Help.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
M

Markw

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 14, 2009
72
0
0
Maryland
Ok, I have looked far and wide, and I cant seem to find any good, concrete info on the things that I am looking for. I am new to brackish water. I currently have two 50ish gal freshwater tanks. I am getting a 180gal tank most likely soon and if I do, I would like to set it up as a brackish aquarium. I already have all the equipment needed besides substrate and aquascaping materials. (well..besides fish of corse) I am looking to get a combination of some of the following species:

Bumblebee goby (definately this one)
Dragon (Violet) goby (hopefully this one)
Freshwater flounder (definately this one)
Mollies
Killifish
and I would like to know if any of the following could be kept with them:
Australian Desert Goby
Halfbeak
Leaf Goblinfish
Leaf Fish
Butterfly goby/waspfish
F/W Lionfish, threespined frogfish, toadfish, whatever you call it. Same thing.
Dusky Panther Goby (called something else also)

I am really interested in the first three mentioned and the freshwater lionfish. If the bumblebees, gragon goby and lionfish can be kept together, or even just the bumblebees and lionfish without the gragon, that would be heaven for me. But, I doubt it.

Any info on the combinations of the forementioned that could be kept together would be amazing. Also, the ideal water parameters would help tremendously as I said before, I cant find any good info on them Id also really like to have some archers, but I dont know if they can go with bumblebees. If they could, thatd be great too.

Any additions to my list that could be kept with the bumblebee gobies would be greatly appreciated also.

Thanks in advance
Mark
 
With bumblebees...
Australian Desert Goby-I doubt it. ADG's are predators and can get large enough to eat BBG's.
Halfbeak-Personally, I wouldn't risk it, but it's worth a try if you're not afraid to lose some BBG's.
Leaf Goblinfish, waspfish (Neovespicula depressifrons)-No.
Leaf Fish-I don't know much about this species, but probably not.
F/W Lionfish-No.
Archers-No.

One thing you need to remember is that bumblebee gobies are very small. Things like guppies, maybe glassfish, other BBG's (there are multiple species available)... All the time I see people keeping them with puffers. Although that isn't something I would do, it seems to work out.
 
"Ok, I have looked far and wide, and I cant seem to find any good, concrete info on the things that I am looking for..."

yeah... you'll find that with brackish. theres only about 1/10th of the info on keeping brackish fish as there is for fresh or full salt. ive said it before to other people, keeping a brackish tank is a dark art. it makes you a better aquarist as you have to make desicions for yourself due to the lack of info, and due to the lack of set rules. you will have to use your head, and your balls:)

the bumblebee gobies will seriously limit your fish choices though... as they get to like 1". and in my opinion, would get lost in a 180 gal. you could have so many other fish in that tank. archers, monos, scats, columbian shark cats, brackish dats, 'freshwater' moray eels (gymnothorax tile), puffers, bigger gobies ect. so if you really want the BBG's, get a smaller tank instead. or get the 180 gal for big fish,and get a small 10 gal for the gobies.

you would also have to take into account that BBG's are a lowend brackish fish, but things like monos are highend brackish to marine as adults. so your fish will need to be compatable with each other so the dont kill each other, but also come from the same brackish environment.
 
Ok, well if the bumblebees are out of the question in the 180, which I could see why.., then what about the Lionfish? Are there any fish that can be kept with these? The bigger fish, I take it? Id really like to have one of these, I always have, but I really wanted the bumblees also. I have a 20gal extra tank, I might make this into a bumblebee/peaceful brackish tank as I really adore these little buggars.

Mark
 
Markw;2911327;2911327 said:
Ok, well if the bumblebees are out of the question in the 180, which I could see why.., then what about the Lionfish? Are there any fish that can be kept with these? The bigger fish, I take it? Id really like to have one of these, I always have, but I really wanted the bumblees also. I have a 20gal extra tank, I might make this into a bumblebee/peaceful brackish tank as I really adore these little buggars.

Mark
Click to expand...
Austrailan Desert Gobies are FW not brackish as far as I know.

Leaf Goblinfish, Dusky Panther Goby, and Butterfly Goby/Wasp Fish are all the same fish (Neovespicula deprisifrons [sometimes just stated as vespicula deprissifrons]). I have one in with bumble bee gobies right now in my grow out tank, but once it gets large enough to possibly eat them he will be moved into my 65 gallon mangrove tank.

I am not sure what leaf fish you are talking about. Nandus nandus are sometimes called a leaf fish, and they are brackish water fish (although they can live in fw as well). But the normal asian or south american leaf fish are definitly not BW, they like soft acidic FW.

A FW Lionfish (Bactrus species) will limit your choices of tank mates severely. You'd be able to do monos, scats, datnoids (polota or campbelli are theonly brackish adaptable ones that usually enter the market), marble gobies, fat sleeper gobies, large FW morays possibly (echidna rhodaclus, G. Tile). All have to be the same size or larger then the lion fish.
 
As stated above, freshwater lionfish are gonna limit you choices again. Any thing that can fit in their mouths is toast, an they have big mouths... I think anything up to half thief size will be on the menu. Maybe even up to 2/3 of Their size, but both fish would probably die as a result.

I think using a 20 gal as a BBG tank is a much better idea though.
 
I'm glad to see more people answering questions here. :)
The 20 gal would make a great tank for a BBG community, and still afford room for a few other tiny brackish fish.
Australian desert gobies are FW fish, but they are extremely adaptable given that they live in small desert pools which can apparently have more salt than marine water. They only live for about a year anyway. Some breeders reccomend keeping them in brackish water. I doubt it would make a difference considering how prolific and short-lived they are.
 
Thanks fr the link! It helped me tremendously. So for now what Im thinking about is:

For the big tank (tell me if this is way overstocked as I am not great with that.):
2/3 Monos
2/3 Scats
3 Archers

And id like to keep a lionfish with them if that is acceptable if all the fish listed are larger than the lion. Any ideas on this? Id e willing to 'dump' a species mentioned if I cold get a lion with these.

For the smaller tank:
Bumblebee Gobies (please tell me the max number of these guys I could have in order to thrive in this tank. Id like to have a large colony.)
Sailfin Mollies or other peaceful livebearers (maybe)
Freshwater Flounder
Maybe some snails?

and maybe a few of the following plants:
Java Fern
Giant Hygrophila
Onion Plant

Any advice would be amazing. Especially as to how many bumblebees I cold keep in the 20gal. For the bumblebees, I guess the footprint would be more valuable than the gallonage, so Its either a 20gal long or a 29gal high I will be using. Most likely the 20gal long though.

Thanks in advance.
Mark
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom