Figure Of 8s

[DopeyAlex]

Hey all,

I have several tropical tanks including a large 4ft tank. It currently holds:

5 angels
1 silver shark
3 Red tailed black sharks
2 clownloaches
3 gold suckers (small)
2 small eel/loach things lol
3 scissor tails
3 fire mouth chiclids
3 other chiclids (simular to fire mouths)
3 small white/orange chiclids with red colourings on their noses (not sure on name)

I wanted to put 3 figuer of 8s in there. Would they get along with all the other fish??? If not, which fish would they get along with???
Also, should brackish tanks/water be setup differently to the usual tropical tank???

Cheers
Alex

 

[AMS]

I wouldnt add anymore fish to that tank. You are far overstocked as it is. Puffers are nippy to other fish including other puffers, so not the best choice for this tank. They wouldnt get along with any fish in there.

Brackish water is not suitable for any of those fish in your tank so if you want figure 8's you must set up a different tank. You cannot acclimate a non-brackish fish to a brackish environment as it will die.

Please read up on the pinned topics and do your research beofre jumping into brackish water aquariums.

Figure 8 puffer Care Sheet
Puffer Fish Care

and a good all purpose link:
Brackish Water FAQ

 

[DopeyAlex]

Cheers for the fast help.

What I will do then is set up another tank with sand, rocks and few plants. I will keep just chiclids and figure of 8s in there, and a fish or 2 to clean the tank (can u think of any?)

I have been reading the links you gave me and its great help. It does say that chiclids are ok with figure of 8s, but you say they are not. Or is it only the type of chiclids i discribed???

Besides setting the tank up differently (eg. rocks) and adding a little salt to the water, is there anything else??? the temp seems to be about the same as tropical and I got fairly hard water where i am, which is good for brackish water.

Cheers
Alex

 

[kanzaris]

Cheers for the fast help.

What I will do then is set up another tank with sand, rocks and few plants. I will keep just chiclids and figure of 8s in there, and a fish or 2 to clean the tank (can u think of any?)

I have been reading the links you gave me and its great help. It does say that chiclids are ok with figure of 8s, but you say they are not. Or is it only the type of chiclids i discribed???

Besides setting the tank up differently (eg. rocks) and adding a little salt to the water, is there anything else??? the temp seems to be about the same as tropical and I got fairly hard water where i am, which is good for brackish water.

Cheers
Alex

Hi Alex

Just make sure you use Marine Salt and the cichlids you keep do they tolerate salt ??

Sabby

 

[AMS]

Fire Mouths are a no-go with figure 8's. I cant tell you anything about the other cichlids because you have given no identification.

Unless your cichlids are brackish tolerant they will die in brackish water. Any fish that isnt brackish and is placed in brackish settings will die (eg your cichlids).

Besides setting the tank up differently (eg. rocks) and adding a little salt to the water, is there anything else??? the temp seems to be about the same as tropical and I got fairly hard water where i am, which is good for brackish water.

How would rocks make a brackish tank different from a freshwater tank? No, there is really nothing else besides a little salt added that is different from freshwater.

Caring for brackish aquariums

 

[DopeyAlex]

Cheers for the help.

AMS, I was just stating that I would have rocks in the tank, just so it looks like a chichlid setup.

Also, can any1 tell me themost common chiclids that are able to live with figer of 8s in slightly brackish water???

Cheers

 

[AMS]

Kribs and Orange Chromides.

 

[nmonks]

Oh, there are MANY more brackish water tolerant cichlids than those two. At low salinities (SG 1.003 or so) most of the riverine Haplochromis and hardwater Aequidens will do fine, for example. Cichlids are the classic secondary freshwater fish -- they evolved from marine ancestors, and unless adapted to specific water chemistry (like blackwater or African Rift Valley lakes) most of them will tolerate significant amounts of salt.

Among the species found in brackish or marine waters in nature, the following are of interest:

Paretroplus damii (low salinity)
Iranocichla spp. (low salinity)
Etroplus maculatus (at least 50% seawater)
Etroplus suratensis (at least 50% seawater)

Pelviachromis pulcher (low salinity)
Pelviachromis ocellatus (low salinity)
Hemichromis bimaculatus (low salinity)
Oreochromis aureus (at least 50% seawater)
Oreochromis mossambicus (up to seawater)
Oreochromis niloticus (at least 50% seawater)
Sarotherodon galilaeus (at least 50% seawater)
Sarotherodon melanotheron (up to seawater)
Tilapia rendalli (at least 50% seawater)
Tilapia zillii (up to seawater)

Cichlasoma urophthalmus (up to seawater)
Herichthys carpintis (at least 50% seawater)
Nandopsis haitiensis (up to seawater)
Nandopsis tetracanthus (up to seawater)
Vieja maculicauda (at least 50% seawater)

I'm sure there are dozens of others I haven't found out about.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[AMS]

Lol kribs and Chromides were the only ones I could think of off the top of my head.

 

[nmonks]

Cool isn't it. There are actually an awful lot of cichlids that will live and breed in seawater. Texas cichlids are among the best known, but so will the Nandopsis, which are actually common in mangroves and apparently swim into shallow marine habitats quite regularly... imagine, a cichlid in a reef tank! Damsels might think they're tough, but I'd put my money on the Nandopsis!!!

Cheers,

Neale

Lol kribs and Chromides were the only ones I could think of off the top of my head.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

One thing that noone has mentioned yet (maybe DopeyAlex read it in the readings that AMS suggested) is the stress that a puffer can put on the biofilter in a fishtank. We all know that puffers are very messy eaters and this can quickly lead to poor water quality but does DopeyAlex realize this yet?

Definately something to take into consideration when picking tankmates and chosing how many fish to stock with them!

Good Luck

SLC

 

[DopeyAlex]

Thanks for the help everyone.

Nmonks, thanks for the great list. It will comein great use.

SLC Flyfishing, I didn't know about the stress on the filter. But now that i know, iwill have few chichlids with my puffers. prob only about 4.

Cheers
Alex