Keeping your Platy fish in freshwater may bore you. For experimentation, you might wonder if these hardy Platy fish can live in saltwater. You’re here to get a positive answer to your question. But, you need to remember that every experiment should be ethical and should be carried out duly.
Yes, Platy fish can live in saltwater tanks whose salinity ranges from 40-60% concentration. You can transition your Platy fish to saltwater from a freshwater tank by slow acclimatization. Abruptly introducing your Platy fish into a saltwater tank can cause dehydration and death.
Transferring your Platy fish into a saltwater tank is a step-by-step process. You will need a dedicated container, a control valve, and lots of patience.
Please read the article below to know the process and more details about Platy fish living in saltwater conditions.
Do Platy Fish Live In Freshwater Or Saltwater?
On the East coast of Central America and southern Mexico, the water is partly fresh and partly salty. This water is called brackish water. Wild Platy fish are abundantly found in these areas.
So, naturally, Platy fish are brackish fish. This means they do have saltwater toleration genes in them.
But, you need to keep one thing in mind. Your store-bought Platy fish are used to being in a freshwater tank. And no, your store-bought Platy fish can never survive in a saltwater tank. I mean, your Platy fish can acclimatize to saltwater slowly. But thinking of your Platy fish as brackish and plopping them in a saltwater tank will be your mistake.
Remember. Only wild Platy fish can survive abruptly in a saltwater tank. But, in simple words, it depends on the place where the Platy fish were initially raised!
Some Things To Consider
There are some things you should consider before transitioning your freshwater Platy fish into a saltwater tank. And they are:
Freshwater Vs Saltwater Fish
Salt has the property to attract water. In freshwater, there is no salt. So, freshwater fish have more salt in their body rather than in their environment water.
But, saltwater fish have less salt in their body. This is because the saltwater around them attracts water from their body. Moreover, saltwater fish can excrete excess salt with help of good kidney function. They can regulate the salt concentration in their bodies.
If you keep your freshwater Platy fish in a saltwater tank, the excess salt in the water will attract water from your Platy fish’s body. As a result, your Platy fish will be dehydrated and will die.
But, slow acclimatization can reduce dehydration. As Platy fish do still have their brackish genes in them.
Platy Fish’s Ability To Adapt
Like I mentioned above, Platy fish do have sturdy brackish genes in them. And they’re hardy fish as well. They can tolerate wide pH, temperature, and salinity.
For this reason, Platy fish can adjust to not only brackish but saltwater tanks too. But, the Platy fish’s ability to adapt is very slow. Thus, plopping them suddenly from a freshwater tank to a saltwater tank will be your biggest mistake.
Salt Is Used As Anti-parasitic
If you are not new to the fishkeeping hobby, you might know the benefits of salt. Salt has anti-parasitic properties and is treats Ich and infections. But, the concentration to kill the parasites is very low; one teaspoon for every gallon of water.
Moreover, some aquarists use salt to balance the pH of tank water. Salt acts as a buffer.
But, you may think saltwater tanks can be used as an anti-parasitic. But, that’s not the case at all. Although one teaspoon per gallon as anti-parasitic sounds small, it is a huge concentration compared to a saltwater tank.
Concentration Of Salt Water To Be Used
So, how much should the concentration be for your saltwater Platy tank?
Platy fish can tolerate one teaspoon of salt for every 10 gallons of water. Anything excess to this can harm their health severely. I mean, I understand that Platy fish are hardy but every hardy fish has a limit. So, here, excess salt will be your Platy fish’s limit.
Moreover, maintaining salt concentration in a saltwater tank is difficult. Because, even after a water change, you have to maintain the same concentration of salt. Dwindling the salinity of your tank will impair your Platy’s health severely!
Moreover, the type of salt you use should be marine salt. Your regular table salt or aquarium salt isn’t good for maintaining salinity.
How To Acclimatization Your Platy Fish In Saltwater?
So, after knowing all basics, you are ready to understand the step-by-step process of keeping your Platy fish in a saltwater tank. For preparing a saltwater tank for your freshwater Platy fish, you need to do the following:
Choosing Right Tank
Firstly, you need a container, let’s say a bucket, which has a space of two-gallon for every Platy fish. Here, you will slowly adapt your Platy fish to saltwater by performing saltwater drips. Clean your container with warm water and vinegar before keeping your Platy fish in there.
Since you are going to keep saltwater in this container, you shouldn’t use a container with metal frames, metal thermometers, metal hoods, or anything metal. This is because metals rot in a saltwater tank.
Moreover, you need to arrange a separate saltwater tank beforehand. Or you can use the same freshwater tank and keep salt in there. But, as I mentioned earlier, metallic items should not come in touch with saltwater.
