Help With A Possible Brackish Setup?

[JonathanT]

I have been out of the fish hobby for a long time, but I'm about to finally get a job (hopefully at a nearby PetSmart) so I'll be able to actually afford setting up a tank again (I get free rent at home, after all). Basically what I want to do is set up a brackish tank, with a violet goby being my main attraction. I'm thinking a 55 gallon tank, with a sandy bottom, driftwood decor (real or fake), and some planting (java moss/fern?).

The only fish I know for certain I want is the violet goby, of course. I'm not sure what brackish fish would do well in the same setup with him, without being a danger. I really love snowflake eels (I'm not sure if they really are snowflakes, they are often called freshwater morays which is rather improper), ever since I saw a few of them in a pet store. But, I think they would be better suited to a larger tank more oriented around them, than the smaller fare that I'm talking about. So, I was thinking perhaps a spiney eel of some sort? I've known of them for quite some time, but it seems now that I'm hearing they do best (or only thrive) in brackish water. Might be the perfect match to complete the oddball aspect I'm after.

I'd also need some small fish to make an attractive display, perhaps something like glassfish? I believe they are too big to be seen as food by a large spiney eel, and wouldn't bother a big fellow like the goby. With a lot of java moss and java fern I'm sure it would be quite a nice environment for a small school of them.

I wouldn't mind considering anything that would fit the 55 gallon and add some more oddball element. As long as it can cohabitate with the others.

I do want to avoid puffers, though. I'd like to someday set up a species tank of puffers, I just don't want them in >this< tank. Too unpredictable for my tastes, at this point...


If anyone can give me some tips, or point out problems with this setup, I'd be very grateful! I won't be doing this for a good few months, so there's plenty of time to plan!

-Jonathan

 

[nmonks]

Hello Jonathan!

A tank exclusively for a violet goby (or more than one, if you have some space to work with) is a good idea. In the wild, they live in sandy estuaries, and couldn't care less about decorations. An empty tank with a bottom of sand sufficiently deep for the fish to dig into would be all it could possibly desire. Plastic (PVC) tubing sold for use as plumbing and guttering works superbly well if you want to make these fish some burrows of their own instead of having a particularly deep sand substrate. If you have multiple violete gobies, have multiple tubes. That way, they will certainly threaten one another (which is rather fun to watch) but no harm will be done.

One suggesting might be to try and re-create the natural habitat of these fish. Use some sand as the substrate, add only a few water-worn pebbles and plant either plastic seaweeds or something like Vallisneria to create a "seagrass" look around the edges. Otherwise, some Java fern and Java moss on some rocks would do the trick too, creating something a bit more like a brackish swamp.

For tankmates, go for wild-type sailfin mollies: besides adding movement, they'll trim the algae nicely, and some of their fry will be a tasty snack for the violet gobies. You could also use Florida flagfish, which come from the same Southeastern United States, but any other brackish water killifish would work well, too, such as Asian panchax (colourful, hardy, but oh so predatory!). There are some brackish water banjo catfish that would make superb additions to this type of tank (e.g. Aspredo aspredo and Platystacus cotylephorus) but these are pretty uncommon in the hobby, and you'd likely have to order them in. At SG 1.003, all these fish, plus some plants, would work well.

Moray eels aren't a great choice because they need fairly high salinities over the long term. Spaghetti eels (Moringua raitaborua) are much better as they need only a little salt and not seawater at all, but they are fairly uncommon. On the plus side, though true eels of a sort, they are small and harmless invertebrate eaters and can (should) be kept in groups for best effect.

A spiny eel would work at SG 1.003, but none of the spiny eels really *wants* brackish water, so they're not fish I usually recommend for this type of aquarium. It's a total myth that they need salt: mostly they live in freshwater rivers and lakes, often in fairly soft and acidic water. The addition of salt is more to do with preventing skin infections when they are otherwise kept in the wrong type of accommodation.

Glassfish would work perfectly in this system, but note that most species are strictly or mostly freshwater, so choose your species with care. The common glassfish Parambassis ranga is tolerant of brackish water, but it certainly doesn't need it. African ("clay") sleeper gobies (Dormitator lebretonis) would make another excellent addition. They are a nice size and swim about in midwater, and best of all are mildly territorial, so that if you keep a group they will spend all day chasing one another about.

Any of the flatfish/soles would work well. At SG 1.003, even the truly freshwater species will do acceptably well, and the common hogchokers and Asian brackish water species of Brachirus will do particularly well.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[JonathanT]

Thanks for the excellent reply Neale! I've actually read some of your stuff back when I was in the hobby, I'm quite impressed I got my first reply from a pro like you.

I'm glad to see that the long tailed banjos are brackish! I've always wanted to keep a banjo, but never found one back when I had my old aquarium. I'll probably have to order them for sure, for some reason around here I don't ever see banjo cats of any species.

I'm not terribly fond of having mollies in this particular setup. I'd rather stick with glassfish for a middle species...

So the spiney eels really are freshwater and not brackish. Well I guess two eel like fish wouldn't really be a good use of my space anyway. I'm after a 55 gallon setup, since I don't have a lot of room. So how about this as the basic setup:

SG 1.003
Sandy bottom, some debris and java moss/ferns. I read that java moss and ferns do well even without bright lighting, since is good since I would want a subdued light environment.
1 Violet Goby (obviously)
6 or so Indian Glassfish (I've kept them before, nice fish)
2 Banjo Catfish (brackish species)

I like glassfish as a nice middle fish, but that leaves the top of the tank somewhat empty. What about halfbeaks? I've done some research lately and it seems they are much less complicated than I thought, as long as they are properly acclimated. They are also another fascinating oddball fish, after all, and that's what I like (so far the glassfish are the only non-odd species I have planned).

I'm not terribly familiar with sleeper gobies, though I hear the name quite often. Would they be considerable as denizens in this specific setup?

Thanks for all the help!

-Jonathan

 

[nmonks]

Hello Jonathan,

Thanks for the kind words.

Baensch (vol. 2, p. 438-9) suggests up to SG 1.010 for Platystacus cotylephorus, and makes the point that they need sand to dig into. These sound ideal catfish for the aquarium you have in mind. Males are grey and females are black, so it's well worth getting two and seeing if you can breed them! The female sticks the eggs to her belly, apparently. I've seen these big banjos only periodically, and so while they are in the trade, they're likely a special order. Given they also do well in hard freshwater and are completely peaceful, why they aren't mor popular is a mystery to me.

There are plenty of other livebearers you might think about. In open tanks I find that having some surface dwellers makes the tank more realistic. In fact, in Florida the surface waters of estuaries are often filled with small fish such as baby marine halfbeaks, so I think wrestling halfbeaks would do the trick nicely. Nomorhamphus spp. would be less suitable because they don't really like brackish water, though it probably won't harm them if the SG is kept low. But they won't breed in it. Wrestling halfbeaks don't mind brackish water at all, and should breed in it quite freely.

Only a few spiny eels "do" brackish, and even those ones don't need it, so on balance they're best left out. If you wanted to go with them, then something like Macrognathus aral or M. siamensis is probably the way to go. Both these tolerate low-end brackish and are easy to obtain in the hobby (M. siamensis is one of the peacock spiny eels, and is very commonly misidentified in aquarium books as Macrognathus acuelatus)

Re: debris and plants. One trick that works well with fish that like sand is to put the plants on the tops of "tree root" type ornaments and bogwood. This way, the plants are closer to the light and cast shadow across the bottom of the tank. The effect, if it's done properly, is like a sunken forest, with the greenery above and the patches of shade and light below. This also means the fish can dig about with the risk of smothering or uprooting the plants. Plants at the top also inhibit the jumping behaviour of things like spiny eels.

Your mix of fish sounds nice.

I think glassfish are delightfully odd! Try hunting out the less common species. There are some very nice "olive glassfish", Ambassis agrammus, doing the rounds. It's like a slightly tinted, stocky glassfish with a very tall dorsal fin. Glassfish are closely related to snook, as you probably know, and that's one reason I like seeing them in brackish tanks. Snook are so common in estuaries, that having a mini-snook in the tank adds a note of authenticity.

Sleeper gobies are a sister group of the "true" gobies. Most are in the 10-15 cm range, and almost all are predators of some type. There are plenty along the coastline of the Americas living alongside violet gobies. The problem is the common one. Dormitator maculatus, is gigantic (30 cm+) and though hardy and peaceful will eat anything it can overpower. Dormitator lebretonis is from West Africa and is otherwise identical in looks but a fraction of the size (~10 cm) so apart from small guppies isn't much of a threat to anything. It's really an omnivore and needs a mix of small inverts and algae to do well. Another reason I like this species is it is a midwater fish, which is unusual for gobies. In a group of half a dozen, they will bicker almost constantly, much as bumblebee gobies do.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[JonathanT]

Thank you for all the information! I'm getting a very good idea now of what I'm going to do with this tank...

You're planting idea seems to be a very good way to do it that will not allow the bumbling violet goby to plow the plants over (especially in a sand substrate), but will still look as you said like an underwater forest.

I was looking through your brackish water FAQ on your site, and I developed a few concerns:

Would SG 1.003 be too little for a violet goby to be happy and healthy in the long term?
Would the brackish banjo cats likewise be able to survive that low of a SG?
Would 1.005 be better, without being too much for the wrestling halfbeaks and glassfish?
In a 55 gallon tank, how many clay gobies would you recommend along with my current planned load?
Likewise, how many wrestling halfbeaks?

