Brackish aquarium.... op.    8/7/11
Hello once again! It's been a few months and I am looking for some help/new info. I have a 55gal brackish set up. Sand, rocks, caves and lots of fake fabric plants (I haven't had much luck with live ones).
<Can be tricky in brackish water above SG 1.003 at 25 C/77 F.>
I have a dragon goby (8" at the moment), 2 knight gobies, 2 purple spotted gudgeons (3"),
<Not actually brackish water fish, but should do okay at low salinities.>
2 fiddler crabs (they have coral rock safely stacked to climb to the top of my tank and a land set up on top of my tank that they like),
<Will be damaged eventually, and likely eaten by the Puffers. Not suitable for this sort of aquarium. Repeat after me: crabs cannot be kept with fish, crabs cannot be kept with fish, they need a vivarium, they need a vivarium.>
and about 8 platy's.
<Not brackish water fish either, but should be okay to SG 1.003.>
I was just given 2 F8 puffers by a friend's friend that got them (4 originally) on impulse.
<Oh dear.>
Only 2 were still alive when I got them but one is extremely thin and I am not sure if it will make it. I have started a drip to the 10 gal aquarium that they came in to adjust them to brackish water. I know they need a bigger tank. My question is would they be ok in my 55 gal with my fish or is that a bad idea?
<Impossible to say. Some Figure-8s are very well behaved, and work fine with fast-moving fish. But others are aggressive, and most are fin-nippers to some degree. By all means see what happens, but look out for signs of nipping and aggression.>
At least until I can get a 30gal cycled. They are both barely and inch long at the moment. I am also curious as to your thoughts on whether or not they could stay in my 55 long term. Everything I have read says that they should be in their own tank.
<Is the best approach.>
This is assuming that they both live. If only one lives would your thoughts on the tank compatibility be the same? I am also wanting to know how quickly I can adapt them to the brackish.
<Half an hour from freshwater to SG 1.003-1.003; perhaps an hour from freshwater to SG 1.010.>
I feel as though the sick one does not have a chance at all unless I can get it acclimated quickly. Thank you for your help!
<Good luck, Neale.>

Algae control with F8 Puffers   4/13/10
Hi there!
<Hello,>
I've been doing a vast amount of reading and research as I am setting up a 30 gallon brackish tank specifically for F8 puffers. My plan (after all of the research so far) is to get 3 puffers, 2 pair of Knight Gobies and 6 Bumble Bee Gobies. I have some uncertainty about getting Orange Chromides instead of the Knight Gobies, and I am looking for input on that issue,
<Orange Chromides can certainly be feisty when spawning, which they will do fairly readily if you get a pair. Since Etroplus maculatus is rather difficult to sex, it's also easy to end up with two males, and they will chase one another about all the time. The wild-type fish are easier to sex than the permanently orange artificial morph.>
but my question is, what is the best algae controller to get knowing that the Puffers will be aggressive toward it or eat it?
<The best algae control is algae suppression, via plenty of fast-growing plants. Assuming you're aiming for SG 1.003, ample for these species, floating Indian Fern should do the trick nicely.>
I have been told that if I get a large Hermit Crab, it should be safe from the Puffers, but I've seen read that they eat pretty large crabs on a regular basis.
<Even if they don't eat a whole crab, there's the potential for nipping at appendages, and immediately after moulting the crab will be especially vulnerable.>
And I don't think they can live in brackish water.
<Depends on the Hermit Crab, and also on how "brackish" the water is.
Clibanarius tricolor is okay between about SG 1.010 and 1.025, but I wouldn't take it lower. Clibanarius africanus is happiest between 1.005 and 1.010.>
Snails are food, so they won't work, and many times on your web site, you have advised people not to put a Pleco in with the Puffers.
<Indeed.>
Shrimp are snacks, so what else can I do? I really like (and want) a sand sifting Goby, but I've seen you advise against that as well. What are my options for an algae controller that will survive the Puffers?
<Nerite snails are probably the best bets. Puffers tend to ignore them because their shells are so thick. They only eat green algae and diatoms, and ignore plants. Plus, they're inexpensive. So if you lose the odd specimen, replacing it won't be a big deal. So try a few, see what happens.>
Thank you for your help,
Jodi
<Cheers, Neale.>

Brackish overhaul  9/27/08 Good evening, <Hello,> I am not really sure where this falls as far as category, so I guess I will just start from the beginning. I have a 20 gallon long tank that is slightly brackish, around 1.003 I've had setup for years and it actually started out a long time ago as an African cichlid fry tank before it was converted to brackish and housing various mollies, gobies and some brackish plants throughout the years. The substrate was originally just aragonite sand, but at some time I added a bit of gravel to kind of help the plants stay gripped without having to rely too much on weighting them. <OK.> Anyway, I thought I was doing a decent job at the maintenance over the years but I recently got a few baby F8 puffers and after having a bit of trouble policing their messy eating habits with the gravel in place and the rock layout and lack of circulation because of the way they were laid out, I decided I was going to drain the tank, use a kitty litter scooper (new) and get the gravel out and set up the tank a little more puffer friendly. <Messy gravel looks worse than it is. The risk to your livestock is minimal, and plants absolutely adore these anoxic conditions that allow their roots to work properly. The best approach is simply to use a pencil or some other stick to stir the top few cm of the gravel every week or two when you do your water changes, and siphon off any detritus. Even if you only do this once in a while, you'll be fine.> I drained about 5 gallons of water and housed the puffers, the BBGS and a couple of shrimp in a 5 gal and proceeded to remove the gravel...I also was starting to get a bad black algae problem so I was taking the decor out and giving it a bit of a used aquarium water scrub with a new toothbrush. <Is the "black algae" either Blue-Green Algae (slimy, with a musty smell) or Red Algae (hairy, silky stuff)? BGA is a good sign that there is inadequate water circulation and/or too much nitrate in the water. Red Algae usually just indicates an old tank, and is only effectively eliminated by a combination of fast-growing plants and certain algae-eating animals. Note: despite their names, both these algae types can be black!> To my horror, there was black junk all through the bottom layers of the substrate, I mean really bad. The water was foul smelling and probably would have killed anything that was in the tank if it had released. I felt awful. <Don't. In practise the risks associated with this are small. Ponds and marine tanks routinely have anoxic environments within them and no-one panics. While unsightly, the danger to your fish is small. There are ways to manage this though, not least of which is an understanding of the substrate. In "the wild" plant roots and animal burrows carry oxygen through the sediment to some degree, keeping the top layer at least reasonably well oxygenated. In the aquarium, if you establish fast-growing plants and then introduce those wonderful Malayan Livebearing Snails to the tank, these two things will keep the substrate very clean. Malayan Livebearing Snails are sometimes thought of as a pest by ignorant fishkeepers: they most certainly are not! They will thrive in brackish water up to about 50% normal seawater salinity.> I got the gravel out, added some more water and swished the sand and drained, repeated, until I was draining milky white water from the sand residue and no noticeable organic matter. <OK.> I filled the tank halfway, laid out my rocks, planted my Val.s and Anubias, added iron tabs to the roots of the Val.s and then topped the tank off. I let the filter run and waited a couple of hours until there was decent clarity and the ph was buffered and matching in salinity and temp. I added back my livestock a bit after. <OK.> Now, there aren't problems to speak of, but I do have a very strong smell when I raise the hood. It's not the rotten egg smell, and it isn't exactly earthy, I can't really describe...perhaps a bit mineral, but not as organic. <Precisely so; it's reduced mineral ions, and the plants love them!> The water parameters are fine, but I was wondering if bacteria died off and this is the smell, or if it is the rocks and sand without the fishiness yet...I can't remember what the tank originally smelled like to base any kind of opinion with the sand when it was new. <Anoxic sediments are home to anaerobic bacteria, the things we grow in live rock in marine tanks because they are so good at removing nitrate. There's nothing bad about anoxic sediments.> All the stones and rocks were present before. Like I said there are no problems, but I don't want to be potentially harming my fish with something I might be overlooking. Could it be the bad stuff that the filters sucked up while the tank was clearing....should I replace the filter pads and carbon? <I don't recommend using carbon in aquaria unless the user understands what it is for and what jobs it does. If you're using carbon because the retailer sold the stuff, then you likely don't need it. Carbon needs to be replaced very 2-4 weeks to do its job anyway, so if carbon is more than a month old, it's just wasting space in your filter.> I wish I could describe the smell better, but it kind of reminds me of when you go to a zoo and you enter an enclosed rain forest...that humid mineral smell...not exactly earthy, but not chemical either. sorry this is so long winded. I never have had to re-setup an actual already in use tank so I am a bit stumped. <All sounds fine. Enjoy your tank! Neale.>

