View Full Version : Help Brackish Newb
justintoxicated
03-13-2006, 8:10 PM
I think I want convert one of my tanks to brackish.
Want to house BumbleBee Gobies and Either Guppy Fry or a small puffer.
As you may have read I purchased some BumbleBee Gobies as freshwater fish. They seem to be doing fine in my freshwater tank however I am told they will likely not live to long in there. :confused: I have sceen them eating blackworms and pooping so I think they are ok for now.
OPTION 1:
I currently have a 3 gallon guppy fry tank. I usualy put the female in there when she looks like she is ready to pop. Soon I will have 4 more adult females so even MORE babies...maybe...
I was thinking I could just let her give birth in the community tank (right now it has guppies otos and ADF's and a TON of apple snails.) Leaving my 3 gallon eclipse to make my first brackish tank. Is a 3 gallon tank enough space for my BeeGobies? Could I add somethign else? maybe some kind of small puffer? If I can't add something else would I be able to dump guppy fry in there with the bee gobies (they would be from a freshwater tank though)?
OPTION 2
I have an ADDITIONAL 10 gallon tank. I don't use it cause it is scratched up and such but I have the Lid Light, and will soon have my old whisper 10i filter for this tank) as well as a spare 50 watt heater (now used for my 20 gallon untill my new filter gets here and I give it a few weeks to establish some nice bacteria growing in it).
I REALLY did not want to setup ANOTHER tank as I already have 3 tanks in my bedroom, and I RENT a room month to month. If I am to setup another tank it will not be planted as I don't want to get kicked out for using to much power and leaving too many lights on. 3 planted tanks is enough. I don't really have any space for it either but I guess I could stack a few things to make a little more room. as it is I have my 20 gallon next to my TV...
OPTION 3
Leave the BumbleBee Gobies in the FW tank. They seem to be ok, maybe I am over reacting?
Thanks for reading just asking a little.........ALOT of guidance. :bowing:
LittlePuff
03-14-2006, 9:44 AM
The only puffer that is small enough for a 3gal is one dwarf puffer. You also can't keep them with the gobies, since they (the gobies) are brackish. DP's aren't. The smallest brackish puffer is a Figure 8, but they need 15gal each. If you put any puffer with guppies, you will have a bloated puffer with no guppies. I'd put the gobies in the 3gal and make it brackish. Don't put anything else in there, a 3gal is too small for anything else.
Kim
That sounds liek it will work, with the gobies in the 3 gallon brackish tank. The 10 gallon of course would be best but if space is really limited then the 3 gallon and good weekly water changes should do well.
Plants don't work in a brackish tank usually so don't worry about making it a planted tank. Instead look for a nice set of rocks and do some aquascaping that way and try to use sand on the bottom.
Buy some salt for a marine tank and a hydrometer. That is what you need to measure the salt level (known as specific gravity). At first move the gobies over to a freshwater setup. Then with each water change start to slowly increase the salinity of the tank, no more than .002 every few days or so. You will probably be fine with a salinity of 1.006 to 1.008.
justintoxicated
03-14-2006, 2:52 PM
Ok, Well I Might be able to setup my old 10 gallon, but if not no big deal then the 3 gallon is already setup. I thnk I figured out a way to fit both though...
If I was to stick with say just the 3 gallon could I leave the guppy fry in there with the gobies or would it be too difficult getting them adjusted back to fresh water when they are older?
So the dwarf puffers are not brackish? Dang ok then I guess there isn't any puffer that would fit in my 10 gallon, that sucks...If I was to setup the 10 gallon what else could I put in there besides BumbleBee Gobies? It seems like most Brackish fish require rather large tanks.
I talked to the knowledgable guy at the LFS and he said they have had a BB Gobie in there freshwater planted tank for at least 6 months and it is fine, he said there lifespan would however be increased if I move them to brackish water. but at least I'm not in such a hurry and not so worried now.
Most brackish fish do seem to need a larger tank. At least the more commonly available ones.
6 months is nothing to brag about. When those BB Gobies have been in his tank for 6 years then we will talk.
The guppies should be able to move back to freshwater but will have to be acclimated very slowly so they don't go into shock.
justintoxicated
03-15-2006, 3:41 AM
Is there a 15g tank which I can use my 10g lid and light fixture on? Its the regular long 10 gallon i guess you would call it.
I would love to get a puffer! Would a Fig8 with a couple BB Gobies in a 15 be ok? I'm thinking I may need a new filter but my 50 watt Theo heater would be alright.
Thanks for the info on the DP's I was told they were Brackish earlier today.
The 15 gallon might have the same footprint as the regular 10. I'm not completely sure but I belive it is really close.
Puffers really nned a speciaes only tank as they will probably try to eat anyone in there with them. The gobies might survive but chances aren't that good.
justintoxicated
03-15-2006, 4:18 PM
Alright man this is not looking at all, especialy for my gobies.
It really does sound like my best bet is just to keep them in the freshwater tank and see how long they last. They seem like they are not as colorful as when I first got them but their fins are growing back fast from whatever was picking on them at the petstore. So I guess they are doing ok so far, but it has really been too little time to tell.
I mgiht be able to put them in the 3 gallon in a future date. But it sounds liek they too are best in a species only tank.
LittlePuff
03-15-2006, 5:29 PM
Why do you want to see how long they will last in freshwater?