Get An Air Pump With Valve
Secondly, you need an air pump with a control valve. The valve is important for controlling the volume of water coming from the tube!
Salt Concentration
You may wonder how much salt is needed for slow drips. It should be the same as what you’ll keep in your saltwater tank. Generally, one teaspoon of salt per 10 gallons is perfect.
If you have a bucket that can hold 10 gallons of water, you should use one teaspoon of salt.
To check the salinity, ensure that saltwater has 1.020-1.026 density. Brackish water tanks have a density of 1.003 to 1.010, though.
Flow Saltwater In Acclimatization Tank
If you already have a saltwater tank, you can allow the water from that saltwater tank to drip into the container.
Insert one end of the air pump in the container and another end into the saltwater. Make sure that the saltwater is at a higher level than the container so the water can drip down.
Once the position is maintained with a container lower than the tank, you should suck the water from the tank. Don’t drink the tank water though. I mean, remove your mouth once you feel like the water is close to the mouth end of the pipe. When the water flows through the pipe, then you can insert it into the container.
Flow Rate
Now, you have adjusted the saltwater to flow into your container. But, huge gulps of saltwater are a calamity for your Platy fish. Thus, you need to use the valve to control the amount of saltwater entering the water in the container per second.
Ideally, you should let 1 drop of salt water flow into the container per second.
This is the main process as the salt water won’t suddenly irritate your Platy fish. Instead, your Platy fish will slowly adjust by changing its kidney function and cells too.
Let Tank Fill
Slowly and steadily, the container will fill. But, your work isn’t done yet. Because the water in the container is brackish. The freshwater from the tap water and saltwater drips made this brackish water.
Your Platy fish isn’t yet acclimatized to saltwater.
You have to empty the container again. Just let an inch of brackish water remain in your container. Then, you should let the saltwater drip again. But, this time, let 3-4 drops per second into the container.
Keeping Platy Fish In Saltwater
Usually, the second drip is the end of the acclimatization process. After the second drip has ended, you can now keep your acclimatized Platy fish into a saltwater tank.
You should carefully monitor how your Platy fish behaves in the container during the acclimatization process. If your Platy fish swims lethargic and weakly, you are not doing the process correctly.
The temperature of the saltwater tank and container is vastly different. So, you should start by keeping your Platy fish in a plastic bag. Then, slowly acclimatize your Platy fish to the temperature of the saltwater tank. After the temperature is similar, or after half an hour, you can let your Platy fish enter into the saltwater tank.
How Long Will Platy Fish Survive/Live In Saltwater?
Platy fish lifespan is quite short; about 2-3 years in captivity. In the wild, Platy fish can live for up to 5 years. It may be because of their brackish environment.
It depends on the initial environment of your Platy fish too. If you suddenly introduce your freshwater Platy into saltwater, they will die within hours due to dehydration.
It takes 12-24 hours for a freshwater Platy fish to get used to saltwater conditions. But, still, this is no guarantee that your fish will wholly adapt to the saltwater. That’s why observing their behavior is very important when you acclimatize your Platy fish.
A distressed Platy fish is lethargic, dehydrated, and weak. It hides behind plants, substrate, and the lower part of the tank or container.
It is also seen that Platy fish die within 1-2 days after keeping them in a saltwater tank. Most fish owners neglect their Platy fish thinking they haven’t died within a few hours. So, they think they’ve successfully made a saltwater Platy fish. But, the Platy fish may have an imbalanced mechanism and are still not acclimatized to the saltwater. Or, it may be because the saltwater in the main tank is saltier than what the Platy fish is acclimatized to. In this case, Platy fish die within 27 hours or 1-2 days after the transition.
Is There Any Benefit In Keeping Platy Fish In Saltwater?
Saltwater fish are expensive compared to their freshwater friends. So, keeping Platy fish that cost only a few dollars compared to expensive saltwater fish like clownfish can be a relief on your budget.
Moreover, Platy fish are beautiful fish that are hardy. They’re easy to keep and breed as well. So, yes, there are benefits of keeping Platy fish in saltwater.
FAQ
Where Do Platies Generally Live?
Platy fish, in the wild, live on the east coast of Central America and southern Mexico. But, Platy fish in your tank is probably from breeding in the fish store tank. So, they prefer freshwater over saltwater.
Can Platy Fish Live In Tap Water?
Yes, Platy fish can live in tap water. But, you should make sure that the tap water is dechlorinated as tap water suppliers put chlorine in the water to prevent contamination.
Conclusion
So, now that you know the step-wise process, it’s all up to you to transition your Platy fish to live in saltwater. Just remember that the slower the acclimatization, the better the adaptability. You should let your Platy fish utilize the best of their kidney function and they’ll better adapt to the saltwater. Happy fishkeeping.