Chicagoland Shops, BW sys. maint./op.  2/19/08 Hi, My names Crystal. <Hi Crystal, Jeni/Pufferpunk here.> I think we kind of run in the same LFS circles so I thought I would ask you for an opinion. I've kept suvatti and miurus for years but have ventured out into figure 8's and green spot. But I'm not doing something right. I have the Aqualog on Puffers and Neale Monks book on Brackish fishes. <Both great books.> The set up is as follows 125 gallons, I keep the salinity around 1.004-.006. Temp around 79-80 degrees. Run 2 OTB penguin 60's and 4 undergravel tubes. <I'm not a fan of UGFs.> Also 3 64oz CO2 bottles. About 40% of the tank is covered by assorted Cryptocorynes, 20% Java ferns and 15 Jungle Val plants and a huge Anubias. <Sounds beautiful.> Plant growth is good. I change out about 20-40 gal. per week by regular bucket and vacuum. Stock includes a beautiful mono, couple Black mollies and several platies that I acclimated up to the salinity. <Platies are not BW fish. The mono is a schooling fish that requires a much higher SG as an adult. Way too high for those plants.> They are all doing great and healthy. Here's my issue. I bought 5 figure 8's and 2 green spot from Scott's Petshop in Westchester. (You're from Chicago so you should know the place) For a week everything was fine, they chowed on all the snails I had seeded the tank with (thinking ahead). I kept checking the chemistry. Everything was within acceptable parameters. <"Acceptable" means nothing when posting a question about sick/dead fish. There are no acceptable amounts of ammonia or nitrite, it must remain 0 at all times. Please post those, along with nitrate & pH.> Then slowly over the next 2 weeks they all died off except 2. I waited a week, kept checking chemistry and bought 2 more Figure 8's from Scotts. Within 24 hrs, ich was everywhere. Got it cured up and 2 weeks after that they were dead. <Not quarantining your new fish? Many ich meds will kill a puffer. Heat, salt & large water changes are best for these sensitive fish.> My remaining 2 originals are fine. My opinion is that Puffers are touchy creatures at best and the chances of getting sick critters are high. <Not any more than other wild-caught fish, IMO.> But Scotts is known for having good stock. <Really? I haven't been there in quite some time but there were some posts in my reef club forum that said all they saw were sick/dying fish & lots of empty tanks.> Is there another store in the area that has a good puffer person and carries good stock? <Not really... As far as those species, they're all pretty much the same. It's mostly up to us to try & pick active, curious, healthy-looking puffers & QT them for at least a month.> Also any clue what I'm doing wrong? I realise I'm asking you to look into a crystal ball but is there a couple of general rules for keeping them that you live by? <If as you say, the parameters are perfect, your best bet is to be sure to pick out healthy-looking stock & QT them, so they don't infect the other inhabitants of your tank. These are wild-caught fish & can come in with a lot of different problems. Be sure you feed them well & they may have to be treated for internal parasites. For more info: www.thepufferforum.com. ~PP Thanks Crystal Will you allow me to pick your brain a bit on brackish algae in a planted tank issues?   03/15/07 Hi Neale, > I hope it's not too forward of me to ask you for your assistance, expertise, in combating my BW planted tank algae problem. From all  I've read, I understand this is a typical issue in trying to  maintain a planted BW tank, but I'd greatly appreciate any insights  you might have: > I currently have a 29 gal. 1.005 BW tank that houses one Figure 8 puffer, two female Dalmatian mollies, and 5 bumblebee gobies.  It used to house an assortment of snails and shrimp, but Puffy quickly made a meal of these!  The tank has been up and running for about 3-4 mos. now; I use RO/DI water, Instant Ocean marine salt, a 330 gph BioWheel/carbon filtration mechanism, and PolyFilter as an additional filtration medium.  I do twice weekly 5 gal. water changes on the tank.  I currently have Marimo moss balls, java fern (two species), anubias, red and green tiger lotus, and crypt wendtii plants in the tank.  The java fern is attached to driftwood and rockwork, for the  most part. > The lighting is a 55 watt PC fixture. The substrate is 4" of Eco-Complete. > I've got a virtual carpet of blue-green algae covering the driftwood and rockwork - it's got to be at least a 1/4" thick.   > Also, there's hair algae growing off some of the java ferns. I try to prune the plants regularly, so that the algae doesn't take over the plants, but in all honesty, the algae seems to be winning the  battle at the moment.  