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Nope they don’t bleed, I suppose they’re a bit like our nails because they continue to grow, in nature they get worn down naturally from eating crustaceans but if they only eat soft food in the tank then they will grow so much that they can’t feed properly anymore and that’s why they need...

I would chase him around the tank for ages with a net and then hold him in the net and use small but sharp cuticle clippers. People used to recommend dosing with a little clove oil to put them to sleep but I read lots of reports about how continued usage might have been linked to premature...

Just to chime in here: Figure 8 puffers definitely do not release toxins into the water. Also there some absolutely categorical statements on here about them killing other fish, whilst there are some puffers out there that are highly aggressive and all puffers should come with a health warning...

Firstly I would love to set up a UK native tank but just can't justify the cost of buying and running a chiller at the moment so my next idea is to have a subtropical tank set to around 20-21 DegC. I've recently lost my Figure 8 puffer who lived to 11 years old and he/she was a lovely showpiece...

A Figure 8 is low end brackish so I don't know of any catfish that are suitable. I'm not sure of your tank size so it's difficult to recommend tank mates but Bumblebee Gobies usually work well depending on the temperament of your puffer. My puffers were really placid and prone to being bullied...

I had Fiddler Crabs and they are cool to keep. They spend most of their time out of the water so you don't need much of the gear you've listed. You'll need a lid to keep the air humid and that, in turn will mean that you don't need to heat the air because the heater in the water should do the...

I've never kept either. I prefer the look of the Sebae but i've only ever seen Argentus for sale. There is a smaller Mono called Kottelati that looks like Argentus but i've never knowingly seen that for sale either.

I'm not sure if the sea salt contains all of the trace elements that a marine salt does but since it is just evaporated sea water then I suspect that it probably does. Lots of plants struggle over SG1.003 and even more struggle over SG1.005. I recommend keeping your tank at SG1.003 because...

Hello Moosechild. Be careful getting salts that aren't mean for marine tanks as they won't contain the multitude of ingredients that is required, also some salts contain anti-caking agents and i'm not sure how conducive to health they are. Java Moss will not do well at the salinities that you...

I haven't seen them or any other Brackish Fish around in a while.  Be careful when stocking them though - the Indian Dwarf Mudskipper should be ok in multiples as long as you get them in a decent number, say 5 or 6+ but P Barbarus will annihilate any tank mates.   I also would recommend a...

As the title suggests really, I'm struggling to find a local retailer that stocks low-end Brackish compatible fish, I've asked 2 LFS's that I visit regularly to see about ordering a couple of fish for me but they haven't sourced anything and I'm reluctant to order anything online given my past...

I know it was a few posts ago but Byron you seem to have missed the point - the German Chancellor is not showing clever political analysis in respect of Article 50 because she cannot invoke Article 50 for the UK, if she did invoke Article 50 then she would be taking Germany out of the EU.  ...

@Byron, Chancellor Merkel cannot invoke article 50 because only the member state that decides to leave can invoke it.    Merkel, Hollande and Renzi have disappointed, but not surprised me by refusing to talk about any terms for leaving before the UK does invoke article 50.   Your Wily old...

I also voted leave but i'm not as ecstatic as some because i liked the idea of the common market, it just seemed that the Blair government consistently handed over sovereignty to the point that it became unbearable, we could no longer trust that the laws in our country wouldn't be overuled by...

Some people just don't understand it when others have different opinions to them.  They think that they have weighed up the pro's and cons and therefore all should come to the same 'reasoned' solution as them, they will blithely ignore the popular saying that 'there are 2 sides to every story'...

I wonder if there are any here you have been swayed to the 'remain' campaign given the constant barrage of "the economy will crash!" "your house prices will crash!" "each household will lose £2000!"

It says it is for mixing mortar so it might be a sharp sand which will be unsuitable for a fish tank, another alternative is a kiln dried sand which tends to have a smooth finish.

I've kept a couple of the same species - the Waspfish, GSP & flatfish, the Waspfish was one of my favourites! How did you manage with your Dragon Gobies? All of the recent posts that I've read about them haven't started or ended well unfortunately.

