Mudskipper Tank...

[Eclecticoldsod]

I am planning on building a brackish water tank for mud skippers. I think I have all the basics worked out – salinity, filtration, plants, humidity, and land/water percentage (we will have to see if I am right, of course..!)
But I have one basic question – What about MUD..?
They are called MUDskippers, after all! I can find no references or pictures [from the wild] where these creatures appear on a sand/crushed coral beach. They are not called Mudskippers for nothing – they live and breed on MUD..!
I'm planning on a simple crushed tufa and sand 'beach' at one end of the tank, and a two/three-level one at the other end – with sand at the base– leading up to some good old River Thames mud...
I do realise that this will lead to some additional problems with filtration and water clarity – but can anyone come up with a serious, scientific reason why this should not be better (more natural) for the species of fish that has to live there..?

 

[Shrimper]

I am planning on building a brackish water tank for mud skippers. I think I have all the basics worked out – salinity, filtration, plants, humidity, and land/water percentage (we will have to see if I am right, of course..!)
But I have one basic question – What about MUD..?
They are called MUDskippers, after all! I can find no references or pictures [from the wild] where these creatures appear on a sand/crushed coral beach. They are not called Mudskippers for nothing – they live and breed on MUD..!
I'm planning on a simple crushed tufa and sand 'beach' at one end of the tank, and a two/three-level one at the other end – with sand at the base– leading up to some good old River Thames mud...
I do realise that this will lead to some additional problems with filtration and water clarity – but can anyone come up with a serious, scientific reason why this should not be better (more natural) for the species of fish that has to live there..?

I've got no idea if they need mud or not, but if you do go that route i wouldn't use River Thames mud. I spent a lot of time on canal and river boats as a kid and the mud in the bottom of rivers is not something you would want in your tank. Its a thick, sticky, black mess that stinks. Although there are laws against it now in the past most boats just dumped their human waste straight into the water so you can imagine what a lot of this mud is made of . Plus this would be a really easy way to bring pest snails into the tank. I've seen plain unfertilized garden soil recommended for some planted tanks so i suppose you could use that.

 

[Eclecticoldsod]

Thanks, Shrimper. You may well be right, but the river mud I was thinking about is the mud found in my (Windsor) area – a sort of well-washed sandy/mud mix found at the downstream ends of small mid-Thames islands. (I love snails, and worry about not being able to get enough ones for a brackish tank..!)
I am even tempted by some of the rich, gloopy, real muck I could drag from the fringes of my own lake in Windsor Great Park... [OK, it's actually Her Majesty's lake, but she lets me play around in it as much as I want..!]
That stuff don't half pong! But I reckon that's only because it is rich in nutrients that a Mud skipper could well enjoy. Bit of aeration bubbling through it, I reckon it could be really good stuff..!

OK, I'm counting this as one down, so far – but I'm still looking for mud-lovers......