One of the mollies picks at the hair algae, but doesn't make any real progress. > For the first couple of months, I was dosing the tank with Flourish Excel and organic carbon, 2 ml each every other day. After seeing the PolyFilter turn brown (indicating an overabundance of organics) pretty quickly, I decided to cut-out the dosing, to see if perhaps I was over-dosing. No change in algae. I'm back to dosing, but am going to try only a couple of times per week.  > As per my calculations, I've only got approx. 1.89 WPG of light; my understanding is that investing in a CO2 unit won't be of much use, since I don't have at least 2.5 WPG? Do you agree?  > What would you suggest? Should I add a CO2 unit? Increase my lighting? Do both?  Or do I just have to learn to love the algae in my BW planted setup? > *Any* advice you have would be greatly appreciated - thanks in  dvance! > Best regards, > Jorie <Hello Jorie, I have never used CO2 in an aquarium so hesitate to give advice.   Aquarists I trust have suggested that it *does* make a difference in brackish water aquaria, but because of the elevated pH and hardness  levels you will probably need to use rather a lot. When I plant brackish water tanks I tend to go with species that extract CO2 from the carbonate in the water (e.g., Vallisneria and Java fern) which renders CO2 fertilization somewhat less important. As far as algae control goes, you might try Nerite snails. Figure-8 puffers seem not to be able to handle these because they are very heavily armoured and keep their body under the thick, smooth shell.   Since they only cost a couple of dollars a go, certainly worth a shot. Florida flagfish have also been used effectively as algae eaters. You might also try introducing something to shade the aquarium, such as hornwort, which in my experience is an excellent algae beater. I'd reduce the SG to 1.003 before introducing the hornwort though; while it does tolerant brackish water up to a point, it needs to be acclimated carefully. None of the other plants you have (to the best of my knowledge) have the same allelopathic properties as hornwort and certain other fast-growing plants. http://www.regional.org.au/au/allelopathy/2005/2/2/2484_xianqm.htm The other approach in brackish water tanks is the tack taken by  people like Frank Schaefer -- accept algae as part of the system and let it grow. I find that in tanks with lots of complex rockwork (i.e., the rocks cover almost all the bottom of the tank and at the back reach as much as 50% of the way up) a thick growth of algae looks amazingly good. There *are* brackish water Loricariidae, such as Hypostomus watwata,  and these will obviously demolish green algae, but getting hold of them is tricky. The not-so-common common Plec Hypostomus plecostomus  is also brackish water tolerant (living in such in FLA) but obtaining  and correctly identifying this species isn't easy, and it probably only tolerates rather than enjoys SG 1.003-1.005. http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=49355 http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=191 Cheers, Neale > Neale, Thanks so much for your input, help.  Just so you know, I have been trying the "learn to love your algae" approach to BW planted aquaria...it's against everything in my OCD nature, but perhaps I'll be able to embrace it one day! Also, I had been thinking of getting a pair of FFF, so I appreciate the confirmation on that approach.  I will additionally try the Nerite snails...am going to look right now! Jorie

Source water for brackish systems, Monos  9/1/05 Hey Bob how are you?  I had a question regarding conversion of saltwater to brackish water.  I have no choice but to use my tap water. <I use tap> From using tap water will I still have an algae spore problem like I did with saltwater, or will it be less algae in brackish water since there is less salt content?   <Could be less, the same or more...> Would you consider brackish water the same or less maintenance than saltwater? <Mmm, IMO/E, generally more... as most folks/systems are smaller than "average" than saltwater set-ups, less stable... people don't "on average" pay attention to brackish water quality... But these issues can be self-corrected...> And lastly, can I keep a mono in a freshwater setup for a lifetime if it was born in freshwater? <Uh, no... a "lifetime" will be much longer, healthier in brackish to marine for Monodactylids. Bob Fenner> Thanks, Jay

Thread-Like Worms 3/12/05 Dear Crew, <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a GSP in a 10 gallon brackish tank. The fish appears fine and is eating fine. His right gill slit is slightly opened (you can see a pocket of pink) compared to the left but he is not laboring to breathe. I think he was like that since I purchased him 1 month ago? No parasitic infestations are apparent on the fish. There are however wiggly 3 to 5mm thread-like worms swimming freely in the water and appear to be multiplying (not sure). The fish is fed frozen and dried krill, blood worms and brine shrimp and also live snails a few times per week. He is feed once a day six days a week. The GSP is uninterested in these creatures but are these worms parasites and potentially harmful to the puffer? They do not appear to be Planaria or leaches or insect larvae. They might have a head-really hard to make out however. Please advise or reference. <The white worms you speak of appears in tanks that are overfed and contain less than optimal water. They are harmless, but the fact that they're in the tank means you need to feed less & do more water changes (50% weekly is recommended). A 10g will not hold a GSP for long. See: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/gspsart.htm  ~PP>

