I'm Setting Up A Brackish Tank

[tayliajayne]

the tank size is 5ft (260 litres - 58 gallons)

i wanted to know a little bit about it really, i've been searching and searching but nothing can compare to the real thing or advise.

so please can you tell me some more infomation about it

thanks for taking the time to read my thread.

x

 

[nmonks]

Any specific questions?

There are some good pinned topics here for starters, and my Brackish FAQ covers things in even more depth. You might also want to buy or borrow a copy of either my Brackish Water Fishes book or the one from Aqualog.

Brackish water aquaria have pros and cons. On the plus side they're easy to set up, easy to maintain, and because most brackish water fish are very tough, health issues are very uncommon. The diversity of brackish water fishes offered in the trade steadily increases, and if you're into oddball fish this is probably the single best specialisation in the hobby. There are also lots of excellent community fish for brackish water tanks, so you can mix oddballs and pretty fish quite easily. At the low salinity end of things there are lots of plants that do well in brackish water. At high salinity plants don't generally work, but there are some marine organisms you can add instead, including things like hermit crabs and nerite snails that do a great job of controlling algae.

On the flip side the brackish water aquarium isn't suitable for most freshwater fish. While many livebearers, rainbowfish and non-annual killifish do fine in low salinity systems, things like barbs, cichlids, catfish and characins aren't normally an option. (That said, there are some exceptions, including brackish-tolerant tetras and barbs, as well as numerous catfish and cichlids that actually prefer brackish water.) Putting together your community takes a bit longer while you track down just the right species. Getting hold of the good brackish water fish isn't hard, but it might mean looking over your local shops across a year rather than getting everything all at once. Mail order shopping does make this less of an issue though.

Your tank is plenty big enough for some great species, and I'd perhaps suggest either a low-end planted brackish system representing a lowland swamp, or else a high-end unplanted tank with big rocks and boulders representing a harbour environment into which you can have a selection of the bigger fish, perhaps with compatible invertebrates as well.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Also one Pro of Brackish is that its different from everyone else, Normally there is a split divide either Freshwater or Saltwater, Not alot of people keep brackish fish.

 

[jennybugs]

...my Brackish FAQ covers things in even more depth. You might also want to buy or borrow a copy of either my Brackish Water Fishes book or the one from Aqualog.

DEFINATELY worth getting hold of to help you understand about brackish water tanks/fish etc and how to provide them with their needs.


Have you any idea what fish you want to keep in a brackish tank? That's usually the best place to start

 

[tayliajayne]

Thanks for advise it was very very helpful
i will try and get some books about brackish waters and keep reaching.

but here are the fish im looking at getting......

- Mono Sebae
- Kribensis
- Orange chromides
- Mono Argentus
- green & ruby scats
- some type of eel
- batfish
- gobies
- crocodile fish
- Targetfish
- robustis
- seahorses
- figure 8 puffer
- Target Puffer
- Bumble Bee Goby
- tiger fish
- chanda
- Black Lyretail Mollie
- Dalmatian Molly
- Platinum Lyretail Molly
- Columbian Shark
- Dusky Panther Goby
- Prehistoric Dragon Goby
- American flagfish
- shrimps (hopely fire shrimps if possable?)
- flounder
- glass fish

Long list i know but it should get smaller, i've got a long list because i can go down to the fish shop with a open mind of many fish

x

 

[smudger72]

Thanks for advise it was very very helpful
i will try and get some books about brackish waters and keep reaching.

but here are the fish im looking at getting......

- Mono Sebae
- Kribensis
- Orange chromides
- Mono Argentus
- green & ruby scats
- some type of eel
- batfish
- gobies
- crocodile fish
- Targetfish
- robustis
- seahorses
- figure 8 puffer
- Target Puffer
- Bumble Bee Goby
- tiger fish
- chanda
- Black Lyretail Mollie
- Dalmatian Molly
- Platinum Lyretail Molly
- Columbian Shark
- Dusky Panther Goby
- Prehistoric Dragon Goby
- American flagfish
- shrimps (hopely fire shrimps if possable?)
- flounder
- glass fish

Long list i know but it should get smaller, i've got a long list because i can go down to the fish shop with a open mind of many fish

x

Blimey that's some list
It's nice to see another westcountry brackish fan on here.

I was in Crownhill garden centre a couple of weeks ago and they had a copy of Neale Monks book there, it really is worth having a look at.
You need to try and decide what fish you want due to some brackish fish prefering a high salinity and others a low salinity.
Most of the questions you will have will be answered from that book (wonder if I can get commision from Neale )

I had my 240lt tank set up with the following
2 x Orange chromides
3 x Knight gobies
2 x F8 puffers
2 x Dusky Panther Goby (wicked little fish )
3 x Mollies (great for helping out with the Algae)
I did have a green chromide as well before it died in that tank.


