Question about Monos and general Brackish

I've never seen a full-grown mono in captivity either, though I always feel the possibility of it should be open.

It's quite a shame that trade doesn't include smaller brackish fish.
 
Pufferpunk said:
I guess I'll just stick with my puffers then...
Click to expand...

No disrespect meant pufferpunk!!!!!!
I think you are great and give great advice!!!
I just disagree with you on this one thing!!!
And, I am not saying you are right or wrong, just that I disagree. I challenge people to prove me wrong in this! But, no one has been able to do this as of yet.

Scott
 
LOL I see i've started an argument over tank sizes.

Thanks for the advice. I do plan on raising the salinity slowly.

Some Parameters of my Tank:
PH: ~7.7
Nitrite: <0.3 mg/L
Ammonia: (I think its around 0.25-0.50).
This has become a concern for me. I have started doing two water changes a week now. Normally I only do one. I think the spike in ammonia could be from the dying java ferns which i removed. I'm thinking of looking for a new test kit as well, cause the saltwater and freshwater charts colours are significantly different. IE) freshwater 0 ammonia is yellow where as the salt is brown which makes it rather annoying to read.

The only fish that i'm still concerned with is the monos. I've read in various places that the colour of them can tell you how healthy they are. However their colour tends to confuse me. All three of them are bright silver around their head and front portion of their body. They are also pretty silver at the top, but the bottom portion and the rear fin area tends to be a darker. However they tend to be darker and ligher at different times of the day. Mid-day they are really silver but and night/early morning they tend to get darker.

The darkest fish is also the "alpha" fish that chases the others around.
Any ideas what this means or am I just going crazy.
 
Their color changing can mean many different things. At night they get dark to help them blend in and hide themeselves while they sleep. Stress or unhappiness can also make them change color. Their bodies should be a shiny silver. Mine do not like me invading thier space...When I am doing a waterchange or cleaning the side of the glass they all turn really dark and hide!! At night when I just have the moonlights on they are really dark as well, but when the light is on they are always shiny silver. So, Take a good look at your water. Your alpha might be dark because he is starting to get crowded. These fish need constants as they are skittish fish. I would put thier light on a timer so that is a constant. Once everything becomes constant, these fish relax and don't get so stressed out. When I walk in the door home from work they now know exactly when I get home, and are all already in the corner of the tank that i feed from waiting for me to come feed them. I can put my finger on the glass and they don't startle. These are great fish, but you gotta get them settled. They will relax with time. Aslo understand that in order for them to truly feel comfortable, you should have a school of at least 6, and I would plan on doing this soon before they get too big!! I know you are planning a new tank, but the sooner the better. Also to aid with water quality, I stand by strongly that you at a sg over 1.012 with big messy fish you should be using a protein skimmer!!! In the end if they are changing colors, it must be because of something that is spooking them. Whater quality usually doesn't change from good to bad many times over the day. And if they are bright and shiny most of the day except morning and night then it could be just normal day vs night colors for them. The light could also be spooking them...remember they are mostly wild caught and are not used to rapid changes in light. The sun just doesn't come on it is a gradual thing.I would not turn the light on and off mor than 1x a day. Turn it on let it stay on for 10 hours then turn it off. I would try to arrange this around your schedule. Mine is on full from noon to 10 and then half from 11:30 to 12 and again half from 10-10:30 and the moon lights are on the rest of the time, i think they are important, it gives the fish just enough light to see at night and makes them feel more secure.

What are you feeding them?

With a brackish tank you should be using a saltwater ammonia test!
 
Last edited:
Currently I feed them the following:

Flake Food, Freeze Dried Blood Worms, and Frozen Brine Shrimp.

I feed flake food daily, and usually freeze dried blood worms.
I feed the brine shrimp every few days.

The only other food that goes into the tank is some sinking shrimp pellets but they don't touch those.
 
I vary mine's diet...
day 1 frozen raw shrimp from walmart cut into pieces and a leaf of lettuce
day 2 freeze dried krill, flake, and blood worms
day 3 frozen raw scallops from walmart cut into pieces and a leaf of lettuce
day 4 freeze dried krill, flake, and blood worms
day 5 frozen raw shrimp from walmart cut into pieces and a leaf of lettuce
day 6 freeze dried krill, flake, and blood worms
day 7 frozen raw scallops from walmart cut into pieces and a leaf of lettuce
and so on and so forth...
occasionally I throw in a couple of feeder guppies when I have them
they really like the variety It keeps them very happy
 
I think the suggestion about plastic plants may be the solution to more than one of your problems. I was having a similar problem with mine. I only have three, not a real school per se, but I was getting kind of concerned about the aggression one of mine was showing mainly to the other monos. I had tons of plants in my tank, but most of them came from 2 smaller 30 gallon tanks that I had. When I finally got a few correct sized plants, (ie. ones that actually went past half the height of my tank and above), it was like flipping a switch. It not only stopped the aggression, but suddenly, all three of my monos actually started acting like a school instead of three fish guarding three different sections of the tank. Now I seriously get to enjoy watching the three of them swim around my tank like I shiny row of arrowheads practicing follow the leader. I hope this helps, and good luck!
 
Mine are the same way. They all school and hang out until its feeding time. Then they get a little nippy with each other. Shortly there after they settle down and get back to their school.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom