Dan S
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Posts posted by Dan S
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On 10/27/2022 at 8:04 PM, Zenzo said:
When I receive them, I usually just put them in a tank that's shallow and has either floating islands or already setup for them. I keep the specific gravity/salinity a little low for the first few days, slowly raising it to where I want it. Other than that, pretty easy.
Alright, that sounds good! I did have another question since I didn't make the initial one specific enough: how did you acclimate the mudskippers when they are in the bag? I know they are notorious climbers so you cant keep the bag open. Also, if the bag doesn't come with a small piece of Styrofoam for them to sit on, should I add one while acclimating or will they be fine otherwise?
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So in a few days, I should be getting some Indian Mudskippers and realize that they may have special acclimation requirements. Am I just stressing over nothing or is that an actual thing? @Zenzo I watched your video on when you got your mudskippers and didn't see how you acclimated them. Just the regular drip method or something else? Thanks in advance!
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On 10/27/2022 at 10:05 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
That’s such a cool paludarium! Any thoughts on adding land plants, like a small Anubia etc?
I have done a bit of research into it but most land plants (minus mangroves) will immediately die to saltwater. The tank is currently still freshwater as I'm letting the plants grow at least a bit so they are more likely to survive the gradual salt adding later.
Zenzo has tried Java fern, moss, and Anubis before in his brackish paledarium but all has died except for the fern.
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I got some photos from today and the day before. Today's should be first.
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On 10/25/2022 at 3:02 PM, Odd Duck said:
Just FYI, @Dan S, unless there’s a new store I’ve never heard of (which is quite possible) it’s Dallas North Aquarium for anybody looking. They’re actually located in Carrollton now but started in north Dallas back in 1982 (had to look up the date). Great store, wish I was closer.
Oops, I did butcher the name! You got everything right, thanks for fixing that!
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On 10/25/2022 at 11:38 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
How would you make a floating island?? It would be quite fun if you could grow Anubias on it (idealistic youngster ALERT 🚨 )
I watched Zenzo a lot so I saw him use a styrofoam board and spray expanding foam after shaping the board to the size you want. Then, use a knife and cut it to a shape you like, top it off with sand and rocks, and you're good to go! I used white foam then sprayed it with black paint and let it cure over 24 hours. I'll see if I can find the actual video so you can follow along.
The Anubias could be interesting but I plan on surrounding the island with Java moss around the edges instead.
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On 10/25/2022 at 8:26 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
Any pics of the tank going?
I do! I planned to make a floating island so in the future, I can put something in the ten gallons of water. This is an older picture, the main change is that I replaced the big rocks with sand. I'll get more pictures when I'm home.
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Status update: Many online stores (as expected) have informed me that it would be a while till they can get Mudskippers or have added me to their wait-list.
No matter the case, I contacted my local fish store, North Dallas Aquatics, and they said they have no only seen Indian Mudskippers in previous times but also ordered them for other customers. I asked them to put me on their waitlist and waited.
Just yesterday, they asked if I'm still interested and how many I would like. I told them 2 and they said they will place the order soon. Their main policy is that you must pick up the same day it arrives at their store which isn't bad.
If you live in the around the Dallas area, I would recommend checking North Dallas Aquatics as they have a great selection of freshwater, saltwater, and hardware. And, if you ask really nicely, they maybe able to keep an eye out for you. Hope this may help someone out there.
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On 10/1/2022 at 3:09 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:
Try Aqua Huna or Ruinemans.
Ruinemans usually ship to your LFS for pickup, I’ve used them before.
Done and done! Sent them both an email. Thanks again!
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On 10/1/2022 at 4:12 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
I'm told that India is having problems shipping -with the fuel situation these days- maybe try a big wholesaler by E-Mailing them and asking if their farms in china etc. have any?
I've never thought of contacting wholesalers directly! I'll search online to see if I can find any since mudskippers ship decently well. If you or anyone else knows any wholesaler, please let me know so I can try to contact them as well. Thanks again for the help!
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So recently, I've started my hunt for the elusive Indian Mudskipper. I've signed up for all the websites I could find online and plan on talking to my local fish store about it. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do if the store can't order other than wait patiently? Also, any websites that have worked or just general ways to coax stores to order some are also very helpful. Thanks in advance!
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On 9/28/2022 at 12:56 PM, Zenzo said:
I misread your question. The moss failed. Only the Java "fern" has thrived. Sorry for the confusion. With "Java" in both of the names, if I don't pay attention, I can mix them up.
Ok, thanks for the clarification! I'll keep my eye out in store for Java "fern" 😉 Thanks again!
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On 9/27/2022 at 7:30 PM, Zenzo said:
Java moss has had new growth and has done well. If you have seen my latest video (cleaning the canister filter), you can see that underneath my large African peacock tank, there is a 20 gallon brackish tank with a bunch of fern growing. The anubias melted.
Alright, thank you! I just finished rewatching it and see the moss now. (I think) ((I'm pretty bad at plant identification for the most part)) Thanks for the info again!
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On 9/27/2022 at 3:11 PM, Zenzo said:
Alright! Two more questions if you don't mind: 1. Did the java moss/anubias trees not work long term in the brackish tanks? and 2. When you say they have worked, do you mean they are surviving or have you seen any growth? Thanks in advance!
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On 9/27/2022 at 11:42 AM, Chris said:
Any idea what SG you're targeting? That's the important bit of info here, IMO. (You posted right before I did, oops!)
