Thinking of setting up a mudskipper tank

[sinisterorion]

I know there are a lot of threads about mudskippers but i wanted to make my own since my tanks not really the kind of tank i see most of the people in the threads have.

My friends are giving me their old lizard tank which is 18 x 18 x 24 tall. What i want to do is turn it into a paludarium but only about 3 inches of the 24 are water sealed (also the door opens facing from the front, not the top, obviously above the 3 inch mark.)
My first question is can that still work as a paludarium?

Now i will be keeping this in my college's public aquarium. the main emphasis in that aquarium is marine tanks but i also am working on a 20 gallon fresh. to give it a bit of a change up i was thinking of making this into brackish so i can show off a little of every type of water since we have classes on aquariums plus we give tours. of course the first thing i thought of when i thought of brackish was mudskippers, and im sure my marine biology teachers would love having one for their lectures. of course that brings me to my next question, is it possible to keep mudskippers in that type of tank?

I was thinking of having mangroves for the mudskipper (we have kept some mangroves in pure salt water for long periods of time so we're pretty confident in being able to keep them in brackish). since it's also such a tall tank i wanted to have a few other plants for show, especially around the top, or maybe have a small waterfall in the corner dribbling some water down. Now this brings me to my final question, with all that room for non fish animals, are there any that are brackish and play well with mudskippers? I know frogs cant do brackish so their out. Im not a big fan of hermits, but what about fiddler's? iv heard mixed reviews about keeping them together. some say mudskippers go after fiddlers, others say fiddlers will harass mudskippers. i would like a fiddler (quite a fan of arthropods) but i dont want to have animals that dont get along well. are there any other non fish animals that would work well?

Thanks again for any help.

 

[sinisterorion]

Just a camera phone picture i took of it a while ago.

 

[SalmonAfrica]

Hi

1) The tank can work - just ensure that there are at least a few inches of brackish water and some land for the skipper to sit on, and you should be good. An issue with such a small amount of water, though, is heating and filtration. Try make something work for a filter - normally an external filter is best. As for heating, you most likely won't be able to fit a rod heater in there (even if you do, it's not safe for the mudskipper - look for a heater guard if you do). You can try to go for a cable heater (as used in some planted tanks), or a heating mat from the reptile displays. Issue with these is that they may overheat the water; watch out for this.

2) No to the mangroves, at least long term. They get huge, and like their space. Second problem comes in from the amount of nutrients these guys need, especially compared to regular aquarium plants. This problem can be combatted with fertilizer.

Good luck mate

 

[tjwilt]

That kind of tank is probably best suited for herps that are not as tied to the water, but it might work for Periophthalmus novemradiatus. I know usually between 4 and 6 in of water is recommended for mudskippers, but they stay very small, usually around 2.5 in or so. They would not need as much space and might be ok in slightly less water. Two of them would probably be ok. Bigger skippers would need more room but these small guys should still be able to have their own little territories and be able to get away from each other. Mudskippers would appreciate some of the room to climb on a land section you could build up and some branch/root work. For the upper levels there isn't much I can think of that would work. Most plants other than mangroves that do well in brackish water need to be fully submerged. I think the crabs would be fine. I have seen some people's tanks who keep these smaller skippers with red clawed crabs without issue. Fiddlers are not as powerful as these crabs so they should be just fine as long as the mudskippers don't look at them as food.

 

[Stratoquarius]

Buy some cheap waterproof silicone sealant from any hardware store and seal it yourself.

 

[djsaltynuts]

Hi

1) The tank can work - just ensure that there are at least a few inches of brackish water and some land for the skipper to sit on, and you should be good. An issue with such a small amount of water, though, is heating and filtration. Try make something work for a filter - normally an external filter is best. As for heating, you most likely won't be able to fit a rod heater in there (even if you do, it's not safe for the mudskipper - look for a heater guard if you do). You can try to go for a cable heater (as used in some planted tanks), or a heating mat from the reptile displays. Issue with these is that they may overheat the water; watch out for this.

2) No to the mangroves, at least long term. They get huge, and like their space. Second problem comes in from the amount of nutrients these guys need, especially compared to regular aquarium plants. This problem can be combatted with fertilizer.

Good luck mate

this is a really old thread but for anyone currently reading this 2 is almost completely untrue. while they are trees even in freshwater(which they grow fastest in) they grow extremely slow. ive had a couple for about a year and they havent done anything except get better colors and thats with them about an inch away from a 50 watt bulb and regular fertilization. by trimming the new leaves before they separate you can easily turn the mangrove into a bonsai of sorts without even binding the roots with wire. my point is that no one should be discouraged from growing this plant it makes very little growth excepts basically any substrate and needs very little light (but appreciate high light). also most info online about growing them ive found to be very inaccurate, the only thing worth reading about them is scientific papers, since all the hobbiest information pertains to the care of black mangrove even though they say its for redmangrove. this plant does not require daily misting like people say. ( i havent misted the leaves in 6 months) my previous mangroves seemed to do much worse when receiving daily misting but there were other factors involved. also about the nutrients they dont use very much and can grow fine in completely inert substrate. hardiness and being able to grow in practically any substrate(high nutrient anaerobic mud is their favorite) is their niche in nature.

 

[djsaltynuts]

this tank size is great for mangroves. you may need to trim like every 1-3 years if they do well.