? On A Brackish South American Puffer/bumble Bee Goby Tank

[kj23502]

nmonks said they'll do well at a sg of 1.005. i just read that protein skimmers are very useful because they reduce the amount of "junk" in the water from feeding time and help decrease algea and it provides better water quality for the fish and you don't have to do as frequent water changes(since it takes so much marine salt to make the water).

On the other hand, SAP's need a planted tank and I can have quite a few more choices at sg 1.005 or lower. While at above that, it says only Java moss and fern. But the skimmer does best at sg 1.006 or higher.

Soooo, would my best bet be to have the sg a tad higher w/only a couple kinds of plants but w/the skimmer and less water changes needed.

Or stay at 1.004-1.005 and have an abundance of plants and need to do more water changes?

What's better for the fish? If a skimmer is the way to go, I don't know anything about them. My tank is 29 gallons. Could anyone refer me to a brand and type, if needed?

 

[nmonks]

For a start you don't want to keep SAPs above 1.005; my recommendation on these puffers is 1.005 or less. While they may adapt to higher salinities, it's worth remembering that these pufferfish inhabit only the low salinity brackish water parts of the Amazon estuary.

In fact for BBGs and SAPs, I'd be looking at 1.003. That would reduce your outlay on salt, and make maintenance much easier in terms of plants. Forget about the skimmer. Skimmers make a big difference at higher salinities, and they earn their keep where large and messy fish are being kept (such as monos and scats). SAPs aren't heavy eaters, and BBGs certainly aren't. Moreover, SAPs are quite hardy fish, and what they care about most of all is swimming space and water current. With that in mind, I'd recommend against a tank as small as 29 (presumably US) gallons. That's a tiny system for such hyperactive fish. They comfortably use up the space in my 180 litre system, and the bigger and longer the tank, the better.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kj23502]

sorry, in our other topic, sg was mentioned at 1.003 and 1.005. It also says the dimensions of the tank...30"L x 12"D x 18"H, which I prob shoulda put in this post also . So could I not have 3 SAP's as mentioned before?? I'm using the 29 gallon for this b/c that's what I have already. Right now the 29 is my quaratine tank for the cichlids I'm adding to my 125 gallon tank. After I'm done adding all the fish I want(only quarantining 5 at a time), I'll give it a good clean, update the lights, switch to sand and plant it. Which one of these plant packs would be the best? (if you have time to take a peek...there are 4 packs.)

After I get all this done and everyone's(SAP & Gobies) happy, I'm going to start saving for a saltwater tank!

--edit--
one more thing. Are SAP's seasonal? I've been trying to look for some to check on prices, but I haven't been able to find any!

 

[nmonks]

SAPs are indeed seasonal; as with other South American fish, they appear on the market around about September through to December. I think this has something to do with the rainy season.

The plant packs suffer the same usual problems: not all the plants need the same thing, particularly light and substrate. For a low-end brackish tank, just get Java moss, Java fern, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias, and Vallisneria spiralis. All these generally adapt well to moderate light levels and tolerate salt without complaint. If you aren't going to use a fancy substrate, stick with the epiphytes: Java moss, Java fern, and Anubias. Buy them attached to rocks/wood and add to the tank. Better to have a few expensive plants that thrive than lots of cheap plants that are dead at the end of the month.

SAPs don't really care about depth, but so long as your tank has a length of about 1 m, and then you install a good strong filter for turnover 6x the volume of the tank, you should be fine.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kj23502]

Thanks, again!!! Do you know how much wattage per gallon should I be shooting for with these plants? 2wpg?

I'm going to put ALL the info accumulated into my notebook and call these pages, "The Puffer Pages"! (Cute, huh! ) That way I'll have all the info in 1 spot and it'll be handy for me to bring it along to the fish store!

I was just thinking...when I get all the info I think I need and get it all together, maybe I could start a topic on SAP's and Gobies together so other people can have all this knowledge in 1 spot....of course giving credit to Neale and others input. What do you think?

 

[nmonks]

Two watts per gallon is ample for low light plants.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kj23502]

Great...Thanks!!