I read your earlier post Akasha72 and I hope that you get your ground floor home soon

I doubt that we would save a lot of money because the US of E will charge us a fortune to be part of the 'free trade' market and the lunatics that run the asylum will pay it regardless.  I think that we would save some money but the savings will be squandered, expect MP's salaries, and other...

My mind fragments when I think about it: 1. I would love to live in a world where there was only one head of the planet voted for by democratic means, we would all have one flag, one currency, one tax system and zero wars. 2. The above would make you think that I believe in the European Union...

It wouldn't make it too high, the more alkaline your water the slower the coral will dissolve, the more acidic then the quicker it will dissolve which is why it's good at buffering. Your tank water will become more acidic over time because of the way that nitrifying bacteria works and with the...

While Archers are 'shoaling' species in the wild you are likely to have a bad experience if you opt for 2-3 individuals because one will become dominant and harass the others and considerably shorten their lifespans, go with either a singleton or 6 minimum, when I had mine I only managed to...

what SG have you started with? Figure 8's prefer lower salinities, far lower than live rock will tolerate so unfortunately the critters on your cured rock will die and pollute your tank. You can drip acclimate fish to different salinities which is basically adding the water from your tank into...

Re-read my post tonight and noticed that I missed a zero from the numbers, they should read 1.003 and 0.002

Hello HeatherSwaby, Brackish is little different to freshwater especially at the salinity that you will be running this tank at, say SG1.03@25 DegC.  The best advice is to start the tank of at the same salinity as the dealers tank that your fish will be coming from.  If they are coming from...

I haven't seen one for years either which is a shame because They are fantastic fish! Unfortunately he's no longer with us, to be honest I don't think we gave him a varied enough diet due to his need for active live food, he didn't eat much more than brine shrimp.

I've been quite lucky with my puffers, they've co-habited with bumblebee gobies, halfbeaks and waspfish without problem - apart from the halfbeak bullying them - but I wouldn't trust them with a flounder because it would be too tempting for them.

Basically anything with a shell like shrimps, mussels and cockles.  Shrimps and mussels are said to contain Thiamanese (sp?) which reduces vitamin B levels so feed sparingly.   I wouldn't put a flounder in with a puffer, I had a flounder in with scats and they picked the thing to death and I...

There are plenty of options if you want to go this way: monos, scats, columbian catfish, green spotted pufferfish or Ceylon pufferfish

If you are worried about spending a lot of money on salt then there are loads of fish that will do well in a low salinity Brackish water system.  I've got a post on here about my next fish tank which lists quite a few of the choices that I'm currently thinking about.

Not really for the long term however some fish that are listed as Brackish are actually freshwater fish but seem to do better in a low salinity brackish environment.  Bumblebee Gobies are one such species, some keep them in fresh water but they require 'hard' freshwater to do well.

That is brilliant thank you

The Author is Hans-Georg Rupp, I've had a flick through the article but unfortunately it doesn't give salinity level.

Unfortunately I lost the paper that I found on Fiddler breeding during a house move a little while ago and I never properly managed to set up a breeding tank as I would have liked.    There is a good article on breeding mudskippers in the May Issue of Practical Fishkeeping Magazine and when I...

I've been keeping an eye on this post and thought you'd Sussed it. I'm sure they'll enjoy their floaty lives with you.

Well done to you, I would also have walked.  They don't need to know the information and they have no right to demand it and I guess the assistant was of the same frame of mind and why he stayed reasonable and apologetic.

  What a lovely looking fish, I thought Stiphodons were subtropical/coldwater but I will definately have a further look at these!

The Mudskipper normally referred to as the Atlantic Mudskipper is P Barbarus which is much larger than the ones normally labelled as Indian Mudskippers.  P Barbarus will not tolerate tankmates, you might be lucky if you have a massive tank that allows a large volume of water capable of housing...

They definitely are lovely fish, can't talk for the Indian species but I'd definitely be happy with a single P. barbarous in the future - they probably watch you more than you watch them, and after my Springer Spaniel was probably the happiest person/pet in the house to see me in the mornings!!