Figure Of 8, Monos And Scats

[mattdurkin]

Hi All,
I saw a lovely display tank at sister's lfs with figure of 8 puffers, monos and scats all happily getting on. Actually the puffers were largely keeping out of the way behind some large rocks, the scats pecking at some unknown food amongst the gravel (yes I could take a guess ) and the monos hovering gracefully about the place.
The tank was a bit heavily stocked - but all inhabitants seemed to be getting on OK.

So - I have a few questions. Has anyone here ever kept these fish together? What salt levels would these need - I though the F8s wanted about 1.005 and that monos and scats need at least 1.010. This said, I've read that the F8s are ok up to and including full marine...
I was considering bumblebee gobies with F8s, but I suspect they are better at lower SG levels than the monos and scats would need?
Also - are there any shrimp that would survive with these tankmates, or would they become a meal for the puffers? (I had dwarf puffers in the past happily living with shrimp)

Anyway - I'm looking for advice - I really liked the fish combination and if it's not completely insane would like to give it a go.
Thanks,
Matt

 

[nmonks]

Maintaining scats, monos, and Figure-8s at anything between SG 1.008 to 1.012 would be absolutely fine, especially if you took care to keep good water quality and a nice high carbonate hardness to prevent pH fluctuations. Contrary to myth, scats and monos do not need an especially high salinity, and certainly DO NOT need increasing salinity towards marine conditions as they mature. Water quality and carbonate hardness are far more important.

BBGs will be fine at this salinity to, though I'd imagine the monos might eat them. Knight gobies or sleeper gobies of some sort would be a better choice.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kimberly*brackish]

i have a 72 gal brackish tank with 2 scats 1 mono and 2 gsp !! they all get along and do well with eachother!! i also have balloon mollies and reg mollies along with a dragonfish and 1 guppie! my sal is 1.003! and they do fine! once th puffers are like 3-4 in long i will up the salt but that will be a while thier like 1-1.5'' now prob! thier not so big yet! but as they grow they say to up the salt. u dont start out with the sal. high! u work ur way up as if they were in that natural habitat!

i recently had my first batch of balloon molly fry and have them in a 1 gal tank until a few weeks and i will put them in with all the rest. i expect the othe rfish to eat some unfortunately but with a livebearer like the molly theyl multiply really quick and i offer lots of hiding places for the fry let cross our finger with my fry lol. hope my info can help!!

 

[nmonks]

"They" may say this, but it is absolutely wrong. Scats and monos, as well as archerfish and green spotted puffers and most of the other brackish water fishes, DO NOT go from freshwater into the sea as they mature. This idea is derived (I suppose) from analogy with things like eels and salmon that breed in one environment but live most of their lives in another.

Brackish water fish are euryhaline. That means they can adapt, at will, to any salinity regime. In the wild they will be living in places where the salinity changes all the time. Often, they will be moving between freshwater and seawater once or twice per day. You can take coin-sized monos and stick them in a marine aquarium if you want, and they'll do fine. Conversely, you can take an adult scat and acclimate it to near-freshwater conditions in a matter of minutes.

As far as the aquarist is concerned, all they need to know is this: few brackish water fish do well indefinitely kept at salinities below SG 1.005. In other words, you can't keep them in a freshwater tank. But beyond that, keep the salinity at whatever you like. Adjust it with each water change if you want, though take care not to "shock" the filter bacteria. A high pH (around 8) and a high level of carbonate hardness (at least 5-7 degrees KH) are both much more critical issues.

Cheers, Neale

but as they grow they say to up the salt. u dont start out with the sal. high! u work ur way up as if they were in that natural habitat!