Algae in brackish tank  1/28/04 Dear WWM, <Hi Wesley, Pufferpunk here> I recently moved a small (1.5") green spotted puffer from a 5 gallon tank to a 10 gallon to give it more room as it grows. The five gallon tank had a pretty bad algae infestation, and so I sterilized the decorations I was putting into the new tank (I did this by soaking them in a 5% bleach solution, and THOROUGHLY rinsing them, to the point that chlorine levels were undetectable). <That's the method I've been using for years, but have now found a new solution to this... Oxiclean!  Check out this thread: http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&num=1106798585> Despite this, within 10 days of the new tank of the tank being up and running, there was a substantial amount of algae in it, particularly on the dead coral I use as a decoration and PH buffer. <what color is the "algae"?  If it is brown, then it is not algae, but diatoms, which is actually an animal, not a plant.  It is a natural occurrence in a new BW tank.> I think this is partly because my fish is a messy eater, and some amount of uneaten food is always leftover (I try to skim most out with a net after an hour, and use a large amount of filtration, a 100 gph bio-wheel and an undergravel filter) I have also limited the light the tank gets, and am currently using an algae control product. Is there anything else I can do? <Extra filtration is always good for these fish.  Are you thoroughly cleaning the gravel during water changes?  For these messy eaters & high waste producers, I do 50% weekly water changes.  I really don't like UGFs, as it seems to me, like sweeping dirt under a rug.  I also don't like BioWheels on BW/SW tanks, as there is going to be a lot of salt spray from the wheel, especially as you bring up the SG for this fish.  I absolutely don't suggest any additional unnecessary chemicals like algae removers (especially if it's not algae).  They can be toxic to your fish.  Puffers are very sensitive to chemicals, since they are scaleless & have no gill covers.  Be very careful adding meds also.>   Is there a brackish species of Plecostomus I can get? How about live plants? (I have a Calcium Carbonate sand substrate) Anything else?  Thanks <Sorry, there are no BW algae eaters.  You can try Java fern or moss in your tank, but it won't survive the higher SG the fish will require as it matures.  If you are using sand, make sure to stir it thoroughly, before every water change, or poisonous gas pockets will develop in there.  How does the sand work with your UGF.  doesn't it fall in the holes?  See: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/gspsart.htm> Sincerely, Wesley P. Hermann <It sounds like your puffer is in good hands.  Start saving for a much larger tank for your puffer.  ~PP>

Diatoms in Brackish Tank  1/29/04 Dear Pufferpunk, <Yup, that's me!> Thank you very much for the quick response. The organism (what I called algae) is brown, and looks like a slime (as opposed to a fur or hair). It seems to grow especially well on the dead coral, as stated, and on shells in the tank. If this is diatoms, how can I get rid of, or at least limit it? <Diatoms are the natural occurrence in a newly set-up BW tank.  It will go away eventually.  For now, you will have to get used to a more "natural" look in your tank, or clean it as often as you wish.  Look through the FAQs at WWM, for more info on them.  I believe, overfeeding may cause them to flourish.> To answer your question about how the undergravel filter works with sand: I'm not sure yet, as the tank has only been running 12 days. As of now, it is an experiment. I actually put the intake tube for the external power filter inside the uplift tube of the UG filter. I thought Id try and get the benefits of both, in one system. <The UGF has been running for 12 days, or the whole tank is 12 days old?  If you have only had the tank set-up for 12 days, then I'm afraid your puffer may be living in an uncycled tank.  Please keep a close eye on the water parameters.> Finally, I have a few last questions: I read something about hermit crabs in a tank with puffers on your site. Was this only once they've been brought up to full SW? <Hermit crabs can only live in marine conditions.> And are there ANY invertebrates that clean tanks and can live with puffers, something with a thick shell or some other defense? <Only as puffer food.  You have no room for any other inhabitants in that tank.> Finally, what about macro-algae? Would that do anything? <Again, SW conditions for that too.>                                                        Sincerely, Wesley P. Hermann P.S. Concerning getting a larger tank, I have a 29 gallon tank for him, once I move out of my dorm (There is a strict 10 gallon limit). So, in about 12-18 months, it will be in its final home. <Sounds good.  Make sure you move everything from his present tank into the new tank, so it won't have to recycle.  Puffers don't fair well through a cycle.  ~PP>

