thinking about doing a brackish tank - suggestions?

[bottle-blonde]

hey! i've kept fish since i was 5 but i've always kept freshwater fish. i have kept discus, lake malawi cichlids, standard community tanks, killifish, rainbowfish, goldfish, etc...

so right now i've paired everything down to one goldfish tank just for the simplicity of it. i haven't wanted to purchase a tank much over 33 gallons because i'm a renter and not entirely sure how long i'll be here. moving fish tanks is just about the least fun thing you can do!

i'm thinking about buying a new tank (20-33 gallons) and i'm interested in trying my hand at a brackish tank. i don't want fish that will get much larger than 3 inches just because of the tank size restrictions. am i pretty much limited to bumblebee gobies? what do you guys recommend? also, does anyone have any photos or links to photos of tanks set up with really natural landscapes so i can get an idea for what would make these guys happy? what do you recommend for someone new to brackish water but is an old hand with aquarium keeping in general? i'm all ears!

thanks!

[VoodooChild]

Hey. Welcome to AC. In a 33 gallon you could do quite a bit. You could go with a pair of figure 8 puffers. The tank would seem a little bare but they're great fun and I don't think you would notice. You could do bumblebees like you suggested and then have a school of mollies on the top. That'd be interesting. You could even raise silvertip cats in there for quite awhile if you wanted too. Perhaps if you did go with a standard community tank with the gobies and mollies you could try and find some unpainted painted glass fish (Chanda ranga I believe). A school of both would occupy the aquarium nicely.

[bottle-blonde]

see, the reason that i didn't want to bother with puffer fish is exactly because it would be so strange to have a tank that size with only two fish in it!

i don't know why but i think i grew up thinking that mollies are boring starter fish. they're great in a community though i know but i just can't warm up to how bland they are in my mind! hehe

are there any other gobies or anything that i could mixed with bumblebees? or maybe i should do a smaller fresh water set up and do dwarf puffers? certainly wouldn't keep much of anything else with them though!

[Nippy]

Here's a list of fish that will stay in your size range:

Knight Gobys
Bumblebee Gobys
Flounders
Platies
Mollies
Kribensis
Orange Chromides
Glassfish

Stay away from things like anableps, datnioides and the green chromides(all of which will reach 1 foot and longer).

I keep most of what I've listed above. I love my Knight Gobys and the bumblebees are so cute! The flounder is a really cool bottom feeder too.

[Pufferpunk]

Check out this link: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

Make sure you fishless cycle the tank at the specific gravity you plan to keep the tank, or the tank will recycle with new bacteia when you add salt.

[bottle-blonde]

thanks for all the info! that link was full of great ideas.

now i have to think about whether or not i want to set up a brackish tank or do a basic salt water one with just damsels and crabs. that could be fun too. and not as nasty! puffers are just so **** cute though...

[OrionGirl]

Actually--damsels can be very nasty tempered and territorial.

[bottle-blonde]

yeah, you're right. i wouldn't get more than a couple i don't think and i'd have to provide decent hiding spots.

[Pufferpunk]

I have damsale in w/GSPs & a Ceylon

[bottle-blonde]

really?! what size tank? also do you have it more brackish or more marine? puffers would eat the crabs and snails though right?

[ChilDawg]

Mollusks and crustaceans are loved by puffers, but, as you guessed, not as tankmates, but rather entrees. I wouldn't chance a mixing of the two except when your puffer needs food (and snails/crabs/crayfish will help keep puffer teeth trimmed).

[Pufferpunk]

BB, I have a 50gal BW-SW (1.019-21) w/2 (5") GSPs (Cricket & Bozo), a (3") Ceylon ((Cammie) & 3 (brown?) damsals.

[bottle-blonde]

would it be possible to do a similar bw/sw set up but with bumblebee gobies and damsels?

[MonoSebaelover]

No, Bumblebees are brackish and 1.019-1.021 is saltwater. Plus the Damsels would kill the Gobies. Damsels are inch for inch the nastiest fish available. What they lack in size they make up for in temperment. I have two Blue Devils and they give my 4 Bar Gobies a hard time. There are plenty of other saltwater goby options like Shrimp Gobies, Cleaners, Dart fish, and Firefish. If you want to do a saltwater tank a very easy very cheap set up would be a tank with some live rock, a Firefish, and a TR Percula or Ocellaris Clown. Clowns are not near as aggressive as their close cousins the Damsels. Both fish will be under or around 20 bucks each and will bring enjoyment and color to your tank. Hope this helps and good luck.