Hobbies And Interests
Salt
Salt is added to a freshwater aquarium for several reasons. One is to create the right environment for fish found in brackish water, such as archers, scats, monos, certain livebearers and gobies. Another is to medicate fish that have been exposed to parasites. A third is to add hardness to very soft water. Whatever the reason, freshwater plants are typically intolerant of too much salt, so you must choose plants that are salt-tolerant
Low Lighting
If you are adding salt to create a brackish aquarium environment, you will also need low lighting. Brackish water evaporates faster than fresh water, and low lighting will slow the rate of evaporation. The typical lighting for a brackish aquarium is at least 1.5 watts of light per gallon of water.
Plant Species
Plants provide shade and shelter for fish and make your aquarium attractive. If your tank has very low salt levels (1.000-1.003 parts per million), you can select anubias barteri, hornwort, Indian fern, onion plant, cryptocoryne wendtii or hygrophila polysperma. If your tank has medium salt levels (1.003-1.005 parts per million), you can choose bacopa monnieri, crinum calamistratum, cryptocoryne ciliata, lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Java fern or Java moss. Samolus valerandi is a good choice if you have high salt levels (1.005-1.012 parts per million).
Aquarium Setup
There is more than one kind of brackish water environment, so you need to arrange your plants according to the kind of environment you are trying to mimic. If you are creating an estuary environment, the plants may be eaten and should be replaced with algae. For a brackish river environment, plant tall anubius, vallisneria, hairgrass, and Java fern in the background. Mangrove tank environments should have a land section that meets the water, where mangroves should be planted.