Planting Brackish Aquaria

[Mads]

Love this thread.
 
My main problem with a planted brackish water tank is ensuring the right salinity. I use a floater see link below. But I'm unsure if it is accurate enough? I'm trying to keep the salinity between 0,003 - 0,005.  
 
http/www.aqua-medic.de/index.php?r=catalog/product&cid=48&id=31
 
Regards
Mads 

 

[maurizio]

Hej Mads,
and welcome to TFF!
 
I bet you mean 1.003-1.005. My tank is at SG 1.002 @ 25 C.
 
Remember that in most cases brackish fish don't care of small variations, which do happen all the time in the real environment. As for the plants, it's another matter, and surely those values are the upper limit. All other parameters (ferts, lighting, water) must be spot-on for them to survive.
 
So far I had no good results, even in such a low salinity (I use myself a hydrometer, looks identical to yours) with Ceratophyllum, Limnobium, Java moss. I have now some Vallisneria and Cryptocoryne, planted a couple of weeks ago. Let's see...
 
Cheers
 
Maurizio

 

[Mads]

Thanks - yes I'm new to the page. not enough people in Denmark for brackish water forum... to few nerds

Good to hear you are using same salimeter though slightly lower salinity. Only few plant in my current tank grows at 1.005; the eleocharis parvula and Lotus zenkeri I'll lover the salinity a bit.

Looking forward to hear your experiences with your plants. Couldn't get java Moss to grow at 1,005...

Regards
Mads

 

[maurizio]

Indeed, great to hear of another brackish fan in DK!
 
Nice plants you have in there! How long have you been running it? And what fishes?
 
You can read all about mine in my signature below.
 
Cheers
 
Maurizio

 

[Mads]

Thanks - I had a planted freshwater tank before, so it's quite different to go to brackish - but also good fun.
 
Now you have to focus on another parameter; the salinity. So it's the golden six parameters; Light, Temperature, Circulation, CO-2, Fertilizers and Salinity to keep track of to ensure plant growth and fight algae. 
 
My brackish tank is a goby family species tank with atlantic mudskippers, blue bellied goby, empire gudgeon and of cause the easy going bumble bee goby. One asian filter shrimp also came along from my old tank, and seem to be doing all right. The tank was established in july, and I'm still learning the importance of controlling the salinity with great accuracy... for instance that it might be a good idea to control get the right salinity before adding the new water to the tank. Do you check the salinity before adding new water?
 
Nice to hear other danes are in this forum
 
regards 
Mads

 

[maurizio]

Mods may want to move this into a new thread within the same forum!
 
Not a Dane myself (Italian), but living in DK since quite some years.

 
Obviously evaporation may alter your salinity, but it should be really in large amounts to make a difference. Otherwise, no, I stopped checking salinity long ago. Also, the hydrometer is a very unprecise instrument, heavily affected by temperature. I prepare the salt water at the SG (@ 25 C) I want before adding it to the tank (I check temperature by finger (!), and use my shower to fill buckets where salt has been previously distributed). Really, no need to be particularly precise, as long as you deal with these small SG numbers, and allow only small variations. For example, nowadays I fill in salty water only every 2-3 water changes, giving the plants a break and allowing some salinity fluctuations, which is good for the fish.
 
Great bunch of fish you have in there! So, you have a beach for the skippers? That's was my very first plan!! I've been discouraged by a number of factors, among others a long conversation with Neale Monks. Also, are you sure of the species? The Atlantic (P. barbarus) tends to be a real bastard, at least with its conspecific.
 
Me, with three nasty archers, I can't keep much else in there. Considering a nice Procambarus clarkii, which they'll probably leave alone, given its size, but it will reduce the plants to a pulp. So, since I decided that this is my last attempt with plants, if I don't succeed with them I'll get one!

 
I'm a mangrove nerd, but I haven't still seen mudskippers in all my travels!

 
Cheers!
 
Maurizio

 

[Mads]

Nice to meet people from DK in an international forum! Haha
 
Fine to move the thread to a subject that fits better. 
 
I thought about arhcers too, they where my intial plan after I saw this video:
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=12g_TC_g6Eg
 
But my tank is open topped so they would jump out or just spit out all the time, so had to dump the idea. Then in Indonesia, I saw mudskippers live in small pools near the sea and I just had to  get mudskippers. At the fish shop "Fikken" at Amager they often have mudskippers, and I bought two atlantic mudskippers.
 
I've got to mudskippers in a tank with a small beach area with sand, and they don't fight. Can't sex them, but I think the small one is a female and the large one is a male because of the size, but it's a guess. So to be honest they could be an adult and a junior mudskipper
 
The Procambarus clarkii looks crazy, does it live go on land too?
 
I've got mangrove seedlings too, but havent got especially god luck with them.
 
Regards
Mads

 

[maurizio]

WOW, mangroves! Mines are doing quite well, now. One is really big, and soon I'll have to elevate the tank lid!
 
In my (b)log below you'll find a number of videos of my archers shooting, as well as some pics of my mangroves. Everything quite old, though: I got so depressed with my diatom problem, I almost stopped writing in there.
 
To my knowledge P. clarkii is not an amphibious: water only. Very sturdy character, but no plants or small fish allowed with him! The blue version is amazing. I saw it every now and then in shops (I'm in Aalborg).

 

[Mads]

It's some cool videos of your archers and rainbows.
 
I'm not sure of how to attach ´photoes to the tread, do you know how?
 
your mangrove seedlings seems to be hanging above the substrate. Is that to make a visible root network?

 

[maurizio]

Depending on the forum/thread (couldn't figure yet what the real rule is), you can directly upload a small picture file in your post. The most common approach, however, is to link to an external database (see the aquarium photo forum, they explain how to do that), using the Image button above your text.
 
Yep, leaving the seedlings hanging is the only way to stimulate prop roots: if buried, they'll simply generate a network of "common" roots underground, and you'll never see the usual beauty of these trees. Ideally, but it requires a lot of space, one should gradually expose the growing roots to air, thus stimulating further growth: here's the best article I found on the topic.
 
I hope to take soon a pic of the present status, they've grown quite a bit since last shots.

 

[Malex530]

Anything special for Widgeon Grass? What kind of fertilizer?