Which fish shop are you looking at using? , because I have found it very hard to get Brackish fish in the south west and I ended up buying most of my stock from wholesale tropicals mail order.

One fish you haven't mentioned though is the archer fish.

This probably hasn't helped one bit lol

 

[tayliajayne]

i like the aqua shop in crownhill? madien head? i think.........

I used reptile world, and i know one of the assiants their.
and he said i he would order the fish in, and my plants, etc....

i would like a archer fish but they jump and you cant have the water to the top as they like to spit?

i will have a look at the book

x

 

[smudger72]

i like the aqua shop in crownhill? madien head? i think.........

I used reptile world, and i know one of the assiants their.
and he said i he would order the fish in, and my plants, etc....

i would like a archer fish but they jump and you cant have the water to the top as they like to spit?

i will have a look at the book

x

Yes it's a maidenhead aquatics.
Are you having a full hood on the tankl or a luminaire type light assy?
I think most archerfish don't spit until they get to a reasonable size plus you can have the water to the top and get the archerfish to spit when you do water changes.

 

[nmonks]

It's easy to get archerfish spitting by lowering the water level 10-20 cm during water changes. I explain how on my Brackish FAQ. Makes water changes fun!

I think you need to spend some time reviewing your fish list! Contrary to what you might imagine, not all brackish water fish want the same thing. Low salinity species cannot always be maintained with high salinity species. So while kribs are fine at SG 1.002-1.004, they will be quickly stressed and killed by mid to high salinities (above SG 1.005). Conversely, monos and scats are best maintained at around SG 1.008-1.012. If you're going to mix brackish water fish with low salinity tolerant marines (like batfish, stripeys, dog-faced puffers, snappers and so on) then the specific gravity will need to be around SG 1.012-1.015.

You've also got differences in temperament. Knight gobies are predators, pure and simple. Small gobies, guppies etc will all be viewed as food. Glassfish are peaceful schooling fish that won't do well when kept with much larger "bullies" like scats. Tigerfish are territorial, and targetfish are quite nippy when small (far less so once above 8-10 cm, oddly enough). Seahorses and flounders are very finicky feeders and best kept alone, though flounders at least will mix well with glassfish and halfbeaks and perhaps Florida flagfish too.

The actual variety of brackish water fish in the trade is huge: far larger than most folks realise. What you need to do is sit down and first think about how the tank will be decorated (thick with plants, a rocky reef, or flat open bed of sand with just a few sea shells and fake corals). Next, think about salinity. Do you want just a taste of salt, or are you keen to go to a high salinity system? A low salinity system is cheap to run and works great with plants and even things like zebra nerite snails and cherry shrimps, but isn't salty enough for some of the best fish. A high salinity system is a bit more expensive, but you can run a protein skimmer above SG 1.010 and when the water is that salty the variety of livestock can be expanded dramatically. For example you could include things like blue-legged hermit crabs, widely and cheaply sold for marine aquaria as algae eaters.

Do you want big schools of small fish, or a few really impressive fish? Do you want pufferfish? They don't always play nicely with other fish. Would you like a tank that could be upgraded to a marine system at some point? I was up at Maidenhead Aquatics in Peterborough last week and they had a lovely "brackish" aquarium in which were some monos and scats, but also a lionfish and a dog-faced puffer. If you like personality fish, a borderline brackish to marine tank (around SG 1.018) can be a really fun way to keep fish.

Hope this helps, Neale

 

[tayliajayne]

Thanks for the advice. i went down to the fish shop again and they told me some fish i could&couldn't have with the 5ft tank.

i'm not aloud a marine tank. my mum said it would be okay if i was at home all the time. but im not due to college etc.

so brackish water is as far as i can go with salt water.

x

 

[iliveinazoo]

Thanks for the advice. i went down to the fish shop again and they told me some fish i could&couldn't have with the 5ft tank.

i'm not aloud a marine tank. my mum said it would be okay if i was at home all the time. but im not due to college etc.

so brackish water is as far as i can go with salt water.

x

Does that mean that you're living away from home for part of the year to attend college?
Hopefully not because you'll need to carry out regular water changes.

Archer fish spit at any size, mine spits and it's only 2 inches long.

You'll have to research the type of fish and grouping them together (some fish will not work with plants either). IME 2 schooling fishes (scats, archers) together doesn't work because one always chases the other continuously, you either have to keep them singly or in groups of 5 or more.

 

[tayliajayne]

ive changed my mind on brackish i have gone to normal tropical. as my tanks were over stoked and their still breeding lol

im only at college in the daytime to study hairdressing

x





Can someone please lock this thread now