Should i add my bumblebee gobies to my 180litre tank?

[Fishless cycle]

I have been posting rather a lot on here recently - hope I'm not being a pain

I have a new 180 litre tank with 21 small fish -

6 dwarf neon rainbow fish
8 neon tetras
6 harlequin rasbora
1 guppy

All my water levels are good. I recently fishless cycled the 180 litre with 3ppm ammonia and it seems to have done the trick. They've been eating very well on granules, blood worm and brine shrimp. I feed them twice a day.

I have a 22litre tropical freshwater tank with 5 bumblebee gobies, will they be better off in with the others. There seems to be plenty of space and i don't plan on getting anymore fish. I'm concerned the others will take all the food, before the gobies get a chance though! What do you think?

 

[Samzter]

I have been posting rather a lot on here recently - hope I'm not being a pain

I have a new 180 litre tank with 21 small fish -

6 dwarf neon rainbow fish
8 neon tetras
6 harlequin rasbora
1 guppy

All my water levels are good. I recently fishless cycled the 180 litre with 3ppm ammonia and it seems to have done the trick. They've been eating very well on granules, blood worm and brine shrimp. I feed them twice a day.

I have a 22litre tropical freshwater tank with 5 bumblebee gobies, will they be better off in with the others. There seems to be plenty of space and i don't plan on getting anymore fish. I'm concerned the others will take all the food, before the gobies get a chance though! What do you think?

All I know is that you need to make sure you have the freshwater type. There's 3 different types and the ones which are commonly available are mainly the brackish type. A 22 litre is really too small.

 

[Fishless cycle]

Thanks - the lfs said they were for fresh water. Having said that I will doubly make sure. If they are brackish i will buy a larger tank and change the water for them. If they are freshwater would it be okay to add them in with the others?

 

[Fishless cycle]

All I know is that you need to make sure you have the freshwater type. There's 3 different types and the ones which are commonly available are mainly the brackish type. A 22 litre is really too small.

I've just been looking at bumblebee gobies online - it's not very clear to me which type I have. If I create a brackish water tank... would it be harmful to them if they are not brackish water fish?

 

[Scottyhorse]

ALL bumblebee gobies are brackish water. Some can tolerate freshwater, but they will not thrive. The ONLY time when they should be in freshwater is to induce spawning.

 

[Fishless cycle]

ALL bumblebee gobies are brackish water. Some can tolerate freshwater, but they will not thrive. The ONLY time when they should be in freshwater is to induce spawning.

I've had the BBGs for about a month in freshwater - I will look into setting it up as brackish then - hopefully they will be okay transitioning... should I gradually bring the level of salt in gently?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Yes. All brackish fish tolerate varying levels of salinity. In fact, some people recommended changing the level of salinity with each water change, just as it would in the wild. As long as it isn't full on saltwater or freshwater, they will be okay. I would recommend 1.005-1.015. They will become more active, healthier, and long lived once you introduce them to brackish water. They will be okay in a freshwater tank for a couple months until you set up and cycle the new brackish tank. I am just going to guess and say you have 5, so a ten gal planted tank with rockwork to break up the line of sight and soft gravel of sand substrate would suffice for them. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

You can start transitioning them to brackish now.

 

[CharlieKlein]

ALL bumblebee gobies are brackish water. Some can tolerate freshwater, but they will not thrive. The ONLY time when they should be in freshwater is to induce spawning.

100% agree. I was lookin into them, and kept saying the type I want is freshwater. After alot of fm reserch it turns out that they are All brackish

 

[Fishless cycle]

Thanks for this - that is really helpful. I will need to buy a 10 gallon tank then or larger as they are in a 22litre (about 5 gallon). I'll get the tank cycled first so may take 2-3weeks before I can add them. I will need to buy a refractometer also won't I to check the salt levels? Will I need to use a marine API test kit for brackish as I only have an API freshwater kit?

What would I be able to keep in my 22litre tank. It seems too small for anything to live happily. Any suggestions? Perhaps a betta fighter fish (I think that's what it's called)?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Thanks for this - that is really helpful. I will need to buy a 10 gallon tank then or larger as they are in a 22litre (about 5 gallon). I'll get the tank cycled first so may take 2-3weeks before I can add them. I will need to buy a refractometer also won't I to check the salt levels? Will I need to use a marine API test kit for brackish as I only have an API freshwater kit?