Cotton-Like Fungus on Glass  8/31/04 Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a 20 gallon BW tank with two figure 8 puffers and two red finned sharks.   <Red-finned sharks are not BW fish & won't appreciate the salt.  Are you using Marine salt?  What is the SG of your BW tank?> I did have BW plants in the tank, but found that they made my water very dirty so I threw them away (water sprite and anacharis). <Those are not BW plants & will "melt" in salt, as you have seen.> Anyway, I noticed this white fluffy stuff growing on the walls of my tank.  I wiped down the sides to get rid of it, hoping my filter would get it.  It went away somewhat.  Then I did a 50% water change and it is worse than before.  Every time I do a water change it gets worse.   <It sounds like you may be overfeeding your fish.  Excess food will rot & fungus will grow on it.> I researched it and it sounds like cotton fungus.  I used some fungus remover, you put in 1 tsp for each 5 gallons and 24 hrs later you do a 25% water change and then add the same amount again.  When I added the second dose of fungus stuff, the crystals turned blue as I was pouring them in and now my tank water is blue.  Is this normal?  I thought maybe it might be a reaction with the fungus?   <It sounds like your "fungus remover" carries Methylene blue.  This will turn the water & silicone blue, but the blue will fade on the silicone over time.  The fungus remedy you are using is probably for curing fungus on fish, not on glass.  It is never good to use unnecessary meds on fish, especially on puffers, whom are very sensitive to certain chemicals.  I would do a thorough gravel cleaning after scraping any fungus from the walls.  Do a 50% water change, while cleaning the gravel.  Add fresh carbon to your filter to remove any med.> I am at a loss.  As far as I can see, the fungus is not on my fish, but I could be wrong.   <How much & how often are you feeding your fish?  What foods are you offering them?  Here is a great article on your F8 puffers: http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/8puffer.shtml> Any help would be great.  Thanks. Michelle <Here's hoping you will soon be fungus free!  ~PP> Maid Service for GSP Tank? 3/7/04 <Hi, Pufferpunk again> All right, everything so far has been right on point. Thanks man. <Hmmm, I'm a girl =o)> Got the snail business down. Got the brackish water in progress. Now, I have one GSP in a 20 gallon tank. <Great!> I would like to add just one more something or other that can take care of a little algae, but something that the puffer won't tear up. <Algae growth also needs to be removed by the fish keeper.  There are no BW algae eaters that can live with a GSP.  (Sorry, youll have to do your own maid service!)  Because of their aggressiveness towards tank mates and the high amount of salt they prefer, there are not many fish that can live with them as companions in general, or for clean up. Any suggestions or do I have to scrape around like I hate doing (thank god for Plecos in my cichlid tank). I thought about adding a little pleco but they get so damn big. I want the puffer to have as much space as possible. <Only after my puffers were raised to SW, was I able to  trick them into letting me keep hermit crabs with them by scattering many empty shells around the substrate.  They just cant tell the hermit crabs are there.  (Have lost a few though)  Of course, it's in a very heavily decorated 55g tank.  Check out my tanks if you wish: http://wetwebfotos.com/Home?actionRequest=userview&userID=1918> I also thought about throwing some of my bigger snails in there, but I guessed their tentacles would be chomped over the first night. Thanks again ... <Yes, snails=puffer food!  ~PP>

Brackish Clean-up Crew  3404 Hi! <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a 125g tank with sg 1.015 stocked with Colombian Sharks, Archers, Silver Needlenose Gar and a Freshwater Flounder. <Sounds like an interesting tank!> Sand is my substrate. What can I use as a "clean up" crew? I was told my sg was too low for hermit crabs and they are what I was mainly interested in. What would you suggest? <Agreed, SG is too low for hermit crabs.  If you have somewhere for them to climb out & get some air, you could try fiddler crabs, or you could throw in a bunch of ghost shrimp.  As long as you don't add a puffer to the mix, they should make good maid service.>  Thanks in advance:-) Ginger <You're welcome, ~PP>

