My Mudskipper Aquarium

[mlawson]

I've just started preparing my tank for some Indian Mudskippers. It's quite a small
tank, only 30 gallons, a 48"by15"by12"/120cm by 38cm by 30 cm tank.

So far I have.

• A mix of silica sand and coral sand.
• A large peice of bogwood.
• Some large rocks.
• A heater.
• A thermostat.
• Marine Salt.
• Hydrometer.
• A light.
• A sliding glass cover.
• A Juwel structured background.

I'm still deciding on a suitable filter. I have a spare TetraTec canister filter that would provide an ideal current
for the Mudskippers, but it's aimed at tanks for 100 to 250 litres, so I thought I could use an Internal filter for this
tank and save the External for my other 28 gallon tank. After all, it would only contain about 40 litres or so.

I'm also going to add another flourescent tube, aimed for Marine tanks. I've decided to not keep Mangroves as
this tank is a bit too short. But would it be possible to keep Mangroves in a tank this short? With a glass cover?
My guess is no, or with difficulty.

What salinity would you suggest? I thought 1.005 to 1.010 would be OK. The pH should be about 8.2.

Are there any suitable tankmates I could keep with these Mudskippers? I don't paticulary want to, but I was just
wondering.

The Tank So far...

Any Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ,

Mike

 

[Fella]

I'm just about to dash off, but I keep some mudskippers, and in my limited knowledge, I'd quickly say this -

- Make sure that the tank has no escape holes or hiding places whatsoever. They will climb the glass with ease.

- They do well with multiple territories. If I were to reaarange my tank, I would have a beach at either end rather than one large beach.

- The species i keep barely need any water at all. They spend 95% of their time on land

If I get more time later, I'll do another post for you.

 

[AMS]

But would it be possible to keep Mangroves in a tank this short? With a glass cover?
My guess is no, or with difficulty.

Sure it would be possible to keep mangroves in a 12" tall tank so long as you don't mind them growing well above the tank line. With a glass cover: NO.

What salinity would you suggest? I thought 1.005 to 1.010 would be OK. The pH should be about 8.2.

Skippers are fine anywhere between 1.005 to 1.015.

Are there any suitable tankmates I could keep with these Mudskippers? I don't paticulary want to, but I was just
wondering.

As far as fish goes you are very limited with the amount of water you will have. I wouldn't suggest any fish for a mangrove tank this size. Fiddler crabs on the other hand, should make excellent tankmates.

And a little tip: Skippers spend 90% of their time out of the water so don't go crazy with the amount of water. No more than 1/4 of the tank should be submerged, land is more important than water.
And another little tip: Humidity is important as well. Invest in a humidity gauge, these can be found in the reptile section of a pet store.

themudskipper.org, Richards mudskipper site, and the Yahoo goby group are all great sources for mudskipper help.

 

[Castellop123]

p

 

[mlawson]

Thanks For all your replies everyone,

I'm just about to dash off, but I keep some mudskippers, and in my limited knowledge, I'd quickly say this -

- Make sure that the tank has no escape holes or hiding places whatsoever. They will climb the glass with ease.

- They do well with multiple territories. If I were to reaarange my tank, I would have a beach at either end rather than one large beach.

- The species i keep barely need any water at all. They spend 95% of their time on land

If I get more time later, I'll do another post for you.

Yes, I still haven't planned exactly what layout I would like, but I was just experimenting.
Do you think the sliding glass cover would be enough to stop them from jumping out?
I was only thinking of having some shallow water, but if I kept other tankmates then obviously they
would need more space.

But would it be possible to keep Mangroves in a tank this short? With a glass cover?
My guess is no, or with difficulty.

Sure it would be possible to keep mangroves in a 12" tall tank so long as you don't mind them growing well above the tank line. With a glass cover: NO.

What salinity would you suggest? I thought 1.005 to 1.010 would be OK. The pH should be about 8.2.

Skippers are fine anywhere between 1.005 to 1.015.

