Can brackish fish go into freshwater...
- Thread starter kda2011
- Start date
Oh, that's a shame. Hey, thanks for the info though, I'll be sure to look into this! It's always good to know when there's new research refuting our current practices.
Like I said, on The Puffer Forum tons of people are keeping their live bearers in brackish so I'll at least bring up the issue on there and see if our resident scientist knows anything about it.
Thanks again!
Like I said, on The Puffer Forum tons of people are keeping their live bearers in brackish so I'll at least bring up the issue on there and see if our resident scientist knows anything about it.
Thanks again!
I got a member on TPF to tell me about the article, and I'm just going to post his synopsis of it to be sure we're talking about the same one:
" The article in question is really about the sailfin molly (P. latipinna) and if it is actually from costal regions or further inland (where they would never have been around salty water). He talks about different types of sailfins and where they (may) come from. The article also went on to talk about mollies being sensitive to nitrates and that salt can help a little with this.
The conclusion was that a little salt does not hurt, it is not needed by all types of mollies, and certainly not by all other livebearers.
He doesn't ever say mollies from coastal/brackish waters might do best with salt, but nor does he refute this. He also does not talk at all about long term health and/or lifespan of mollies, but it is just a short magazine article and it may not have fit. Also note that this is just one author's work, and not "ALA" scripture... although it looks like it may have been presented during the big ALA 2006 shindig.
I would not say this is a definitive article by any strech of the imagination. RTR's [our resident scientist and fishkeeper of 50+ years on The Puffer Forum, Robert T. Ricketts] article covers this whole debate much better and with more sciencey bits. However, it does seem there is some recognition that "all livebearers need salt" is a myth among ALA folks. "
-"puffergeek" ThePufferforum.com
It wasn't an article I would consider a scientific study and it seems the author kinda beat around the bush instead of giving a recommendation.
Basically, what I got out of it was, if you're going to get a molly, read about the specific type you're after to be sure it's truly BW. 'Common' mollies seem to be undisputedly BW fish, but I'd research them as well, regardless.
Thanks for the heads-up Lotus. It just goes to show we need to keep looking out for new research!
" The article in question is really about the sailfin molly (P. latipinna) and if it is actually from costal regions or further inland (where they would never have been around salty water). He talks about different types of sailfins and where they (may) come from. The article also went on to talk about mollies being sensitive to nitrates and that salt can help a little with this.
The conclusion was that a little salt does not hurt, it is not needed by all types of mollies, and certainly not by all other livebearers.
He doesn't ever say mollies from coastal/brackish waters might do best with salt, but nor does he refute this. He also does not talk at all about long term health and/or lifespan of mollies, but it is just a short magazine article and it may not have fit. Also note that this is just one author's work, and not "ALA" scripture... although it looks like it may have been presented during the big ALA 2006 shindig.
I would not say this is a definitive article by any strech of the imagination. RTR's [our resident scientist and fishkeeper of 50+ years on The Puffer Forum, Robert T. Ricketts] article covers this whole debate much better and with more sciencey bits. However, it does seem there is some recognition that "all livebearers need salt" is a myth among ALA folks. "
-"puffergeek" ThePufferforum.com
It wasn't an article I would consider a scientific study and it seems the author kinda beat around the bush instead of giving a recommendation.
Basically, what I got out of it was, if you're going to get a molly, read about the specific type you're after to be sure it's truly BW. 'Common' mollies seem to be undisputedly BW fish, but I'd research them as well, regardless.
Thanks for the heads-up Lotus. It just goes to show we need to keep looking out for new research!