salt I can add to make the mollies/goby happy and the rainbow shark not miserable? As well as with the rest of the community.. Any advice is appreciated, I get so many mixed reviews on the internet; this is the most trusted forum in my opinion...
That's entirely incorrect. Overtime you can actually condition Mollies to live in a saltwater environment, by slowly transitioning them and raising the SG week by week.
But to the original poster of this thread, aside from the Crabs (which should also have some access to land or above water - they are brackish and also require the ability to get out of the water once in a while) and the Mollies, increasing salinity would kill everything else in the tank.
I know the mollies don't really "need" salt per se, but I know if I get a dragon goby I'll have to add at least a little bit for good health, and if I do that I know the mollies will tolerate it.
Yeah, I found that out about the crabs after I already bought them :/ That's my fault for thinking Wal-mart knew what they were talking about, as I had never read up on crabs before then, but wanted some nice critters for the bottom. I'll be swapping them out for MTS eventually, but maybe not as I can imagine they would get killed by salt as well? Thanks for the input!
I think I'll just have to live with the sacrifice of getting rid of my darlings for this dragon goby...it'll be worth it
Freshwater fish and brackish water fish should never be combined in the same aquarium. There is no "middle ground," so either will be stressed due to the salt/no salt. And that means weakened health, more disease, and premature death.
On the molly issue, it is quite true that they can be found in both fresh and brackish water in their habitat. But something that is frequently forgotten is that they normally swim out of brackish and into fresh, and they can do this whenever they like. This option is not available in a brackish aquarium, so they are forced to tolerate it. This is not to say that they will not "live" in brackish or even full marine water; but as their natural habitat shows they do not do this themselves, it seems wise to avoid forcing it onto them in captivity.
With respect to other fish, especially soft water fish (loaches, the "shark", etc) they should not be placed in water with salt long-term. Salt is detrimental to soft water fish in varying degrees depending upon species. I have written in detail on this elsewhere.
Thanks Byron, I'm quite aware of your take on the molly-salt debate (I read the dr. coletti article from another thread), and yes, I definitely have an LFS who can adopt my sharks, I would never dream of just "killing them off" illegitimately. I apologize if that's how it sounded when I said "get rid of them." The main question was about the "middle-ground" as Byron stated, not whether the Mollies would need or not need salt. This is because I plan on getting a dragon goby, so with the transition to brackish water, I'm already aware that mollies would be good tank-mates. I was trying to figure out about the other inhabitants. Thanks everyone for the advice!
Question! If you are planning on getting a bigger tank for the goby, then wouldn't you have two tanks? Couldn't you just keep the 30 gallon going for the other fish, or do you have to get rid of it?
I would have to get rid of it, swap it out, however it may work. As much as I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to keep both tanks, that would just double my expenses as far as another heater, another filter, another air-stone, etc. Also I live in a trailor which is on those concrete things underneath, so I recently found out keeping this tank in the same spot for a number of years would soften the foundation, so I don't need two tanks doing that, lol. I'm still trying to budget enough to get a hospital tank; Petco has a dollar-a-gallon sale for tanks, so a 10 gallon seems affordable right now. This plan I have going up to a 55-75 gallon and getting the goby won't be in full swing for another few months, if not next year, it all depends on how much excess I get this term from my student loans.
Oh I see, are your filters and what not big enough to support the bigger tank? I was under the assumption you would have to buy all that anyway, but you know what they say about assuming. But if I were int eh same boat, I'd probably just get the fish off the LFS and start over completely with the dragon goby and then build around him.
My filter says it supports up to 60 gallons, but I may have to buy a new one when the time comes, this entire set-up was a hand-me-down, minus the fish. So everything is pretty worn. Yeah, I think I'll just start from scratch....grr my molly is showing symptoms of Pop-eye, and I dont have a quarantine tank for her. I left to get ich treatment, i come back and her eye is swollen and filmy... Like i said, theres a 10 gallon at petco for 10 bucks, but wont i have to buy another air-stone and pump as well? Thats whats gonna break my bank
Get one of those 2 way air valves, they're like 3 dollars, and another air stone also like 89 cents, and just split your air into both of the tanks, that'd save a bit or monies.
I have that aquatech dome shaped air pump, doesn't it have like 2 outputs? I could just buy another hose and airstone? I didnt realize airstones were so cheap, but now i remember seeing a very small one, like an inch long
Yeah if it has 2 outputs i dont see why not, my tetra whispers have 2 and I have 2 hoses with 2 airstones on it, and for a ten gallon you shouldnt need a fancy airstone. Posted via Mobile Device
Unfortunately it'll have to wait until i get paid tomorrow; poor gal, she's just swimming in one spot at the top of the tank, being anti-social...I hope she can last till then, and hopefully it won't do much damage to the rest of the group. My male gold-dust molly is hanging out up there with her, right by her side, but he's showing absolutely no symptoms at all, he looks perfectly fine. (along with the rest of the mollies) could he be mourning maybe? giving his crush some moral support? Oh, the personalities
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