20 Gallon Long Brackish Tank

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

What a fun tank that is! I hear you about the silk plants. I have some fake plants for other purposes, and used to use them to add color and/or fill in while my plants are growing in. You can find really nice realistic looking flowers/plants in home decor and craft shops so I've never understood why the aquarium trade isn't better at them! I have to see it, hold it, touch it (I have to verify it's soft and won't hurt the fish friends- it's amazing what passes as aquarium safe). 

[Chris]

On 10/3/2021 at 1:50 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

What a fun tank that is! I hear you about the silk plants. I have some fake plants for other purposes, and used to use them to add color and/or fill in while my plants are growing in. You can find really nice realistic looking flowers/plants in home decor and craft shops so I've never understood why the aquarium trade isn't better at them! I have to see it, hold it, touch it (I have to verify it's soft and won't hurt the fish friends- it's amazing what passes as aquarium safe). 

It's all about prices, I think. Interestingly enough, I'd say there's not actually a ton of people who'd be willing to pay more for nice silk plants, since most people who care that much would probably be more interested in growing live ones anyway. It may not make sense business-wise, at least for big-box stores. I'd love to see someone take up that gauntlet, though! I think there's a niche to fill.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I agree, honestly I think more people would have them if they looked better. If they don't try how do they know it's not a good move? On that note too, there are some inexpensive decent looking stuff in the craft trades. Most of it's made from simliar stuff but I wouldn't try it just in case it's made with something that would kill my fish. I love my live plants but if there was super cool fakers that I could add for colors you can't get in nature that's fun sometimes. 

[Chris]

Alrighty then - new additions! As well as cold-blooded murder.

That's right, murder.

Remember how the Figure 8 used to let ghost shrimp live in the tank? Not anymore! I put 6 in there to use as feeders for other tanks and only managed to get the tail end of this encounter:
 

Looks like I don't have to feed the puffer for a few days.

I also picked up a pair of Golden Wonder Killis. I didn't plan on it, but they were there, they were cheap, and I could see both males and females in the tank. I just have pics of them in the bag right now, but they look even better now that they've settled into the tank!
 

Male:

Female:

[eatyourpeas]

On 10/8/2021 at 8:03 PM, Chris said:

Looks like I don't have to feed the puffer for a few days.

And that is a puffer extraordinaire for you! What a belly! 🤣

[Chris]

On 10/9/2021 at 12:28 PM, eatyourpeas said:

And that is a puffer extraordinaire for you! What a belly! 🤣

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the little pig has eaten himself into a coma, lol! He's asleep underneath the sponge filter 🙄

The Killis are settling in well! Here's the male:

And the female:

Edited October 9, 2021 by Chris

[Chris]

Today was water change day for all the tanks. I did a 50% on this one, cleaned the silk plants, and decided to show off my super high-tech pothos set-up. Ready?

Yup. High-tech.

Photo-dump:

[Patrick_G]

Yup, super high tech! 

[Chris]

Got some more pics tonight:

This next photo was cropped out of a larger one (taken from about 6" from the front glass at max zoom):

I then cropped it down to this close-up, and managed to retain quite a bit of detail:

 

I love it when things work out this well!

[Chris]

So I'm trying a plant in this tank again - a Crypt Wendtii. I'm going to try and keep the tank right on the knife-edge of 1.003-1.004. We'll see how things go!

In the meantime, here's more pictures. Cause who doesn't like those? 😝

[Patrick_G]

Did you get your Gobies locally or did you order them? 

[Chris]

On 10/13/2021 at 8:39 PM, Patrick_G said:

Did you get your Gobies locally or did you order them? 

They were special-ordered by my (now defunct 😞) LFS, but only because I wanted a large group. You can find smaller numbers pretty commonly around here!

The only reason I'd order them from a specific vendor is if I wanted a specific species. Much like ghost shrimp (and I'm sure others), "Bumblebee Goby" is a common name for several species of gobies that look almost exactly the same, but come from slightly differing environments. Some prefer lightly brackish water and some prefer freshwater. In the pic above, you can see that the fish in the front (out of focus) is actually a different fish than the three behind him. I believe that they're two different species, but I'd have to get a macro photo and count their dorsal/ventral spines to know for sure.

[Patrick_G]

Thanks. I’m trying to figure out how to make sure I get the right species. Like you said, the LFS folks often don’t even know what fish they’re getting. 

[Chris]

On 10/13/2021 at 9:05 PM, Patrick_G said:

Thanks. I’m trying to figure out how to make sure I get the right species. Like you said, the LFS folks often don’t even know what fish they’re getting. 

Yeah, unfortunately it's not too easy to tell.

Since you're doing a brackish tank (right? that's still a thing?), I'd say just to order "plain" BBGs. It seems as if the true freshwater BBGs are much more uncommon than the brackish species are, at least in your average fish store. Most of the freshwater species have a slightly different pattern, I think - everytime I've seen a "true" freshwater BBG it's looked significantly different than the brackish varieties.

I could be very wrong, but I'm fairly certain the three fish in the back of that photo (and the one in the close-up above) are B. Doriae, which are the most commonly traded. The guy in front (and another one in the tank) could be B. Xanthozonus, which is a very similar fish but with more scales and an elongated body. Both are tolerant of fresh and brackish, but prefer brackish (or very hard freshwater, at the very least).