Jungle Val, certain Crypts, Java Fern, Java Moss, some Anubias, some Bacopa, Elodea, and a handful of other plants are all said to do well in very lightly-brackish water. 1.004 or less. In my experience with most of these, they all started to stagnate growth at 1.001-1.002, and most completely melted at 1.004. Now, some did survive at 1.004, but nothing really grew. My Jungle Val, my Crypt Wendtii, and if I remember correctly, my Anubias Nana all did "okay" for about a year before I moved the plants. None of them grew, asides from the Val shooting out a couple of puny sprouts.
At higher SG's, I'd recommend growing some non-calcified macroalgae like Chaeto, Caulerpa, and maybe some species of Gracilaria and Sargassum. You'd probably need at least 1.010 or higher for all of those, though.
I appreciate the information on the plants and the melting salinity! That'll help me know when to slow down the salt addition. Thanks again everyone!
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On 9/27/2022 at 11:25 AM, Biotope Biologist said:
Red mangrove
Valissneria
Florida sedge
Brook weed
Above is a list of plants I have gathered for brackish tanks. It really depends on how brackish you go. Jungle Val can act like eel grass up to about 1.008 before it starts melting from what I understand. The other plants can go up to mid with no issues but they are for the most part emergent plants, which for a paludarium should be no issue.
If you only go to low end brackish (up to 1.005) most of the hardy plants can tolerate salt although they will grow slower and be dwarfs.
Once you hit mid-high brackish you can move into macroalgaes such as chaeto and most available Ulva species
Wow, thanks for all of that! I'll look into some of those plants later as well! I plan on keeping the tank around low end brackish at 1.005.
On 9/27/2022 at 11:33 AM, Patrick_G said:What’s your salinity level. There’s a point at which you can try macro algae instead of plants. My tank is currently at 1.01ish and heading towards full marine.
This clump of Chaeto came from @Beardedbillygoat1975’s Opae Ula shrimp tank where is was thriving and looking beautiful.
I plan on low end brackish at 1.005.
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On 9/27/2022 at 11:23 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
Anubias trees? I think you mean mangroves?
No, it sounds confusing but go to 6:25 in this video; he expains how he does it.
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On 9/27/2022 at 11:01 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
If you’re going to acclimate slowly I expect an Anubia might survive.
I’ve noticed that plants don’t thrive in brackish water, but either die or survive.
Anubias is a good option I've thought of trying but I'll see if Zenzo has any suggestions on if it works since I saw in one of his videos with anubias trees inside of his mudskipper tanks.
It's true which sucks because I'm starting to dig the green in my other tank. It's also why I'm looking for suggestions on what plants work in brackish tanks so I can at least attempt it.
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On 9/27/2022 at 9:05 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
I'm told that Amazonas do nice fake plants. Guppy grass should survive in brackish water, but java fern should be acclimated over the course of a month I'm told.
Sounds good! I'll check out their website later. I'll also look into guppy grass as a brackish option and am planning on acclimating all my plants very very slowly. Thanks again!
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Hello again! This forum has been really helpful before so I'm giving it another go! So I'm setting up my 20 gallon brackish paledarium and haven't given up on plants yet with some duckweed and hornwort currently acclimating to freshwater. I know mangroves, Java fern, hornwort and Java moss work but what other freshwater plants could I acclimate really slowly to see if it will live in brackish water? @Zenzo I saw your video on the Java moss and Anubis trees, have they worked or is that still pending? Also, if anyone can suggest some nice fake plants, that would also help a lot. Thanks for reading!
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On 9/13/2022 at 12:36 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:
Fiddler crabs are brackish! And nerite snails as well.
Thanks for the information! Nerites could be an interesting algae cleaner if I have a problem again and Fiddler Crabs are pretty cool! I'll check them out; thanks again!
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Status Update: I made a piece of floating land using Styrofoam and Expanding foam. I forgot to dry out the sand so I didn't cover the foam before it dried and added the sand on top after. I would like to make it look more natural so what are some methods to change the island? I have some small driftwood that I may add along with some round river rocks. Anything I'm missing right now? (FYI: I have plants in the tank to speed up the cycling, I'll add the salt later.)
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On 9/8/2022 at 1:27 PM, Zenzo said:
It depends on how much water area, and how you make the land area (floating island vs a beach type or rocks). I would think that 3-5 bumblebee gobies should be fine if you end up with at least 10 gallons of swimming area.
Wait... I've considered a partial land and partial floating (like your 75 gallon) but I've never considered a full floating island! If it won't sent from hitting the sides, would that work? My main concern is the fish getting crushed but depending on the shape of the sides (ex. A circle?), could that still work? I appreciate the estimate and I'll look into stocking more as well along with all the video on mudskipper tank setups (already seen your quite a few times...buttttt I'm gonna rewatch it just so I got the idea down). Thanks again!
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On 9/6/2022 at 3:10 PM, Zenzo said:
2-3 Indian skippers would be okay in a 20 tall as long as there is adequate land area. Also, I agree with the figure 8 puffer. I have mine in a 20 tall. I wouldn't do these two together in a 20 tall though, as you probably won't have enough space (because you have to keep the water level lower for the skippers). You could pair the skippers with some bumblebee gobies, guppies (do well in brackish), or even some mollies.
I would have the f8 solo.
Thanks for the input! If I made the left/right half of the tank land and made the waterline half and had 2 mudskippers, how many gobies would I be able to keep without causing too much territorial issues? I understand most gobies need a small piece of territory and can be aggressive depending on the fish so what would work as a minimum amount if I were to have gobies? Thanks again!
Indian Mudskipper Acclimation
in Introductions & Greetings
Posted
Sounds good, thank you again!