Alluding to the experience of a Corpus Christi correspondent who collected his mollies in pools that were actually hypersaline (saltier than ocean water at a specific gravity of 1.026), I noted that he was able to very gradually shift them over to his hard (but salt free) tap water. The only problem he faced was that with a very high pH with his tap water, he really had to keep up with water changes. Ammonia is MUCH more toxic at a higher pH.
I also observed that sailfin were found as far north as Arkansas. That's not a very saline area. ;)
It was mentioned (similar to some Guppylog pontifications) that Asian fish farms added salt to their livebearers water because their rain forest water (lots of rain) was too soft and too low in TDS (Total Dissolved Solids). I nattered on about how just cheap sodium chloride was deficient in a lot of the useful minerals found in genuine hard water streams and lakes.
S.R. replied:
Agreed that mollies have been collected up river as well as in estuaries... in fact even sharks like the bull shark have been found up river in lower saline to no saline presence. (U.S. note: so long as the water is tropically warm.) Over several years of collecting trips for my university, we frequently found mollies among the mangrove roots in estuaries. In fact, mollies were found in many similar habitats while collecting around the Gulf of Mexico.
RE: Asian farms,
As a former importer/wholesaler we found that we would have to excessively load incoming livebearers with salt and then slow drip dilute the holding tanks back to Chicago Area water....this was especially an issue with guppies coming in from Singapore.
Normal receiving procedures were to check initial shipping bag pH level, adjust the new holding tank to that pH and then start acclimation. Slow- drip method would them be used to re-adjust pH in holding tank to Chicago Area water so fish could be released for sale.....
After evaluating livebearer losses, we also check TDS and salinity with a refractometer. The exporters would only confirm that a lot of salt was used, but there were no consistency regarding qty of salts used. "Handfuls to small buckets" of salts were added to the holding vats in Asia....
..........
That explains why so many commercial sources recommend adding salt. If the fish were verrrry gradually walked down from such a salt level, they would be fine. If those mollies and guppies weren't incrementally "desalted" there were all sorts of "mystery deaths." Rapid changes in hardness, pH and STD can tear up and hemorrhage gills pretty badly.
I don't know if all commercial importers are as conscientious as Mr. Robbins.
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