Introduction

[wogga]

Hello Everyone,

I'm Colin. A small few of you already know me.

I'm recently back to the dc area and getting back into the sw scene.

I have a tendency to do strange projects/experiments and this time is no different.

 

I'm acclimating some guppies to saltwater. Why? To see if it can be done. To cycle some rock for an upcoming system. Because those who apparently have done it have shared VERY LITTLE info as to how/what the results were. I'm keeping a log of the acclimation process and will put it all up when the tank is up to 1.024 or so.

 

Later this year i will be setting up a tri-zonal system, primarily for sps/lps.

 

I want to give a big thank you to all the members on here who have contributed such a wealth of useful information, and of course, the members who have already been a big help to me in the past (David and David). You guys are great!

 

Thanks again,

Colin

[Coral Hind]

Welcome!!

 

The guppy challenge sounds very cool. Keep us posted on how that goes.

[Incredible Corals]

Welcome! 50 guppies in a reef tank would look awesome! Please keep us updated

[wogga]

will do! i'm confident of a strong survival rate. I also have specimens from 3 separate generations for possible comparison of effects on fish of different ages, and one fish with a minor spinal deformity to see if this has any bearing on ability to acclimate.

 

Once the process is complete i'll start a dedicated project thread.

[Origami]

Welcome, Colin. Sounds like a very interesting experiment. Keep good records. Looking forward to your findings.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

I never tried guppies (not enough meat on their bones), but I have acclimated mollies that lived.

 

I did it over a few days, though I think it could have been done much faster.

[wogga]

I never tried guppies (not enough meat on their bones), but I have acclimated mollies that lived.

 

I did it over a few days, though I think it could have been done much faster.

 

the little bit of literature i've been able to scare up seems to indicate that guppies benefit from a slower acclimation.

 

However, the success documented by J. Chervinski ( Salinity Tolerance of the Guppy, 1984 ) is indicative of atleast short-term adaptability to severe spikes, but does not clearly indicate long term viability.

-

"Experiments were conducted to determine the adaptability of the guppy to various salt concentrations. The guppy, Poecilia reticulata, (total length 11

[zygote2k]

If you use a refractometer, you can measure salinity all the way up from fresh.

[wogga]

yeah it's alright. i'm ramping up the pace of acclimation a little bit. should be above 1.010 in not too long.

 

i had been introducing 6-8 fl. oz of saline solution at a time, and seeing no visible effects in the fish. for curiosity's sake, i just went ahead and did a 1 gallon (10%) WC with 1.024-25 mix, and the fish are all still behaving as before. Hardy little buggers.

[wogga]

I just have to say another thank you to Coral Hind - you embody the psychological paradigm that can ultimately lead to reefkeeping becoming a hobby that EVERYONE can achieve success in. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Coral Hind]

Your welcome and it was very nice seeing you again.

 

How many guppies are you starting with? Have there been any deaths yet?

[wogga]

Your welcome and it was very nice seeing you again.

 

How many guppies are you starting with? Have there been any deaths yet?

 

12. Not a' one.

 

SG is up to 1.020-1.021 now, too. Assuming feeding/behavior are stable tomorrow, i'll do another water change on monday to bring the SG up to 1.025. In light of my experience so far, I'm confident they'll be fine. Makes me curious as to whether multiple generation breeding is possible (moreso - as easy as it is in fw), and if so, why hasn't it been done by myriad predatory-fish-keepers for inexpensive feeding stock.

 

Hopefully all will be revealed in a couple months or so (gen. 1 specimens should be reaching sexual maturity around that time).

[smallreef]

well... not done for predator feeding stock because even once you acclimate them to salt water they are still freshies and lack most of the nutrients needed for saltwater predators to survive long term, not including all of the different fats and oils that saltwater fish cannot process and can cause many different ailments with/ on them..

[wogga]

what about 2nd, 3rd etc. generation saltwater born-and-bred specimens? are those issues still the same? has this been tested with other SW compatible livebearers like mollies?

 

i'm not a predatory fish guy - forgive my ignorance when it comes to live vertebrate feeders.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

well... not done for predator feeding stock because even once you acclimate them to salt water they are still freshies and lack most of the nutrients needed for saltwater predators to survive long term, not including all of the different fats and oils that saltwater fish cannot process and can cause many different ailments with/ on them..

 

I never heard that before...I know the PE mysis I feed almost exclusively is from FW...I don't think there are any ill effects there...

[smallreef]

Im sure once you get to 10th gen or after some of the issues will have been bred out... that if they can still breed in SW???

 

I know with mollys it is still an issue.. and even some brackish water fish can cause problems but I dont have any definitive data on those.. just on fresh water fish esp. guppies...