Brackish Tank Questions

[kellylake01]

so i have a few mollies that i would like to switch over to *a well planted brackish tank, that i have yet to set up * i have no clue how to do this but i know mollies are a awesome fish and can go to brackish.

im looking at a 14-16g tank bow front and i would like to know what type of filter to get, google has given me mixed results.

im wondering about stocking (besides mollies) i want a peaceful tank and a few fish in each zone( top, middle, bottom) if possible
THANKS !!!!

 

[jetajockey]

One of my favorite underutilized brackish bottom dwellers is cyprinidon variegatus, aka sheepshead minnow. 3-4 would be a great addition.

 

[kellylake01]

so any advice on a filter for a brackish tank ?

 

[jetajockey]

I'm a fan of canister filters myself, but I'm sure a small hob would work just as well. My only advice is to get one rated larger than the tank it's going on, the extra current is rarely a problem and easy to deal with if it ever becomes one.

 

[Morgie]

I have bumblebee gobies in my brackish tank and they are incredibly cute and entertaining.
And I would just get an appropriately sized HOB. You really don't need anything special for brackish, other than a salt mix. :>

 

[derail]

Knight Gobies are great fish as well, with plenty of attitude when it comes to being with their own species. They're super fun to watch, and I've actually had my eyes set on some of them for a while now, but I'm not currently maintaining a full brackish aquarium atm so I'm waiting until I can upgrade my Cichlid tank and use that old tank for some knight gobies. They're aggressive, but it is usually toward their own species.
Great idea for the Molly's I'll be keeping them when I get a brackish setup myself, they typically do best in a brackish tank as a matter of fact.
Good Luck!

 

[kellylake01]

i like the bumblebee goby, but have read online that they can be picky eaters and dont do well with flake food or sinking pellets, what do you feed yours Morgie?
and any advice for a top level fish i think i have a few ideas for the bottom and middle now THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP I REALLY MEAN IT !!!!!

 

[Tiger_lover224]

Use a hang on the back filter maybe a whisper filter if you are going to have a sand substance you could get a flounder also figure 8 puffers are great for brackish but are really messy black mollies are the best choice

 

[Daymine]

Use a hang on the back filter maybe a whisper filter if you are going to have a sand substance you could get a flounder also figure 8 puffers are great for brackish but are really messy black mollies are the best choice

Flounders wouldn't fit in that size tank and A figure 8 would kill the mollies.

Bumble bee gobies usually take frozen foods and I'm pretty sure I got mine to take flake foods. If you give them no other option they'll eventually learn to take it

 

[Tiger_lover224]

Not all flounders get 6in I had mine for about year and it hasn't grown passed 3.5 in also I have 2 figured 8's with a black Molly and they have been together for 5 months and they haven't killed each other you have to keep figure 8's in a pairs for them not to kill everyone in the tank the Molly just have to be bigger than the figure 8 for them to not kill it

 

[kellylake01]

i have read info on the puffers and SOME do ok with mollies but i plan on having some snails in this tank and they would be lunch.....

i plan on using pool filter sand and having a planted tank with a LOT of clay pots for fish to hide in

i have a whisper filter on my fw 30 gallon but the sand tears it up, do canister filter have any issues with sand ?

 

[Morgie]

I've had my gobies for over a year and I've gotten them pretty well trained haha.
I started out feeding them frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp, and live blackworms. As long as you have a bit of current in the tank they will snap up anything that goes past them. Now I've gotten mine to take NLS pellets, but you should definitely stick to frozen and live foods at first.
IME they aren't as picky as most people think. You just have to treat them more like a saltwater fish than a freshwater fish.
I'd also recommend getting some ghost shrimp as well. The gobies love to eat shrimplets and adult shrimp are very entertaining and a great addition to a clean up crew.
If you have any other questions feel free. :>

 

[kellylake01]

has anyone kept dwarf pea puffers?

 

[Daymine]

love dwarf puffers! they're not brackish though

 

[Tiger_lover224]

has anyone kept dwarf pea puffers?

I had a couple of you get some make sure they don't have a sucked in stomach because that means they have some kind of disease also for your filter make sure the thing where it sucks things in is not to big because they would get sucked up in it dwarf puffers are a little picky but mine took easily to frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp

 

[kellylake01]

well i got a bad website then.... dang that was nearly the last fish for my brackish tank..... so do the dwarf pea puffer actually puff up??

so this is what i have for stocking

4-6 bumblebee goby
3 adult mollies (retiring form my breeding program)
4 nerite snails
??? ghost shrimp (mostly food for fish)

 

[Alyxx]

All puffers can puff up, but it isn't common for them to do so unless they are severely stressed out. So it's not something you really want to happen. Sometimes they will "practice" puffing, though, and you can see the puffing behavior. And yeah, the dwarf puffers are freshwater fish and like most other puffers are best in a species only tank. Brackish puffers include figure 8's and green spotted puffers but both should really be in species only tanks, and GSP'S would need a bigger tank, and I think figure 8's would too.

 

[kellylake01]

yepp, Just glad i did't have my heart set on one

Im also looking for a good review on a canister filter!! I have been looking at the 45g Rena Filstar XP Canister Filter but im concerned it might be a bit overkill on a small tank....

So now i think i need to decide on plants
Java moss is the only one i know that is brackish ok any others ? (besides mangrove...)
--------------
stocking!!!!
3 mollys
5-6 bb goby
3-4 knight goby
4 nerite snails
??? ghost shrimp (mostly food for fish)

 

[Alyxx]

There are quite a few that will do will in low brackish conditions. Java fern is one. Mangroves do better in higher salinity, I have some actually. For mollies, I would aim for a lower end brackish tank, maybe up to 1.010 specific gravity. I don't think mollies like it much higher than that.

 

[Tiger_lover224]

yepp, Just glad i did't have my heart set on one

Im also looking for a good review on a canister filter!! I have been looking at the 45g Rena Filstar XP Canister Filter but im concerned it might be a bit overkill on a small tank....

So now i think i need to decide on plants
Java moss is the only one i know that is brackish ok any others ? (besides mangrove...)
--------------
stocking!!!!
3 mollys
5-6 bb goby
3-4 knight goby
4 nerite snails
??? ghost shrimp (mostly food for fish)

Don't put knight gobies and bb gobies together because the knight goby will eat the bb goby also knight gobies due best by themselves they get really aggressive towards each other