And last but not least, what temperature should I make this kind of setup?

I think after I clear up these little concerns I'll be able to really start doing the actual planning for this unique little tank!

It will be my re-entry to the hobby, and hopefully the last since I will continue it from then on. I have so many plans for other tanks...but all in due time.

-Jonathan

 

[nmonks]

Would SG 1.003 be too little for a violet goby to be happy and healthy in the long term?

SG 1.005 would be better, but all else being equal it should adapt to slightly less. SG 1.005 would be fine for Java ferns, provided they were acclimated carefully and in good shape otherwise (i.e., given enough light and regular fertilisation).

Would the brackish banjo cats likewise be able to survive that low of a SG?

Fresh or slightly brackish, they don't care.

Would 1.005 be better, without being too much for the wrestling halfbeaks and glassfish?

Both these species will adapt to 1.005 just fine.

In a 55 gallon tank, how many clay gobies would you recommend along with my current planned load?

Difficult to say, but I'd have though five or six would be fine. Depends on the filtration, what sort of bogwood/roots you have for territories, and so on.

Likewise, how many wrestling halfbeaks?

They're so small it hardly matters in a 55 gallon tank. Personally, I think halfbeaks are best in a group of one male to three or four females. But in a big tank you can probably get away with multiple males, though Dermogenys spp. are quite a bit more aggressive than Nomorhamphus spp.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[JonathanT]

Excellent, so perhaps the way to go is to start out with an SG of around 1.003 and work my way up to 1.005 as everything acclimates. I am a bit concerned about wrestling halfbeaks since you stated they are the more difficult species to keep in your brackish FAQ, but since you say they would probably do the trick in the kind of setup I'm going for... Maybe I can try going with 10 and if it doesn't do well stick to half that many thereafter.

I plan to have a powerful external filter (canister filters or something like that, anything more powerful and sophisticated than the side slung ones I'm used too), so as long as I have plenty of decor upwards of six clay gobies should be fine as far as bioload goes.

So:
1 Violet Goby
2 Brackish Species Banjo Catfish
6 Glassfish
6 Clay Gobies (depending on decor)
2 Male Wrestling Halfbeaks (Reduce to 1 in case of excessive aggression)
8 Female Wrestling Halfbeaks (Reduce to 4 in case of excessive aggression)
Java Moss/Java Fern planting, possibly some small floating plants for the halfbeaks.

I think I'm pretty much set to start making plans. In your opinion though, how long should I cycle the tank before adding fish? Which fish should be added first? Would it be wise to get all of a species I plan to have at once, then wait a certain amount of time before adding the next species?

Thank you for the excellent assistance, I never before had the honor of being helped by someone who really knows what they are talking about so intimately. I think I'll do much better this time, since I have a plan ahead of time AND I won't be going on the word of poorly trained pet store employees!

-Jonathan

 

[ECCO_]

Thanks JonathanT
it helped. Keep in touch.

 

[JonathanT]

Thanks JonathanT
it helped. Keep in touch.

Will do ECCO! Looks like I'll be getting a petsmart job as an Animal Care Specialist after all, and much sooner than previously planned. I'll be starting on that brackish tank as soon as I have some income to work with

I'll be sure to take pictures of all stages of setup, you should do the same with yours! Maybe we can compare notes once things are up and running...

 

[ECCO_]

Thanks JonathanT
it helped. Keep in touch.

Will do ECCO! Looks like I'll be getting a petsmart job as an Animal Care Specialist after all, and much sooner than previously planned. I'll be starting on that brackish tank as soon as I have some income to work with

I'll be sure to take pictures of all stages of setup, you should do the same with yours! Maybe we can compare notes once things are up and running...

Ill be sure to...... I wish to work at a local petstore aswell, I just need to know how old I need to be. That way Id do what I love (work with animals) and Id have access to buying better fish and the supplies.
Another thing, some one told me Dragon fish eat live food, is it true.......

 

[JonathanT]

I'm sure they'll eat small live food if it gets in their mouth, but I can say almost certainly it's not needed. Most people swear by shrimp pellets for them, but mine honestly ate just about everything that landed on the aquarium substrate, except for tankmates obviously. He even ate algae tablets to some extent, but he didn't seem to be terribly fond of them (he usually ignored them altogether). I've heard they sometimes scrape algae off rocks with their sharp teeth, but I'm guessing it's mainly if they aren't getting enough food filter feeding.

-Jonathan

 

[JonathanT]

Well, I sent in my application and go back to PetSmart in a couple days. Hopefully they have a reasonable employee discount, will help me get back into the hobby!