[demosthenes]

I was thinking about how some plants can survive and thrive under salty conditions, which made me think... could you set up a decent brackish set up with freshwater plants, saltwater plants or macroalgaes, and maybe certain corals?

There are a lot of plants that hate salt, but also some that like it, or at least dont mind it (glosso, lilaeopsis, anubias i think? etc, idk theres a list on plantgeek.net), so are there any corals that could survive in brackish water? I think it would look incredible to have some archerfish or mollies in a tank with some hardy corals, a nice glosso carpet, and a background of myrios or certain hygros... call me a dreamer :flick:

 

[leviathan0]

A lot of the freshwater plants that can deal with salt can really only do so in a low salinity level, ~1.005 SG or so. Even the really hardy ones (Java Fern, Marimo, Cryptocoryne ciliata, etc) can only go up to ~1.010 SG. As far as I know, corals are strictly saltwater, but there are some macroalgae, anemones and other invertebrates commonly associated with saltwater that will do okay at 1.010 SG or higher.

Though, I don't really keep up with brackish aquaria anymore, and there could be new information I don't know about regarding how much salt certain plants can tolerate, or if there are brackish corals, etc.

 

[Church]

I can't imagine lilaeopsis doing well in brackish water, but I've never tried. It just seems hard to swallow.

The only common plants I know of that are said to be brackish-tolerant are the java ferns, some vals, and I think some anubias. I don't believe the list is long at all.

 

[mistergreen]

check out marine plants and macro-algae.

 

[Ariel301]

I don't know of any coral that will live in brackish water. They need a very high salt level, as well as correct lighting and lots of minerals.

 

[hydrophyte]

I don't think that there are any corals that can live in brackish conditions. It seems as though there are one or two seaweeds that can make it in estuaries.

This is an idea that has been around for a while. I have heard of quite a few brackish tanks incorporating mangroves trees, but i never run into very many pictures of detailed descriptions of that kind of setup. If you do some online searches I'm sure you'll find information.

I have some mangroves and a few other plants that can supposedly grow in brackish water--all currently growing in hard tapwater--so you might send me a PM if you ever start looking for material.