Setting Up Fig 8's Tank

[Tricks]

Hi I'm after a little help setting up a new tank. I just managed to get my hands on a 48"x12"x15" for £15 and wanted to turn it into a a Fig 8 home. Hoping for 2 (maybe 3??) Fig 8s and some BBG's (howevermany is possible). What i am kinda stumped on after several frustrating hours googling etc is some kind of biotope pics or ideas for the Fig 8s , If anyone has any that would be cracking

Id like to know the best substrate decor and plants for them as this tank is really for them so whatever needs they have can easily be taken care of , also heard i shouldnt use bogwood in a brackish tank, what are the reasons behind this as i am one of those people that loves tannins in water.

So thanks for any incoming help or advice or pics

Much appricated

James

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Hi I'm after a little help setting up a new tank. I just managed to get my hands on a 48"x12"x15" for £15 and wanted to turn it into a a Fig 8 home. Hoping for 2 (maybe 3??) Fig 8s and some BBG's (howevermany is possible). What i am kinda stumped on after several frustrating hours googling etc is some kind of biotope pics or ideas for the Fig 8s , If anyone has any that would be cracking

Id like to know the best substrate decor and plants for them as this tank is really for them so whatever needs they have can easily be taken care of , also heard i shouldnt use bogwood in a brackish tank, what are the reasons behind this as i am one of those people that loves tannins in water.

So thanks for any incoming help or advice or pics

Much appricated

James

Use sandy colored substrate, either aragonite like finely crushed coral or play sand. It always compliments these fish quite well, also try to get some smooth round stones to push into the bottom. Other than that you'll have to wait for others input because admittedly I've never been much of a biotope guy myself. And by-the-way I've never heard about the bogwood in brackish rule, I had a huge piece in my GSP tank for years with no ill effects.

Good Luck

SLC

 

[Tricks]

Thanks for the input

i have 1/2 a bag of playsand left over from my community tank setup, just didnt know if the fig 8s preferd lighter or darker sand

As per the bogwood i read it somwhere that brackish destroys it much quicker and pollutes the water, but it may be just one of those over cautious things i guess.

thanks
James

 

[BiffMalawi]

Your tank is about 37 US gallons or 140 litres. I would go with 2 F8s and maybe 3-5 gobies.

I don't really know what their natural habitat looks like but.....

I would think that the bogwood would be fine just monitor it.

Light sand also good, I have light beige sand in mine. I think darker snad is realtively rare in the wild.

There are not many brackish water plants so carefully chosen fake can look nice.

I have a stack of rocks in my tank, the puffers seem to like sleeping in and exploring around them.

They love to explore so lots of decor is important.

Hope this helps Good luck F8s rock.

 

[kjharve]

Plant it quite heavily at the sides and keep plenty of open swimming space at the front. Make sure there are plenty of little "caves" where the fish can chill out. The BB Gobies will especially need this as they can be very territorial. Although watching little gobies scrap is amusing, its probably not ideal. The caves could be amongst rock piles, wood or even little pots turned on their side (not the best if you're looking to replicate the natural environment though.)

Aquarium decorations that look like tree roots are good as this is the sort of thing found in their natural environment.

 

[MadCatter]

I have a piece of bogwood that has been in my brackish tank for nearly a year now with my figure eight, and have noticed no problems in fish health. I do overfiltrate my tank though, and have noticed that the wood breaks down fairly quickly (in comparison to wood in freshwater, but like I said, it's been in here for a year now, and it's still holding up nicely). My ghost shrimp actually eat tiny pieces of the wood that break off.