Brackish

[Xtreme Wife]

Sorry, had no idea where to ask this..there is MASA for marine TASA for tropical but no BASA for brackish..lol.
So I did the absolute worse thing and saved a mud-skipper from a local pet shop here, it was in fresh water with silver dollars :mad: and begged me to help him. I want to know if I can put him in with my 3 Knight gobbies and if I can add orange chromide later on? He is still very small and I am keeping him in a small tank until I have all the fish I want to put in that tank at the same sg.

[larch]

Knight Goby's do best with other mid level fish like swordtails and sailfin mollies. Mudskippers are amphibious fish and it would require you to change the setup and layout of your Goby's tank.

[Xtreme Wife]

My brackish tank is set up for a mudskipper as well.... have land,rocks and wood in there and a mangrove, my problem is will the knight gobbies eat the orange chromide? I want to add archers too?

[Xtreme Wife]

this is a pic of the brackish tank, the big rock in the corner has big holes in them that is filled with beach sand.

[larch]

this is a pic of the brackish tank, the big rock in the corner has big holes in them that is filled with beach sand.

Nice setup how big is the tank as far as I know archer fish get pretty damn big. Don't know what the Gobbies will do with the Orange Chromide though.

[oscar freak]

are'nt chromides BL?

[larch]

are'nt chromides BL?

Xtreme Wife is from Namibia our BL does not apply there.

[oscar freak]

lucky biscuit

[Zoom]

Just a stupid question... don't mudskippers spend most of their time out of the water? Does that tank allow for the mudskipper to get out?

[Xtreme Wife]

Nice setup how big is the tank as far as I know archer fish get pretty damn big. Don't know what the Gobbies will do with the Orange Chromide though.
Yes they get up to 30cm. It is a 160L(was my hubbies sump for his marine, but i uhmmm...borrowed it). Going to set up a 400L+ tank for them later...mangrove gets big as well, so do not have much of a choice...lol...will post a pic of what I am thinking of doing.

---------- Post added at 10:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 ----------


Just a stupid question... don't mudskippers spend most of their time out of the water? Does that tank allow for the mudskipper to get out?
Yes they do, that is why I have a Huge rock in there with big holes filled with sand and wood for him, so that he can climb out.

---------- Post added at 10:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 ----------


lucky biscuit
Uhmm, that is kinda weird, I ordered them from JHB. But yes, we are lucky...lol

[Xtreme Wife]

5006

This is what I am planning:bigsmile:.(planning to get my hubby to do...lol)

[Q89]

5006

This is what I am planning:bigsmile:.(planning to get my hubby to do...lol)

I like this, me want also!! My muddies is getting to big for the tank they are in.

[Xtreme Wife]

lol..I`m first on the list, then you can ask him to make you one too

[mark d]

What size tank are you going to get?

[Filterboy]

i like muddskippers. dont you have a other tank where you can move it and then if it is bigger move it with the knight gobbies

[SalmonAfrica]

I love brackish fish, my dad got me started on them when he made his massive brackish tank; truely a sight to behold. :)

I'm busy writing up an article on brackish for beginners for TASA, watch this space :)

[stormbringer101]

nice one Tim .the more people into brak the better.
Xtreme wife , you rock what an awsome tank to plan for,my wife loved the archers untill they started spitting at her and the roof and the walls etc.

[Filterboy]

lol. what do you feed your archers? must i feed them live insects

[Q89]

nice one Tim .the more people into brak the better.
Xtreme wife , you rock what an awsome tank to plan for,my wife loved the archers untill they started spitting at her and the roof and the walls etc.

Are you sure that they are Archers? Maybe they are Lamas?

[Filterboy]

lol how many archers can fit in a 300L

[SalmonAfrica]

Depends on the dimensions - archers are capable of growing to over 20cm, and they needmore tank length and width more than tank depth.

[Filterboy]

so a long and wide tank will do for them. and what rock formation do they need.

