# Cichlids and salt



## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

Could my cichlids be kept in a tank with a salinity of about 10 and and specific gravity of 1.004 to 1.006


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

No !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

Ok only asking bc someone said that.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

That's pretty close to having a saltwater tank, so if you wanna switch over you could.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

cichlids are not marine animals....
cichlids are not brackish water animals....
now species such as guppies , platies and mollies have been found out in the open ocean..
they could tolerate a brackish tank......
but not chicklets.......lol


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

cichlids tolerate salt. You can use some pretty high salinity to treat disease in cichlids. And i've seen occasional live cichlid in a SW tank. Usually they jumped or moved though pipes in a store. Ancestral cichlids all over the world moved from water system to water system along coasts. But it can't be good for their long-term well being, and soft-water living cichlids likely won't have any surviving spawns in salty water. cichlids are genetically more closely related to some SW fish like damsels than to most other non-cichlid FW fish. 

I've never tried it myself. But I suspect its like keeping goldfish in warm water. All will seem fine, but they won't live as long and be more prone to disease. It wouldn't surprise me if FW cichlids have no immunity at all to common SW disease like marine ich and their first exposure would be their last.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

So, the answer is somewhere between NO and "maybe for a very short while, but why would you even want to try?"


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

I was thinking about getting a freshwater stingray and I was told they needed a little salt and sometime told me I could just add some salt and put him in with my cichlids. Now before you guys jump over me. (No disrespect) . But I just stared my research so thats a long way away. Just asking.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

absolutely.....go for it....


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