Re: A finicky eel? (no commentary?) <Hi, Pufferpunk here.> Ummm, was this supposed to have a commentary on it by one of the crew or was it just being sent back to me as an exact copy of what I sent? <We were having some kind of glitch with this email.  I did respond to you, but something went wrong.  I'll try this again.> A recent update: Over the past few weeks I've had a pretty stable setup in my 55 gallon brackish water setup. A nagging problem of how to get the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite contents down to nothing is my main problem. <Bio-Spira works wonders for cycling problems.> I still think that I'm overfeeding. <Definitely can cause re/cycling problems.> I find that odd even when I have an entire aquatic garden covering nearly the entire sand bottom. A total of 9 voracious adult mollies that devour anything and everything, only judging by taste if it's food or not. I don't understand how I could be overfeeding with how those guys devour food. <Food=waste=ammonia=nitrites.> Apparently of the fry I tried to save, 4 have grown up enough to swim freely amongst the others without fear. Meatball the Tetraodon nigroviridis has been growing steadily, and has actually taken to eating whatever variety food I drop into the aquarium. The two bumblebee gobies seem to be doing well, surviving with whatever bloodworms they can find before the mollies eat them all. I've had no problems aside from with a couple of guppies that I tried to add to the aquarium. When I put them into the quarantine tank, one guppy jumped right out of the water onto the floor on the first night, and the male counterpart died shortly after from fin rot. <Sorry to hear that.> I had also put in a weather loach, who had no problems at all. <Loaches are FW.> He ended up being called Jeac, reminding me of the cleaner shrimp from Finding Nemo. Jeac just cruises along the bottom vacuuming up the sand and siphoning out his gills as he goes along. The entire point of my email is a new inhabitant. The new addition is a spiny eel ( Macrognathus aculeatus), who originally went into my quarantine tank after buying him. It was a low salt content setup with a pH of 7.2, nearly insignificant levels of nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, and had plants to make it look like it had a use to it. After hiding himself under the sand for a little while, he stopped trying to hide at all. Not more than the next day I saw him lazily laying on the sand bottom, taking slow, raspy breaths. He was faded and his gills were a bright red color, and that's why I checked all the chemical levels. I couldn't figure out what it was so I risked tossing him into the big aquarium. I found it very peculiar because in the big aquarium I had JUST done a 40% water change because of a very high nitrate and nitrite level. Even afterwards the levels were higher than the quarantine tank, the salt was much higher with a hardness of 15, and a pH of 7.6. Oddly enough he has recovered, and is much more active. He hides in a log during the daytime hours, and is constantly out exploring at night. My main problem is that I haven't seen him eat anything since I got him, which was 3 days ago. I was told that they eat bloodworms as well, but he hasn't touched any of them when I squirt them nearly right on top of him, and in the end the puffer and the mollies eat all of them. Will he eventually start to eat or is there something still wrong with him that I have to fix to restore his appetite? <Although I have read in a few places that these fish can be kept in brackish, I think they do best in FW.  A little salt will probably be ok, except for the fact that you have a puffer that definitely prefers high-end BW-SW.  My 2 (6") adults are living in SW.  As far as your eel eating (for all I know, the problem has resolved by now after all this time... sorry), are you feeding live black/Tubifex/bloodworms?  Or frozen?  As these are wild-caught fish they are used to eating live food.  Also, some shy, nocturnal types are reluctant to eat in the light, so you may want to try feeding after lights out.> BUBBLES BUBBLES BUBBLES!..... My bubbles! (P.S. apparently I've become the second person in this entire area to have any expertise in brackish water aquariums, the fish compatible and especially the plants that thrive in that water. Looks like doing your homework pays off, although I have still not yet reached the holy grail of balancing the chemical levels in my aquarium. <Sorry to say, those plants won't fair well in high-end BW.  If your puffer is small <2", you still have some time before you need to raise the SG.> <I hope you get this response--Pufferpunk>

Excellent article on Scats! Best I've read, thank you.  Some observations that you may find interesting. Firstly: I have a 180 gallon brackish tank currently holding 5 Green Scats about 3 to four inches long (standard length) <That's a nice big tank, but those fish are going to eventually get as large as a dinner plate!> , a mono sebae, puffer, archer and a "Blue Prawn".   <Monos are schooling fish.  Depending on what kind of puffer you have (green spotted (t nigroviridis)?)  It can grow up to 6" & eats crustaceans, like that prawn.  Puffers actually need to eat hard-shelled food to keep their "beaks" trimmed.  Are you feeding your archer crickets?  That's their natural food. You can train them to spit at them from quite a distance!> The current tank is about 15 months old and is sitting at about 1.01 S.G. Temp is kept at 72 degrees. <You need to raise the temp.  72 degrees is not really high enough.  78-82 would be preferred for "tropical" fish.  Especially the puffer (my expertise.)  Puffers are scaleless fish & are more prone to ich.