Brackish Water Aquarium FAQ

© Neale Monks 2007

(1) Introduction

• What is brackish water?
• Estuarine and low salinity environments and habitats
• The basic equipment for a brackish aquarium
• Common and not so common brackish water fishes
• What fish can’t be kept in a brackish water aquarium
• Are there any books on the subject?

(2) Setting up the brackish water aquarium

• Artificial sea water and measuring salinity
• Water chemistry and temperature
• Substrates and tank decor
• Planting the brackish water aquarium
• Healthcare and medication
• Breeding brackish water fishes

(3) Commonly available fishes

• Monos (Monodactylus spp.)
• Scats and Argusfishes (Scatophagus and Selenotoca spp.)
• Archerfishes (Toxotes spp.)
• Targetfish (Terapon jarbua)
• Brackish Water Pufferfish (family Tetraodontidae)
• Cichlids (family Cichlidae)
• Mollies (Mollienesia or Poecilia)
• Rainbowfishes (family Melanotaenidae)
• Silversides (family Atherinidae)

(4) Predatory fish

• Gar (Lepisosteus and Atractosteus spp.)
• Colombian shark catfishes (family Ariidae)
• Sleeper gobies (family Eleotridae)
• Siamese tiger fish (Coius or Datnoides spp.)
• Ropefishes (Erpetoichthys calabaricus)
• Freshwater moray eel (family Muraenidae)
• Bullrouts (Notesthes robusta)
• Flatfishes and soles (family Soleidae and others)
• Spiny eels (family Mastacembelidae)
• Needlefish (family Belonidae)
• Butterfly-goby waspfish (Neovespicular depressifrons)

(5) Oddball fish

• Four-eyed fish (Anableps spp.)
• False four-eyed fish (Rhinomugil corsula)
• Mudskippers (Periophthalmus and Boleophthalmus)

(6) Small fish

• Killifish (family Cyprinodontidae)
• Bumblebee and other gobies (family Gobiidae)
• Glassfish (family Ambassidae, formerly Chandidae)
• Pipefishes (family Syngnathidae)
• Livebearers (family Poecilidae)
• Halfbeaks and Needlefish (families Hemirhamphidae and Belonidae)
• Blennies (family Blennidae)
• Spaghetti Eels (Moringua spp)
• Glass Eels and Rice Paddy Eels (Pisodonophis spp)

(7) Marine fish

• Introducing marine fish to brackish water aquaria
• Marine puffers (Arothron hispidus and others)
• Batfishes (Platax spp.)
• Snappers and Sea Breams (Lutjanidae/Sparidae)
• Damselfishes (family Pomacentridae)
• Eel-catfishes (Plotosus spp.)
• Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.)
• Pike-conger eels (Congresox talabonoides)

(8) Invertebrates and native brackish water fish

• Tropical brackish water invertebrates
• Tropical brackish water snails
• Native brackish water fishes and invertebrates