Brackish Upgrade, Please Help

[dale_d_h]

I currently house a GSP, a Scat, 4 bumble bee gobies and 5 mollies in a 180lt Tank. because of the alcove which the tank sits in im restricted for space. but i was going to have a new tank made, 44" x 18" x 24" tall which will be 308lts. by having 1 corner of the tank rocks for caves and hiding places and the rest free swimming space for my scat (i would like to add another and a couple of monos). what do you think? will the extra height of the tank keep the free swimming fish happy and healthy.

 

[nmonks]

On the one hand, extra height means extra water, and that's a good thing. More water = water stability, and more depth = more places for your fish to explore. On the other hand, depth itself doesn't add much in terms of stocking, because surface area is more important. In practical terms, you won't really be able to add much more than a couple more fish, despite massively increasing the volume of the tank. Adding a filter that aerates the water to a high degree, such as a wet-and-dry trickle filter, might help a bit more, but otherwise what you're planning sounds just about right to me as it stands. Certainly, I wouldn't add very many more fishes.

Deep tanks are fun to decorate though. One challenge is getting the top half nice and busy. Plastic and silk plants attached to the hood or top of the tank can work wonders, by creating 3-dimensional structure at the top where puffers and gobies can move about safely.

Cheers, Neale

 

[dale_d_h]

thanx, that was what i thought. just needed someone else to say it to me, very easy to just get one minded sometimes and go ahead and do something stupid. I like the idea with the hanging plants cheers. the point of the new tank is to further improve the quality of life for the current fish, and add 2 or 3 new ones. not a livestock overhaul, so I thought it was the right thing to do. thanx for your help. any other opinions and ideas welcome.

 

[kanzaris]

Hi

Just talking from personal experience regarding Monos.
When I first started keeping Brackish Fish I started of with one Mono in a 75 gal tank and the poor thing was very shy and jumpy, I thought I do him a favour and add another for company, they started fighting. The only time Monos have worked for me is when I upgraded to a 6 ½ ft tank. I have got 5 Monos in there without to much trouble. Monos are extremely fast swimmers and need a lot of space.

Sabby

 

[dale_d_h]

thanx i'll take that on board. the big plan is a 6'+ tank in the dinning room. but that cant be done in the near future so this intermediate upgrade is going to be done for now. so then i can look at catfish ect. anymore ideas or info is still most welcome, ive never kept archer fish, will they like the extra dept im having?

 

[nmonks]

Archers are easy to look after. Keep either one or at least four; in twos and threes they tend to fight. They couldn't care less about the water depth, since they stay at the top most of the time.

Cheers, Neale

ive never kept archer fish, will they like the extra dept im having?