[SalmonAfrica]

Preferably you'd keep the tank quite open near the surface, and any rockwork or decor should be kept towards the bottom so as to keep the surface free. However, there are 2 exceptions to this rule: if you're simulating mangrove roots (which archers love, by the way), try to do so such that they go right from the bottom and out of the tank. The second exception wold be if you're creating surfaces outside of the water which the archers can shoot their prey off of.

[Xtreme Wife]

Some gr8 ideas, will have to keep it all in mind. I put the mudskipper in and the two of us had a fight about bloodworms.I give him his on his rock and the knight gobbies gets theirs in the tank and he wanted it all. When I took it from him he jumped on my hand and took it back, so I decided if he wants it that much he can have it...lol

[mark d]

Die vraat.Hy moet leer om eers in jou oe Te spring(want brack water brand jou oe)Dan alles te steel!

[Rickus]

Can I make brackish water with aquarium salt? I bought 2 mudskippers at the LPS they where in a tank with no place to go outside of the water.

[SalmonAfrica]

Please don't use 'aquarium' salt. You must use marine salt, because this has the correct chemical composition that replicates true marine and brackish water.

[Rickus]

Thanx, I did some research aswell and your answer is correct. I managed to find some seawater from a guy that has a marine tank. I dont have a meter to read the "strenght" of the water yet. What sould be the correct ratio to dilute the seawater with fresh water, to get brackish water?

I also read that insects is there main diet, so I bought some crickets for R40. What other food is good for them eg. flakes, pellets, eathworms ... ???

The fiance is very cean on the little buggers, see did alot of reachers aswell this morning and printed alot of facts.

Any other things that I should keep in mind???
Will post a few pics tonight....

[Janine]

Rickus covered most of the topics we're not 100% sure of, but there's still a few questions I want to ask...

Humidity? Water temp? Substrate?

I read that they need a very humid area, for there skin to keep moist when they're out of the water - How do we do that?
Last night the water temperature were 29°C-30°C, is it too hot?
At the moment we used sand, I think it's used in swimming pool pumps. It's more like crushed rock than sand. Mudskippers like to dig tunnels and I don't think this substrate will work for that purpose, I think the sand wil slide back into the tunnel. What would be the best suitable substrate to use?
Then last but not the least, where will we be able to find some Mongrove and "Fiddler"(?) crabs, I would like to add some to our Mudskippers' tank.

[Janine]

I searched Fiddler Crabs on Google, they are ugly little things and grows too large. Aren't there any other smaller tipes we can use in the Mudskipper tank, to keep it clean? Would "sea crabs" work, what's the do's and dont's, or is it Blacklisted?
I'm going to Natal in March, how will we be able to keep sea water (marine water) fresh for a long period, if we're not going to use all at once?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want the best for our Muddies, don't want them to die becuase of our wrong doing.

[SalmonAfrica]

Thanx, I did some research aswell and your answer is correct. I managed to find some seawater from a guy that has a marine tank. I dont have a meter to read the "strenght" of the water yet. What sould be the correct ratio to dilute the seawater with fresh water, to get brackish water?

I also read that insects is there main diet, so I bought some crickets for R40. What other food is good for them eg. flakes, pellets, eathworms ... ???

The fiance is very cean on the little buggers, see did alot of reachers aswell this morning and printed alot of facts.

Any other things that I should keep in mind???
Will post a few pics tonight....

Hi

To measure the strength of the sea water, also known as the salinity, you'll need an instrument known as a hydrometer. There are 2 different kinds and both should be available from your local stores which deal in marine fish. One looks like a compass from a maths set and the other looks like a thermometer. They shouldn't cost more than R200 and which one you choose is just personal preference. Once you get this instrument, test your water. The specific gravity (or SG) reading on the hydrometer should be between 1.005 and 1.010 for your mudskippers to be happy.

The mudskippers, at first, will appreciate live and frozen foods, such as earthworms, crickets, moths, flies, bloodworm, brine shrimp, fish meat etc., although after a while they'll happily take pellets and flakes.


