My Brackish Tank And Suggestions Archer, Moray Eel, Scats

[meyerev]

Well I am a new member here and am slowly acclimating my fish to brackish water.

What I Have
I have a 26 Gallon Bow Front tank. My setup includes ciclade sand, a Rean Smart Filter 30 (Biofall and square filters), a cheep 120 watt underwater heater, a Good 80 watt (I want to say stealth) heater, Normal florescent light with tight fitting lid, and a 3/4 watt blue led coral light. For decor I have multiple fake plants (one is able to reach the surface), drift wood, slate, and another kind of rock.

For fish
I have 2 banded archers 5 black bands around 2"
2 Red Scats
1 14" Snowflake Morey Eel
1 I guess mystery snail (Two died this week one somehow fell to the floor and one just stopped moving last night
and 1 Red clawed Crab for waste control was my thought and he can get to and sit on the surface

The chemicals I use are Nutrafin Cycle, Nutrafin Aqua Plus, and Nutrafin Waste Control
My twmp is around 79 Degree F

My food sources are half a cube of bloodworms or brine shrimp. (For the scats and somewhat Archers)
Large crickets on stems above water (this you tube video is my tank) for the archers
Frozen krill 2 to 3 a day/ night for the eel
and a disc of algae every now and then for the snail

I do a 10 % water change every week and replenish with reverse osmosis water with about 2 tbs of instant ocean salt for every three gallons

This is because when I purchased these fish they were in fresh water.
Right now my salinity is around .003

When I do a water change I change the scenery around to help keep my fish slightly uncomfortable to not attack each other

As you can probably tell from the waste control chemical and the crab I am pretty paranoid of waste control any suggestions?

My eel is kind of a picky eater right now I feed him the krill on a safety pin tied with undied cotton string and go fishing. This is because the krill float otherwise. I have fed him guppies before and he ate my original tester gold fish and algae eaters? The guy at the store said they feed their freshwater electric eel and lungfish cubes of channel catfish. I was over joyed when I watched my first cube sink. But as all good things the eel had no interest in this tougher meat. Any ideas on different foods for him. I am very very nervous about feeder fish and disease but I do not like feeding the same food over and over I feel this can cause bad health as well.

As you can tell I like rare and interesting fish. Do I have space to add more fish, I have been reading up on the freshwater flounder

Any suggestions, comments, or questions Pos or Neg are more than welcome other than why the hell did I get an eel. I am close to a newb at this

Archer Fish and Tank

 

[nmonks]

Hello,

The video was fun. Nice to see the archerfish spitting.

Neither the snail nor the crab belong in this tank. The apple snails will eventually die. They have a low tolerance for brackish water. The red-claw crab is an amphibious animal, and will not be happy here. I do like the arrangement of branches over the tank! But the crab will use these to escape. Even if he doesn't escape, the moray eel will eat him anyway.

Moray eels need a specific gravity of 1.010 in the long term. When kept at too low a salinity, they eventually go off their food. I'd raise the specific gravity to at least 1.005 now, and see how things progress.

I would not add a flounder. They are very difficult to maintain because they are fussy feeders. They feed at night, and they feed slowly. Moray eels also feed at night, and competition will be too strong. Furthermore, the moray would likely eat the flounder. I recommend flounders be kept on their own, or with fish that cannot compete with them for food (halfbeaks, small gobies, etc).

Cheers, Neale

 

[meyerev]

Thanks Neele on the advice of the flounder
But is it really ok to change the salinity/ gravity all at once
I am amming for around 1.010 but i fiquered months or years would be better

Thanks
M

 

[nmonks]

Yes: make salinity changes small ones, and spread them over several months. I'd switch to 1.005 within the next month, and aim to be at 1.010 six months later.

I was merely pointing out that 1.003 likely won't work long term with moray eels. They seem to go on hunger strikes, eventually, when kept at too low a salinity. If your moray starts behaving oddly, you can be reasonably sure salinity is the issue.

Cheers, Neale

 

[meyerev]

Well my Moray Eel Died Jumped out of the tank when i left for the weekend

So I Have Space for a Fish or Two

Currently I have one banded Archer, Toxotes Jaculatrix
2 Red Scats Scatophagus argus
2 Mono Sabae Monodactylus Sebae

And 2 mystery snails, Apple Which breed like rabbits even though all the eggs die


I was thinking of an algae eater and possible getting a third Mono


Any thought our ideas mor than welcomed

 

[simonas]

intesresting potential set up I like Bracksih and used to keep them myself

One thought and maybe Neale could clarify this, 26 gallon tank is in my opinion to small for thge likes of scats which grow large

Its a shame about your moray I kept a couple of 18 inch morays and found them interesting fish with voracious appetites and I used to feed prawn mussel and lancefish

My morays also seemed to thrive more at a higher salinity I think mine were in .016

 

[meyerev]

intesresting potential set up I like Bracksih and used to keep them myself

One thought and maybe Neale could clarify this, 26 gallon tank is in my opinion to small for thge likes of scats which grow large

Its a shame about your moray I kept a couple of 18 inch morays and found them interesting fish with voracious appetites and I used to feed prawn mussel and lancefish

My morays also seemed to thrive more at a higher salinity I think mine were in .016

Yes i have been told many times about my scats and monos they are small right now and in the summer i plan to purchase a larger tank set up

Also i am slowly increasing my salinity i am around 1.010

 

[erk628]

Really cool video, those archer fish all so cool when they spit!