Little Help...

[jkrekord]

Hey. Well its been a while since i was last active on here but im back now.
So as some of you know i was planning on getting a bigger tank for a marine set up, well this aint gonna happen for a while now due to the fact i lost my job.
I want to get my tank sorted now, its is 100 litres, i have a crushed coral sand substrate and a bit of decor in the form of shells and stuff.
Fish i would be interested in keeping would be...
1 or 2 Figure 8 Puffers.
1 Knight Goby
Some BumbleeBee Gobys, what would be a good amount?
And possibly a Kribensis and solitary Black Molly.
Is this realistically possible?
In terms of decor what would you advise?
I would like to keep the costs low.
Cheers, James

 

[nmonks]

Hello,

Sorry about your job. Hope something turns up soon!

Anyway, in 100 litres, I'd certainly go with the figure-8s and the BBGs. Knight gobies are predators, and view BBGs as food, so it's an either/or situation in terms of which goby you decide to keep. Personally, I think BBGs are better in a small tank.

Kribs really don't belong in brackish water tanks, so in all honesty I'd go with a chromide instead. That'll give you much more flexibility in terms of salinity. As for the molly, while these are fine in themselves, they do tend to get nipped by puffers, so a case of try it out if you want, but have a Plan B just in case.

I wouldn't use just coral sand for the substrate. A mix of 4 parts silica sand to one part coral sand will buffer the water just as well, and look a lot prettier. Be cheaper too. It's worth making the point that unless the substrate is part of an undergravel filter, its impact on pH and hardness is very slight.

Cheers, Neale

 

[jkrekord]

I already have the coral sand. How many BBG's would you reccomend? And would the Chromide be best kept on its own?
What sort of wood's would you reccomend? I've heard bad things about bog wood in brackish.

 

[nmonks]

Allow 1-2 gallons per BBG, assuming LOTS of caves.

Orange chromides (Etroplus maculatus) can indeed be kept singly, though the other two species (Etroplus suratensis and Etroplus canarensis) are both schooling fish.

Bogwood sometimes rots faster in brackish than freshwater conditions. Depends somewhat on the type of bogwood, the hard mopani wood doing much better than the cheap dark brown bogwood that is pretty flaky anyway. Since bogwood can potentially lower the pH is water changes and buffering are inadequate, there's an argument to eschew it altogether in favour of ceramic or plastic wood ornaments.

Cheers, Neale

I already have the coral sand. How many BBG's would you reccomend? And would the Chromide be best kept on its own?
What sort of wood's would you reccomend? I've heard bad things about bog wood in brackish.

 

[jennybugs]

I have a Jewel Rekord 120 - a nice metre long tank, and have 2 F8s and 9 bumblebee gobies in. It's my favourite tank and it has evolved steadily from real plants with bogwood to silk plants and a 'faux' mangrove root ornament in.

I had the basic lighting on the tank (1xT8 tube) and it wasn't good enough to sustain the plants. I recommend getting hold of a copy of Neale's book as it is a hive of great info for keeping a brackish tank and there's information about the puffers and the gobies in it as well.

Good luck with this idea. I have found my tank and fish have grown well and are all healthy and happy and a constant pleasure to look after and enjoy