What would I be able to keep in my 22litre tank. It seems too small for anything to live happily. Any suggestions? Perhaps a betta fighter fish (I think that's what it's called)?

You can move the decor and substrate to the new tank and add the gobies at the same time. The filter and substrate will instantly cycle the tank. No need to endure another cycle when it's not needed. Yes you will need something to check the level of salinity. I'm pretty sure the FW kit will do brackish. It is the same testing solutions as the SW just different colour charts as far as I know. Remember to transition the gobies and the bacteria in the filter slowly over to brackish so as to not shock them.

A single betta (aka Siamese fighter fish) will be perfect for the 22L or some shrimp.

 

[Fishless cycle]

You can move the decor and substrate to the new tank and add the gobies at the same time. The filter and substrate will instantly cycle the tank. No need to endure another cycle when it's not needed. Yes you will need something to check the level of salinity. I'm pretty sure the FW kit will do brackish. It is the same testing solutions as the SW just different colour charts as far as I know. Remember to transition the gobies and the bacteria in the filter slowly over to brackish so as to not shock them.

A single betta (aka Siamese fighter fish) will be perfect for the 22L or some shrimp.

Brilliant! I'll get on to it this weekend. Again, huge thanks for your help. What sort of plants would be good in brackish for the bunblebee gobies? Any idea?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

In know anubias and java fern can be transitioned over to brackish. Other than that I have no idea sorry.

 

[Fishless cycle]

In know anubias and java fern can be transitioned over to brackish. Other than that I have no idea sorry.

Do I need to feed plants or will the light be enough?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Do I need to feed plants or will the light be enough?

Some ferts won't go astray but they will survive without it. What's the light again?

 

[Fishless cycle]

Some ferts won't go astray but they will survive without it. What's the light again?

The light on my 22 litre tank with the 5 bumblebee gobies is a 9W PL tube - but I will buy a larger tank at the weekend for them.

 

[Fishless cycle]

Yes. All brackish fish tolerate varying levels of salinity. In fact, some people recommended changing the level of salinity with each water change, just as it would in the wild. As long as it isn't full on saltwater or freshwater, they will be okay. I would recommend 1.005-1.015. They will become more active, healthier, and long lived once you introduce them to brackish water. They will be okay in a freshwater tank for a couple months until you set up and cycle the new brackish tank. I am just going to guess and say you have 5, so a ten gal planted tank with rockwork to break up the line of sight and soft gravel of sand substrate would suffice for them. If you have any questions, let me know.

How do I get the salt level right... in order to convert a freshwater tropical to brackish? Do I buy salt water from the lfs and add a certain amount to the tank gradually?

 

[Fishless cycle]

I've been adding marine salt over the past few weeks to the tank with the BBGs but this week one died. I'm gutted

I have been back to the lfs and they said that it could be because of adding the salt since the type of BBGs i have are freshwater - they are called brachygobius aggregatus. I didn't realise so I've now added then to the freshwater tank. I will have to target feed them as they won't be able to compete for food. They are just too slow!

 

[Scottyhorse]

I've been adding marine salt over the past few weeks to the tank with the BBGs but this week one died. I'm gutted

I have been back to the lfs and they said that it could be because of adding the salt since the type of BBGs i have are freshwater - they are called brachygobius aggregatus. I didn't realise so I've now added then to the freshwater tank. I will have to target feed them as they won't be able to compete for food. They are just too slow!

Don't kick yourself. When you have a fish that was kept in freshwater for so long, you have to raise the SG a couple points a week. About .001-.002 if I am correct. What is the SG reading now?

 

[Fishless cycle]

I got the SG up to 1.004 over a few weeks. I thought I had been adding really slowly. I don't want to risk another life so I've added them to the large freshwater tank. They seem okay and I managed to feed them with bloodworms - I distracted the other fish and fed them the other end of the tank and then target fed the gobies. I'll keep an eye on them.

At least it means I have a spare tank that I can use as a hospital tank if need be!