My Mudskipper Aquarium

[mlawson]

Mudskippers do better with the sandbed as opposed to just things sticking out of the water.

Exactly, they need a large area of sand to stay on and there needs to
be more land than water. There is not actually that much sand in the tank.
Just rocks which have been concealed with sand.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[~T~]

Fair enough, if you think the rocks will hold the sand back then go for it.

 

[mlawson]

I have decided that I'm going to have an external filter any way.
It is more convenient, will give a more powerful flow rate, it might help with the humidity and
will not take up much space. I was planning on getting the Ehiem classic, has anyone had much experience with these? And would they suite my setup?

Cheers,

Mike

 

[ALEXBLINGYJING]

I think you should change the layout so there's a big hill in the middle so the fishies can see their great kingdom

 

[demonmagus]

although I haven't used me classic, I have heard they are good filters

 

[~T~]

I have a 2217 and its an absolutely top class filter.

 

[Monkeyseemonkeydo]

I have the dwarf mudskipper, Periophthalmus novemradiatus. They are probably the hardiest fish I've ever kept. In my opinion you could get rid of 90% of that sand. As has been mentioned, you'll probably find that most of it flattens out if you add water to that depth. I have around 4" of sand, built up at one end of the tank, and only 3" of water. The 'skippers very rarely come out of the water completely, but tend to spend most of their time hanging half in, half out of the water. I have a very shallow gradient on the 'beach' area to allow them to do this, and have reinforced this with a couple of bits of bogwood which are also half, half out of the water. The fish love to sit on this. Filtration is a small internal filter placed on its side. I use plastic plants. In my experience the 'skippers cannot even get halfway up the tank, as the humidity makes the glass wet and they just slide back down. I have no doubt that the bigger species could climb it though (mine are around 3" and are fully grown). I've had the fish for almost 2 years now. I can't add any pics at the moment as I'm on my laptop, but if you can wait a couple of days I'll add some to the thread.

Edit: Forgot to mention water parameters. Water temperature is 80F, ambient temperature is 78F. pH 8.5 (I've added a small amount of crushed coral to the filter canister), sg around 1.005. No humidity monitor or special equipment,

 

[mlawson]

Thanks for the reply.
I changed the tank around today and the left side consists almost completely of rocks. I also added
water to see if it leveled itself out, but it seems fine. The sand level has come down slightly I think and some
rocks were poking out from beneath.

Thanks for the advice Monkeyseemonkeydo. I think that the left side would be an ideal place for them to stay half in- half out. And I don't mind having the sand.

It would be great to see some pictures.

Cheers,

Mike

I might also level out the right side even more if they prefer it.

 

[Monkeyseemonkeydo]

Thanks for the reply.
I changed the tank around today and the left side consists almost completely of rocks. I also added
water to see if it leveled itself out, but it seems fine. The sand level has come down slightly I think and some
rocks were poking out from beneath.

Thanks for the advice Monkeyseemonkeydo. I think that the left side would be an ideal place for them to stay half in- half out. And I don't mind having the sand.

It would be great to see some pictures.

Cheers,

Mike

I might also level out the right side even more if they prefer it.

I'll add some pics of my set-up after the weekend for you Mike. That looks good by the way. The bit on the right will be useful actually. I forgot to mention they seem to prefer feeding from dry land. This is the best part about owning them. They become hand tame quite quickly. Mine will actually crawl onto my hand to feed now.

 

[mlawson]

Your first pic didn't show up. Here's the fixed link

Cheers,

 

[mlawson]

I bought the Tetratec Ex600 instead. My Ex700 has done me well and it's a lot cheaper than the Ehiem models.
With this order I also purchased a hagen Tronic heater. When I get them I should start the tank up.

Pics coming soon...

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Nevergone815]

I love how the new arrangelment looks in the tank. Good luck with the project. I'll be following it for sure as I want to eventually set up a mudskipper tank myself

 

[mlawson]

I love how the new arrangelment looks in the tank. Good luck with the project. I'll be following it for sure as I want to eventually set up a mudskipper tank myself

Cheers, Thanks for that
As soon as I saw these strange creatures I knew I'd have to have a go at keeping them.
If you like strange fish I'd recommend you having a go.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Castellop123]

New filter and heater come yet Mikes?

Come on... PICS PICS PICS! B)

Cheers...

 

[mlawson]

New filter and heater come yet Mikes?

Come on... PICS PICS PICS! B)

Cheers...

Patience is a virtue my friend.

Hopefully, it should be coming soon.

Cheers,
Mikes