How do I emulate estuary water?

Question

what do i mix in the water? i'm gonna use it for pipefish...the lady in the shop said that i should just add an amount of salt in the tank...they don't look too good though...i hope somebody with experience in caring for pipefishes can help me...i've already done a quick search and found that my fishes are of Hippichthys heptagonus and that they mostly live in estuaries...please help...

Answer 1

You need to create a BRACKISH water environment.  You must use marine salt to do this.  Always remember that pet shop employees are SALESpeople and know little to nothing about the animals they sell.

What type of pipefish do you have??  There are seahorses, seadragons (not available to you), and numerous other fresh, brackish and marine water pipefish.  It's quite possible that you have a freshwater pipefish and the wee amount of aquarium salt you provided is harming it.  If you have a marine or brackish pipefish, you must use marine salt.

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Hippichthys heptagonus can live in freshwater, brackish and even full marine.  The only way to provide proper care for this fish is to determine what type of water it was bred in and if it is a captive bred fish.  You picked a difficult species; one that should be reserved for keepers with expertise in keeping pipefish.  Your fish needs to be slowly acclimated to brackish water and should thrive in a full marine environment when adult.