55 Gallon Mangrove Paludarium

[adeebm]

Old build thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/adeebs-crabitat-v3-135966.html

Here is my (almost) two year old mangrove paludarium. The tank has a plexiglass divider in the center, with high sand on one side to create a shallows/beach area, and a deeper water area on the other side. The total water volume is close to 6 gallons. There are about 10-15 red mangroves, some of which have grown out of the top of the tank now. The tank is maintained at a specific gravity of 1.008 SG with weekly 100% water changes.

This started out as a tank for fiddler crabs. Due to an unfortunate die off, there are no crabs in it at the moment. However, I plan to add some very soon, and with the latest improvements, they should do much better. I had previously had problems with filtration and poor circulation. The tank now has an eheim canister filter and a koralia for flow. I've hung a shop light from the ceiling now because the mangroves have grown out of the tank.

Current stock:
5 Indian mudskippers (Periopthalmus novemradiatus)

Planned future stock:
"freshwater flounder" sole (Brachirus pan)
Sumatran glass goby (Gobiopterus chuno)
Fiddler crabs (Uca minax/pugilator)
Ghost shrimp (Paleomonetes spp.)
Possible bumblebee gobies

I will be placing an order for the sole and glass gobies from franksaquarium soon.That's also where I got my current mudskippers from. One of them is a year old, the sole survivor of the first shipment. He's been doing great, and recently got 4 new friends. They seem to be really intelligent fish and learn quick. They even sit on my hand to eat. Right now they are being fed mostly frozen mysis shrimp.

Here are some pics:

Will update when the sole and glass gobies come in.

--Adeeb

 

[Kirky88]

That is just freaking awesome I would never even think of something like that. Kudos

 

[severum mama]

I love those mudskippers! Very cool setup.

 

[FishontheRock]

Those are so cute!

 

[Galligak]

Awesome set up! Mudskippers really are one of the coolest animals around! The photographs are great as well. Can't wait to see what your tank will look like in the future, especially with all the changes that you're going to make.

 

[adeebm]

Thanks guys!

Also, I had been looking for some seashore dropseed(or some such grass) for a while. It's real beach grass so it would be able to live in sand be exposed to salt. I finally managed to get some on my last vacation to California. Only two stems survived, and are growing in a pot ATM. Once they recover, I'll be transferring them to the sand side of the tank.

--Adeeb

 

[adeebm]

Got the sole and glass gobies today! 2x soles and 6x gobies. The sole made themselves right at home after acclimation, burying in the sand. They are about 2" atm. The gobies turned out to be a lot smaller than expected. They might end up being mudskipper food.

Being acclimated:

Looks like it really is Brachirus pan, which is good. They often get confused with Brachirus panoides which grows to 8" and would be too aggressive for my tank.

Gobiopterus chuno

And in the tank:

$5 if you can spot the sole

--Adeeb

 

[Borderlesscott]

Those mudskippers are the coolest little critters I've seen on here in a while. No one really does those set ups over here in the UK, really good to see something different. Hope you continue to post updates, loving this set up!
Oh, you owe me $5 - but I'll take updates instead.

 

[hpiguy]

Mudskippers and a sole fish? WOW! This is very neat.

Would be a great use for someone that had a leaky tank and didn't trust it to hold a full amount of water after resealing.

I used to have a 20 with half water, half dry land. Had it filled with feeder guppies, newts and crabs. Lots of fun watching the newts and crabs catch the small guppies and seeing them go from dry land back and forth. Maybe I'll have to do that again....

 

[Cichlid-dude]

Im curious as to what those mudskippers eat? That is an amazing looking tank btw. Awesome job!

 

[adeebm]

Thanks guys!

Looks like I'm gonna have trouble feeding the soles. I can't find them during the day, they must be fairly deep in the sand. They seem to come out at night and stick to the glass, but when I tried feeding with tweezers, they hid back in the sand. Guess they don't like the light.

Im curious as to what those mudskippers eat? That is an amazing looking tank btw. Awesome job!

The mudskippers are hand fed frozen mysis and frozen bloodworms at the moment.

--Adeeb

 

[Jetstorm369]

Dude, that is brilliant. +1

 

[adeebm]

Well, so far the sole have refused to eat anything, no matter what I've tried. I stayed up for an hour last night wiggling bloodworms in their face. I got them from franksaquarium, and Frank said they were readily eating live blackworms, so I picked some up today, along with the worm keeper thingy. Surprisingly easy to clean and maintain. I fed some to my tetras, and they loved the live food. Going to try feeding the soles with blackworms tonight, hopefully they'll bite.

--Adeeb

 

[bettaowner]

The flounder is cool.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Nice set-up, any updates on the soles?

 

[Borderlesscott]

Update?

 

[adeebm]

Mudskippers are doing great, getting nice and fat now. They eat from my hand and have surprisingly strong jaws. Doesn't hurt, but if they had been the larger African species, I'd be worried about my fingers! As for soles, one passed away early on. The other guys refused to eat anything. I tried placing live blackworms in the tank, but he never got to them. I ended up putting him in a breeder net, so I know he's able to find food. Unfortunately I was out of blackworms by then, and the only LFS that carries them won't have more until this Friday. So he's still alive, but as far as I know, hasn't eaten anything yet.

From what I read online, I'd assumed they'd take blackworms and bloodworms readily. Guess they are more picky than noted. Also the problem might have been mouth size. These guys are tiny, and the frozen bloodworms that I had were way too big. The new batch is smaller, but he may have gotten to the point where he won't take anything and just starve. If I try them again, I'll have to make sure to place them in the breeder net right away and have blackworms from day 1...

--Adeeb

 

[Borderlesscott]

Good to know the mudskippers doing well, keep the updates coming as you have a really unique tank!

 

[Phish]

Is it hard caring for mudskippers? I've never heard much about them but your pictures make me want one. Is it a brackish water animal? Sorry if you already put this I'm at work and can't read it. Nice tank btw very thoughtful

 

[adeebm]

Is it hard caring for mudskippers? I've never heard much about them but your pictures make me want one. Is it a brackish water animal? Sorry if you already put this I'm at work and can't read it. Nice tank btw very thoughtful

They are really very easy to care for. Just need frozen foods, and yes they are brackish. Bloodworms, mysis, or brine 3-4 times a week and they are fat and happy.

--Adeeb