Kim
Puffernewbee
03-15-2006, 10:01 PM
There used to be someone who posted here that had a 10 Gallon with 2 gobies and a Figure 8 with no problems at all.
I had a F8 in a 10 gallon by himself because he dined on tank mates. It is up to the fish as to whether they will get along or not.
Just a warning about brackish tanks. Enjoy being algae maintenance. There are no real brackish algae eaters other than nerite snails, which in a puffer tank are also called "lunch". So be prepared to do all algae maintenance.
I must confess that I got tired of the maintenance and was very happy that I found someone to take "Puff Daddy" and give him a great home.
You should either find a new home for the gobies of convert their tank to brackish. They did not choose their tank life so I feel it is our obligation to make it a pleasant and long lasting one.
justintoxicated
03-16-2006, 6:11 AM
I just got my fluval 204 today so I need to leave my puny whisper in there for at least 3 weeks before setting up a new tank.
3 gallon is occupied with guppy fry and theres more on the way, I might consider using a 10 gallon to raise the fry and keep the bumblee bee gobies in there later.
I really wanted a puffer I have always liked them, but I guess I could jsut set them up a home in a 3 gallon.
I have coral sand (I guess same thing as crushed coral right?) would this make ideal gravel for them or should I get something else? There is blue gravel in there now and a 50 watt Theo (I know its a bit big but I have it laying around so why not)
Coral sand is fine. It will help to buffer the water a bit. When you are ready to make the gobies a new home let us know and we can help guide you through the process. Or esle do some searches on the forum and I am sure you will find a lot of great info in former questions and answer about converting to brackish.
LittlePuff
03-16-2006, 9:37 AM
If you get a Dwarf puffer, You could only put one in a 3gal tank.
Kim
justintoxicated
03-16-2006, 5:26 PM
If you get a Dwarf puffer, You could only put one in a 3gal tank.
Kim
Yea but they are not brackish, and would not get along too well with guppy fry lol. If I do setup another FW tank I would consider them though.
itstheantitang
03-16-2006, 5:55 PM
Okay, I'll give you a long shot option based on NO Experience.
Get your FW tank and dump it into a rubbermaid for 24 hrs.
Silicone a partition into the tank, do .5 freshwater and the other half Brackish
Wait for the silicone to cure, and viola!.
This wold only work if you added the 10i filter to the brackish side and that your FW tank can afford a 50% decrease in water volume.
Heating wouldn't be a problem, because the heat would be conducted through the glass.
The reason I suggested this is because it wouldn't take up more electricity, besides the filter.
LittlePuff
03-16-2006, 9:51 PM
I though he was going to only put DP's in there, not with the gobies.
Kim
Pandora82977
03-17-2006, 9:13 AM
Set up that 10 gallon tank! The more the merrier! :dance:
Right now I a BB gobie sharing a tank with a flounder (called "freshwater" but they are really brackish), 3 ghost shrimp, some trumpet snails (they do fine in lighter brackish tanks), and a fiddler crab.
They were all in a 10 gallon, but I moved up to a 20 tall, 1/2 full with water so I have more room for driftwood platforms for the crab to crawl on. It has java ferns, java moss, corkscrew val. and a small amazon sword.
S.G. is 1.004-1.006 (for the val and sword, but the ferns and moss can take much more salt, look at plantgeeks for brackish plants) and I have fine marine sand as a substrate (for the flounder.) This set up has worked for me for over a year.
If you decide to go with the 3 gallon then a few shrimp and trumpet snails should be OK with the gobies.
justintoxicated
04-02-2006, 12:27 AM
Lots happened while forum was down ...
So I setup the 10 gallon and overstocked it with guppy fry and mystery snails. Pulled the Old Whisper 10i from the community tank and used it so I would not have to cycle the tank as much. (I'm changing the water whenever I'm hittign .25 Nitrite (every 3 or so right now)
So I went out and bought some Sea Salt (supposed to be the same as Marine Salt) for the poor little guys as I am setting up the 3 gallon...
When I got home one of the gobies was almost dead, he was floating on his side and the current from the tank was pushing him around. (This was the healthly one, the one that looked sick was stuck on the side of the glass but was not dong well either he barley had any color) I seperated them into one of those small plastic containers, and added quite a bit of the salt, something like 1.5-2 TBS of it. The one that was floating perked up a little and attached himself to the side of the plastic container.
I went to bed cause it was late like 2 am and hoped for the best.
When I woke up I found the Bee Gobie Dried up on the floor, he gained must have gained enough strength to jump out... :( :mad: This is the one that was floating around, the one I thought might be sick was still in the tank.
So the remaining bee gobie is now in the 3 gallon eclipse tank with 2 developing female guppys and one fry too small to identify. There is also a ghost shrimp in the tank. I have added some more sea talk maybe another table spoon and a half over a couple days and he seems to be doing ok. So now I need some help setting up the rest of the tank.
I have a hydrometer on order and it will be here Tuesday I think it is a seachem one, same brand as the sea salt I bought. I have some crushed coral (not the finest but pretty small non the less) Should I remove the blue gravel and switch it to crushed coarl? I don't have a heater but if I leave the light on it heats the tank to about 78-80 deg every day so I'm not sure it is necessary, plus the fact im living in cali, it is not that cold here.
What is my target gravity for these fish?
Thanks in advance!