Is A Brakish For Me?

[caino]

I just got a ~11 imp gal, 2foot tank for shell dwelling cichlids, but it turns one of my friends from collage kept but has given up and is potentially going to give me the same tank, its a rekord 60 but on this one the internal box is removed, i will have to get an new filter for it. Only problem is im only 17 and i can only put tanks in my room, due to a "lack of space" anywhere else as my parents say, but hey and iv kinda run out of space with 3 tanks going at the moment.

Anyway, if i was to find some space and accept the tank would it be advisable to turn it into a brackish aquaria because most people say start of a new this with as big a tank as you can find, i mean im perfectly happy to have f/w was just interested in something a little different. If i can what fish would you advise, so i can start to do a little reaserch

thanks for your time

Tom

 

[rob newland]

Ok the juwel site says it is a 54 litre tank, if you were looking to go brackish you could probably keep:
A few smaller gobies or
A figure 8 puffer, plus maybe some bbgs if you want
Or mollies, but I'm guessing you want somethin different.

Nmonks will probably give you better advice than me...
HTH,
Rob

 

[caino]

Ok the juwel site says it is a 54 litre tank

yeh 54 Litre(s) = 11.8783158924 Gallon(s) i love the internet. Yes i have been looking at the figure of 8 puffers, but there seems to be some oppsing views on how big they acctually grow, but i am open to more suggestions thanks for answer

 

[kanzaris]

Hi

I have got a 15 gal and I have got one Figure 8 Puffer and two Gobies in there.
I had the Figure 8 for a year and he has not grown much. It's the Green Spotted Puffers that get big.


Sabby

 

[DarkEntity]

Tetraodon Biocellatus - Figure 8 Puffers grow to about 8-10cm 3"-4".
Id say that 10-15 gallons is the bare minimum for a Fig8. They require low end brackish water. Bumblebee gobies are a decent partner for the Fig8 but are fairly hard to look after.

 

[caino]

hmm, ill do a lot more research on the figure of 8 and brackish in general before i decide weather to get the tank or not, thanks for the replies

 

[kanzaris]

hmm, ill do a lot more research on the figure of 8 and brackish in general before i decide weather to get the tank or not, thanks for the replies

Hi

Do as much research as you can. I learned the hard way. I trusted the LFS and bought all the wrong fish. That’s why I have got two Brackish Tanks now.

Sabby

 

[DarkEntity]

If you want info from experienced Puffer keepers there is a forum dedicated to them. Have a google for The Puffer Forum

 

[caino]

Heya i have decided to turn down the offor from my friend as i have got no room, however i have decided to revise the option of shell dwelling cichlids as my coral sand may be to coarse for them and i may still turn to brackish yet, here is a picture of the tank.

its a juwel rekord 60, approx 54 litres (11 imperial gallons). It has the internal filter box in with 280 lph powerhead, 50watt heater and normal monolux juwel dayligh flurecent tube, what else would i need to turn this tank brackish?

 

[Breeze7050]

Going brackish is fairly simple... all you need is some ocean/marine salt, a hydrometer - this will tell you the specific gravity of your water, and a seperate bucket for mixing your salt/water -- don't want to get it in with your freshwater fish! Most people will recommend getting an air pump and aerating the salt water mix for about an hour before adding it to the tank. That should do it for a low end brackish!

 

[DarkEntity]

You are actually better runing a powerhead in the bucket with a heater overnight to mix the water and salt properly.

 

[rob newland]

Brackish is easy - the fish can take varying salinities with water changes so you don't have to be precise - in fact it kinda mimics the tides; so as I don't have to add much salt (I'm pretty sure it was CFC or some other experienced person who told me this on irc) I just make up a 2ltr jug with a high sg (lots of salt in other words), then just slowly add a small amount - leave it for a bit, check the sg of the tank and repeat until you get the level you want.

Puffers are easy to keep, if you do it properly - there is many people on here (including myself) who can help you.
Rob

 

[caino]

Yeh, brackish is looking more lightly as i cant seem to get my hands on teh FW fish i want, im still unsure, would a figure of 8 be ok in this tank, and what, if any tank mates can go in with it?

 

[caino]

Yeh, brackish is looking more lightly as i cant seem to get my hands on teh FW fish i want, im still unsure, would a figure of 8 be ok in this tank, and what, if any tank mates can go in with it?

Edit: I am probably going to do the brackish thing now, done a lot of reading, thanks to nmonks for his FAQ. My filter is the standard juwel one that comes, its 280lph in 54 liter tank, will the turnover be largenouh?

 

[DarkEntity]

Large enough for what?

it really depends on what you plan to try and keep.

For Puffers then no its not. For their size Puffers are extremely messy. I for example have 2 Salivators (freshwater) which max out at about 5-6cm yet have their 65litre tank runing with a 100+ litre filter plus twice weekly water changes.