will it be safe to house BBGs with t.micropleis archers? I dont know if thats the correct scientific name but its the archer that lives in 1.005 SG and grows small
Archers eat small fish. While BBGs might be safe hidden among rocks and plants, i wouldn't bank on it.
can orange chromides be kept singly or do they need to be kept in pairs? do they eat plants?
Yes, they can be kept single. But they are more fun in pairs, because you get to see them change colour (very dramatic on the green "wild" type, not obvious on the artificial bright orange morph). No, they don't eat plants. Their larger green chromides (Etroplus suratensis) may do, but not orange chromides (E. maculatus).
would Microphis brachyurus aculeatus be too large for a 55 gallon tank? Do they swim on the bottom of the tank or the top? how easy are they to care for? i like these pipefish over the smaller fw/brackish species cuz i read they are much more active. could Microphis brachyurus aculeatus live in 1.005 SG and lower? would they eat BBGs?
Pipefish are difficult to keep. They need live food and can only slowly be weaned onto alternatives (like frozen mysis). While hardy otherwise, without live food they often (usually) die a slow death. They swim all over the place. They are very active. I've seen a nice tank of them in Cologne Zoo (
pic 1,
pic 2), and they were great fun, floating about like strange space creatures. They were on their own in a thickly planted tank. Personally, I would recommend keeping them alone and only when settled in and feeding, then adding perhaps a few gobies or small livebearers. Completely incompatable with anything big or fast like cichlids or archerfish. As far as salinity goes, 1.005 should be fine.
i was reading somewhere that MTS can live in brackish. do they eat plants? what about algae? would they be a good clean-up crew? can i feed them to a GSP?
The story is that the strong shells could fracture the teeth of the pufferfish, causing long-term harm. The story is based on one report. Whether or not the report was accurate, I think a bit of common sense is important. An adult GSP or any other big puffer is going to smash open a Malayan livebearing snail regardless of how strong the shell is. These fish eat oysters and clams in the wild when they are fully grown, and a snail is nothing in comparison. The risk may be real with smaller fish, but that said, my South American puffers simply ignore large Malayan livebearing snails and only ever eat the babies around 1-2 mm long. They seem to be doing very well at controlling the population, and no harm has been done to the puffers yet. So while accidents may happen, I suspect it's like people choking on fish bones -- possible, but not a good reason not to eat fish.
Anyway, yes, they can live in brackish up to around 50% seawater. They never eat plants, but do eat algae. However, mostly they eat stuff in the sand, which makes them excellent at cleaning the sand.
You don't need a "clean up crew" in a brackish water or freshwater tank. Total myth. Clean up crews are for reef tanks, where getting dead fish or uneaten food out of the tank is difficult because of all the rocks and delicate corals. In a freshwater/brackish water tank, you can remove such things easily. By all means add snails, but you don't need to.
Cheers,
Neale