You can see two of what I believe to be the B. Doriae and one B. Xanthozonus in the frame of this video around a minute in. It is possible they're simply male and female of the same species, but the things that easily distinguish the two species also distinguish B. Doriae males from females, unless you have a microscope.

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Chris

[Chris]

I added in a trio of blue-legged hermit crabs from my saltwater order yesterday. These guys are brackish-tolerant down to about 1.004 (due to being tide-pool inhabitants), so this tank is on the knife-edge of survivable. However, before you hate me and accuse me of animal cruelty, they're serving an important purpose in this tank. Puffer dentistry!

The Figure 8's beak has continued to grow, despite my best efforts. Any snails I add are either immediately eaten, are killed by the salt, or, in the case of nerite snails, only move at night, so the puffer never attacks them. MTS simply burrow into the substrate, never to be pecked at again. These guys have very little way of getting away from the puffer, and have extremely thick shells when compared to freshwater snails. He nipped at them a ton last night, and has been nipping at them on sight today. Just at the outer shell - he hasn't managed to get to the actual crab yet. I'm hoping this will keep me from having to trim his teeth, and that I'll be able to remove these crabs into a more suitable environment once the issue is fixed.

Until then, this shall be an interesting experiment.

[Chris]

Alrighty, so I've noticed the puffer hiding a lot since I introduced the killis. I've also seen the male killi getting more and more aggressive towards the female, but usually just during feeding time - and she hits him right back.

Makes me think that maybe these guys are going to be suited to a different tank where they're the focus, not the puffer.

I might need a second brackish tank.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Chris sounds like a good reason for a trip to the big box shop for another tank! Mollies are great brackish fish and will feed the puffer with all the fry. I saw some tangerine sailfins recently and nearly impulse bought them. 

[Chris]

On 10/17/2021 at 11:11 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Chris sounds like a good reason for a trip to the big box shop for another tank! Mollies are great brackish fish and will feed the puffer with all the fry. I saw some tangerine sailfins recently and nearly impulse bought them. 

Believe it or not, the puffer doesn't eat the fry! The mollies I have in there now were born with the puffer in the tank, and I had to rehome plenty of them. Mollies are beautiful!

[Patrick_G]

I think I’m going to add some Mollies to my daughter’s upcoming GSP tank. I’m not sure if she wants to keep them long term but they’ll be great help getting the tank seasoned and up to the proper SG for the puffer. 

[Chris]

On 10/18/2021 at 11:37 AM, Patrick_G said:

I think I’m going to add some Mollies to my daughter’s upcoming GSP tank. I’m not sure if she wants to keep them long term but they’ll be great help getting the tank seasoned and up to the proper SG for the puffer. 

IME, GSPs are very likely to kill the mollies. It may be alright for a while if you get the puffer small, but I'd plan on moving them out fairly quickly. They can be little terrors!

[Patrick_G]

On 10/18/2021 at 8:48 AM, Chris said:

IME, GSPs are very likely to kill the mollies. It may be alright for a while if you get the puffer small, but I'd plan on moving them out fairly quickly. They can be little terrors!

That’s what a planning, but I’m going to do an extended period of converting the tank and bacteria to high brackish or full marine. It’ll be nice to have something in there during that period. 

[eatyourpeas]

On 10/15/2021 at 8:40 PM, Chris said:

I added in a trio of blue-legged hermit crabs from my saltwater order yesterday.

I love hermits! I am still reeling from crab drama, but I see the rationale for adding them to help the puffer. Have you tried marine snails, periwinkles, etc.? I believe their shells are a bit harder than the FW snails, and I feed them to my pea puffer every now and then to not let him get complacent about food.

[Chris]

On 10/18/2021 at 11:56 AM, Patrick_G said:

That’s what a planning, but I’m going to do an extended period of converting the tank and bacteria to high brackish or full marine. It’ll be nice to have something in there during that period. 

You'll have to make a thread!

On 10/18/2021 at 12:42 PM, eatyourpeas said:

I love hermits! I am still reeling from crab drama, but I see the rationale for adding them to help the puffer. Have you tried marine snails, periwinkles, etc.? I believe their shells are a bit harder than the FW snails, and I feed them to my pea puffer every now and then to not let him get complacent about food.

I haven't really tried marine snails - I feed crushed MTS every now and then, though, which are probably a similar hardness to most small marine snails. I don't have easy enough access to small marine snails to really do a ton of those - I can order some, but shipping is still expensive on them!

Edited October 18, 2021 by Chris

[eatyourpeas]

On 10/18/2021 at 11:58 AM, Chris said:

I can order some, but shipping is still expensive on them!

Not worth it!

@Patrick_G I have never transitioned bacteria from FW to SW. Can it be done?

[Patrick_G]

On 10/18/2021 at 3:57 PM, eatyourpeas said:

Not worth it!

@Patrick_G I have never transitioned bacteria from FW to SW. Can it be done?

From what I understand it’s possible in .002 increments. I’m going to try it that way because I have plenty of cycled freshwater media. It’ll be a good learning experience and if it crashes I’ll be able to deal with the small bio load with water changes and prime.