Rickus covered most of the topics we're not 100% sure of, but there's still a few questions I want to ask...

Humidity? Water temp? Substrate?

I read that they need a very humid area, for there skin to keep moist when they're out of the water - How do we do that?
Last night the water temperature were 29°C-30°C, is it too hot?
At the moment we used sand, I think it's used in swimming pool pumps. It's more like crushed rock than sand. Mudskippers like to dig tunnels and I don't think this substrate will work for that purpose, I think the sand wil slide back into the tunnel. What would be the best suitable substrate to use?
Then last but not the least, where will we be able to find some Mongrove and "Fiddler"(?) crabs, I would like to add some to our Mudskippers' tank.

Hi

Humidity is very very important for mudskippers - in fact it keeps their skin moist, which allows them to stay out of the water for extended periods. Normally if you're running the tank with a heater, the water should be warm enough to cause some degree of evaporation and create humidity. Just be sure your have a well-fitting lid to keep this humidity in. The humidity doesn't have to be at a certain level but it just does need to be there.

Mudskippers are tropical fish, so a high temperature like that won't bother them too much provided that the water doesn't stay that warm for too long. Any temperature between 24 and 30 C should be fine - these guys don't mind so long as the water doesn't get too cold.

As far as gravel goes, just use anything sandy. They'll often grub through the sand, looking for food, but cannot do this with coarse gravel. The only way that your mudskippers will build a tunnel is if you have a sticky kind of mud, which I have tried and isn't very effective. It murks the water, doesn't always hold, and can sometimes stink. It also becomes anaerobic very quickly. Mudskippers will live completely happy lives without mud or a tunnel, it just means that they won't breed, which isn't likely in captivity anyway. Rather just stick to the basics.

As for the mangrove and fiddlers, leave them both out. Big mudskippers prey on crabs, and your mudskipper will get big eventually. And because the fiddler can tolerate freshwater, and is an invertebrate, it could be considered a freshwater invertebrate and therefore illegal. You won't likely see them for sale in South Africa because of this. Mangroves are occasionally available but don't work well in mudskipper setups. Mangroves need large amounts of nutrients to survive, and mudskippers quite frankly can't put out enough waste to feed a single mangrove. And mangroves grow huge - best left out.


I searched Fiddler Crabs on Google, they are ugly little things and grows too large. Aren't there any other smaller tipes we can use in the Mudskipper tank, to keep it clean? Would "sea crabs" work, what's the do's and dont's, or is it Blacklisted?
I'm going to Natal in March, how will we be able to keep sea water (marine water) fresh for a long period, if we're not going to use all at once?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want the best for our Muddies, don't want them to die becuase of our wrong doing.

No invertebrates that I know of that are brackish, legal and available. Not in South Africa anyways. Most mudskipper setups are species setups; they have the tank to themselves.

You don't have to use sea water, but you can if you please. Unfortunately this means that you'll be collecting a whole host of (very small, practically invisible) creatures from the water. These will likely die and so there isn't much you can do in the way of keeping it 'fresh'. It shouldn't be bad for use, though, so don't worry about that.

Best of luck for your brackish endeavors

[Janine]

Thank you SA! One of our Mudskippers died yesterday, now we only have one left, but he/she seems very happy. Gave it a few flying ants yesterday, there's always 2 or 3 crickets in his tank and we gave him some frozen bloodworms today. As soon as we moved away he came out and ate some. He is still very scared and shy, hope he'll get use to us soon.
The tank seems very humid now, we didn't have the lid on from the start, as soon as we closed the lid, the glass became foggy.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Please don't use 'aquarium' salt. You must use marine salt, because this has the correct chemical composition that replicates true marine and brackish water.

Does rock salt work as well?

SAMB

[SalmonAfrica]

Rock salt... I'm not sure exactly what that is. It really depends on it's composition. If it's Sodium Chloride, with nothing added to it (definitely not iodized), I'd like to say that's fine. However, having never tried this myself, I can't say it'll definitely be alright.