Are there any suitable tankmates I could keep with these Mudskippers? I don't paticulary want to, but I was just
wondering.

As far as fish goes you are very limited with the amount of water you will have. I wouldn't suggest any fish for a mangrove tank this size. Fiddler crabs on the other hand, should make excellent tankmates.

And a little tip: Skippers spend 90% of their time out of the water so don't go crazy with the amount of water. No more than 1/4 of the tank should be submerged, land is more important than water.
And another little tip: Humidity is important as well. Invest in a humidity gauge, these can be found in the reptile section of a pet store.

themudskipper.org, Richards mudskipper site, and the Yahoo goby group are all great sources for mudskipper help.

I figured it would be impossible to keep Mangroves in this setup as the Mangroves need an open top tank while
the Mudskippers need a tight fitting lid. How much do these Humidity gauges cost? I thought the glass cover would
be sufficient enough.

Looking good Mikes...

Thankyou

Mikes

 

[RadaR]

I agree. Its looking very good. Look forward to see it progressing becuase Ive just seen some Mudskippers at my LFS on saturday and theyre very cool. I know they like Hikari Frog bites alot hehehe.

 

[AMS]

How much do these Humidity gauges cost? I thought the glass cover would
be sufficient enough.

Humidity gauges don't add humidity, they just monitor it. They're cheap, don't expect to pay more than $10 for one.

Humidity Gauge

 

[Brackishdude]

How much do these Humidity gauges cost? I thought the glass cover would
be sufficient enough.

Humidity gauges don't add humidity, they just monitor it. They're cheap, don't expect to pay more than $10 for one.

Humidity Gauge

True that, but I think he meant that with a lid, the humidity would be kept high by default. Still, for $10. . .

 

[geo7x]

How much do these Humidity gauges cost? I thought the glass cover would
be sufficient enough.

Humidity gauges don't add humidity, they just monitor it. They're cheap, don't expect to pay more than $10 for one.

Humidity Gauge

True that, but I think he meant that with a lid, the humidity would be kept high by default. Still, for $10. . .

Most things in fishkeeping should be "ok by default" but it doesnt mean to say that we shouldnt keep an eye on them, hence why we get thermometers and test kits.

 

[mlawson]

I'm still wondering which species I should keep, the Indian Mudskipper or
the dwarf mudskipper. Both are small and less agressive then the common species,
but do any have an advantage over the other?

I was thinking of keeping 4-6 Indian Mudskippers, how many dwarfs could I keep?

 

[mlawson]

I have a question!!!

If the water level's going to be low, how are you going to filter it? Can the water still travel all the way up in the tubes? I'm assuming underwater filtering is out since you have a sand substrate...

I will probably place an internal filter sideways on.

 

[AMS]

I have a question!!!

If the water level's going to be low, how are you going to filter it? Can the water still travel all the way up in the tubes? I'm assuming underwater filtering is out since you have a sand substrate...

Like mlawson said, internal filters are usually the most common in smaller mangrove aquariums but canister filters can be used in larger setups.

 

[Fella]

I have a question!!!

If the water level's going to be low, how are you going to filter it? Can the water still travel all the way up in the tubes? I'm assuming underwater filtering is out since you have a sand substrate...

Like mlawson said, internal filters are usually the most common in smaller mangrove aquariums but canister filters can be used in larger setups.

In my brackish/mudskipper tank, I use 2 externals, both with spraybars running down the back wall of the aquarium. The reason I do it is 2 reasons really, 1) It keeps the water more oxygenated when it re-enters the actual aquarium water with the disturbance and 2) I'm just guessing, but it might help with increasing the humidity.

 

[mlawson]

I have changed the layout with two territories:

Is that OK?
I can easily change it again.

 

[The-Wolf]

just a quick question
what is there to stop the sand from evening out when water is added to it?
I'm thinking sand + water = liquedfication
then add gravity to the equasion and that = a flat landscape