Bumblebee Gobies Setup

[nivisec]

This will be my first brackish attempt soon, so I want to get it right. I purchased the book by Neale Monks to research what fish I really like, and the nice pictures really help to talk my wife into letting me own more fish aquariums Here is what I've come up with so far, with some questions.

My info:

• Tank size is between 20 and 37 gal (big range I know, but I'm waiting on my custom size price quotes).
• I'm 100% sure I want Bumblebee Gobies as the main tank specimen.
• I have a lot of little decorative pots to put in the tank.
• I am going to use silica sand for substrate with some type of buffering substrate in the sump.
• My wife really likes puffer fish and fancy guppies, so I'm thinking of doing one or the other with the gobies.
• I'm building the tank enclosed into the wall with a back room for access, so I"m thinking of doing a sump filtration system for it that I'll build myself which will be around 20 gal in size.
• I'm limited in wall space width, thus tank size as well.
• I know with a small tank that I'll have to be careful on my return flow rate to keep the current down.
• I've been messing with planted tanks and have managed to grow extra Java Ferns and Java Moss thus far, so I'd like to use that in the tank.
• I really like the fish "Dusky Panther Goby" (http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2532), but I doubt he'd be a good match in this tank from what I've read.

Now, my questions:

1. I have to order the gobies online since no retailers around here have any, so how many would be good for my tank sizes? I wanna get them all in one order since shipping will be expensive.
2. Will the gobies kill the fancy guppies?
3. Is having an overflow system going down to a sump a bad idea since the gobies are so small?
4. Is the tank going to be too small if we decide to get a puffer to go with the gobies (assuming the sump is about 20 gal)?
5. Am I correct in assuming the Dusky Panther Goby would be a bad match in this tank?

Any other tips, suggestions, etc is appreciated as I have no experience in Brackish yet.

 

[el_vulture619]

BBG are small so maybe 8-10 would be good for that size tank IMO

I dont think the gobies will kill the guppies, but a puffer will. Also from what I know guppies cant tolerate the high salinities that BBG and certain puffers need.

I dont know about the sump overflow, but maybe if you screen it off you wont get BBG sucked up.

Some puffers get very big so make sure you research what you can fit in you 20-30g

I have a 20g devoted to the panther goby, I love this fish! They require a higher salinity, 1.010- 1.024(full salt). Mine is 2.5in long, the biggest I have seen yet, I will be getting 2 more later! I know that the panther I keep have the mouth to eat a BBG but am not sure if they will. I often see them in the same tank as BBG but those are a lot smaller, .5-1in panthers. I keep mollies along with them to provide some free live food!

I have pics of my tank here http/brackishforum.ipbfree.net/index.php?showtopic=8

 

[ac106]

In my experience Bees need territories versus gallons

a 20 gallon long can house more then a 20 gallon high because you can create more nooks and caves for the bees

regardless you can certainly have more the 8 bees in the 20-37 range. if you are going in a species tank, i would go with ~15 in the 20G and 20+ in the 37 depending on the dimensions.

at a low salinity <1.005, you could certainly mix with guppies. The bees will take care of the fry too, so that a bonus. this is a good option if the tank is closer to 20G.

Or you could add 1-2 figure 8 puffers if the tank is closer to 37G.

or you could go with Orange Chromides for color

glassfish, halfbeaks, flagfish & mollies are all options

at very low salinities you could consider swordtails or platies too.
...
Oh one other thing. the Dusky Panther Goby is predatory and will probably eat the Bees as soon as its big enough.