A brackish water aquarium is an aquarium where the water is brackish (semi-salty). Keeping brackish water aquaria is a popular specialization within the fishkeeping hobby. Many species of fish traded as freshwater species actually do better in brackish water, for example mollies, Florida flagfish, and some cichlids such as chromides and black-chin tilapia. There are also several popular species traded purely as brackish water fish, including monos spp, scats, archerfish, and various species of pufferfish, goby, flatfish, and gar. Generally aquarists need to maintain a specific gravity of around 1.005 to 1.010 depending on the species being kept, but practically all brackish water fish tolerate variations in salinity well, and some aquarists maintain that regularly fluctuating the salinity in the aquarium actually keeps the fish healthy and free of parasites.

See also

• Aquarium
• Brackish water
• Fishkeeping
• List of brackish aquarium fish species

External links

• Brackish Water Aquarium FAQ
• Brackish Water Fishes
• Estuarine Aquarium Keeping, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Further reading

• Frank Schäfer (2005). Brackish-Water Fishes. Aqualog. ISBN 393602782X (English), ISBN 3936027811 (German)
• Neale Monks, ed. (2006). Brackish-Water Fishes. TFH. ISBN 0793805643