> I have a homemade wet/dry and the tank is filled with lots of rocks. I purchased the Scats at about an inch of length and have watched them grow to their current size remarkably fast.  This tank is in my home office, so I watch them for many hours daily and can add the following to your article. Behavior:  I would say that Scats definitely enjoy the company of other Scats.   <Agreed.> Though there is certainly plenty of chasing going on, I have NEVER seen a nipped fin.  I think my tank works well because of two things: The big tank, and the fact that the chasing is evenly distributed amongst the five, though there is certainly a pecking order.  That said, I've definitely noticed that the chasing has gone way down now that they are older.  Three of four times over the last 15 months I've witnessed a good old fashioned fight, apparently to move up in the pecking order.  Even then, never a nipped fin.  I would say that more time that not that there is no chasing going on, and I often see them all schooling peacefully together.  Most interesting is when they do a "group graze" all five side by side pecking at the algae covered rocks.  The Scats have NEVER bothered their tankmates. <very interesting observations!> Feeding: I feed them dry food which they prefer to take when it's sinking.  Daily they also get an assortment of frozen fish, mostly scallops, squid and octopus.  I recommend these three as the meat is dense, and a sharp knife easily shaves off bite-sized pieces.  In addition, these are not greasy or messy. Many other frozen foods, particularly fish (like Salmon, whitefish) clouds the water and makes a mess.  Once a week or so, they are treated to something fresh, like earthworms or an opened clam. Questions:  I've considered taking the tank to straight salt, as I've read that they do well in it, but mine are doing so well, I'm inclined to just leave the SG at it's current range, 1.01. <As the article says: "If you would be a Scat keeper, please understand this, these animals are found in fresh(er) water really only as juveniles. As they grow, they make their way down rivers and become marine."  Also, "For water density, at least two teaspoons of salt per gallon, (a value of 1.015 is my choice) made from treated tap water and a good synthetic salt mix. They may, of course, be kept in straight seawater."  I don't believe that 2 tp of salt/gal will make a SG of 1.015 though.  I have found it takes about 1 cup of salt/5gal to raise the SG .005.  Keeping fish in less than conditions natural to them will lower their immune systems, causing shorter lifespans, i.e.; earlier death.>    Right now I do monthly water changes, and all is well. <I do water changes every 7-10 days, up to 50%, cleaning the substrate as I go.  Especially w/fish as "dirty" as scats & puffers.>   I don't have a test kit, I just bring a sample of my water to the local pet shop and they test it for me.   <That can be a hassle.> I think I want a test kit, but which one should I buy, fresh or salt?  Is there really a difference? < I buy mine from www.bigalsonline.com.  The only SW kit you need is for ammonia.  FW tests for nitrate & nitrate work fine for both FW, BW & SW.> Thanks again for your article, I've attached a photo of my tank if your interested. <You're welcome.  Unfortunately I can't open anything I can't scan.--Pufferpunk>   James Engel
Re : Excellent article on Scats! Thanks for your reply.  I agree on all. Regarding the puffer, he is indeed a spotted puffer, currently only about 3 inches (standard length) and seems to be growing much more slowly than the Scats.  He and the prawn have already faced off.......the Prawn (5 inches and a formidable foe) lost a claw and the puffer got scratched up.  That was months ago, seems they have agreed to leave each other alone.  I agree that when the puffer puts on a little size, he will have fresh prawn one night for dinner. Now he eats the frozen fish and LOVES the earthworms. He also very much enjoys the luxury of a full clam, bullying his way past the picking Scats for a shark like bite.  It becomes an interesting frenzy, what with the Scats picking, the Puffer biting, then the Prawn comes in and tries to carry it into the rocks. The Archer does indeed get crickets, he hits them like a bass hitting a surface lure.  The Scats and Mono are the only ones taking the flake food, but they take it eagerly. <It sounds like you have a fun & interesting group of "friends"!--Pufferpunk> Jim

Brackish, fresh, brackish? continued thank you for the help you are giving me <You're welcome; that's what we're here for!> so when i will bring it at home i hope that you help me step by step how to take care of the fishes or i am asking too much ? <Do read over the links I mentioned earlier; they will answer many of your questions before you know to ask them. Please do join the WetWebFotos forum; we have a good group of brackish aquarists there. (I do check that forum at least a couple of times a day, most days.) I do hope to be around to be able to answer your questions. I have not kept all of the fish you are getting, since I do not have a big tank, but some of the people on the WetWebFotos forum do have those fish!> by the way can you tell me to whom i am talking exactly ?male or female? from where etc.? <I guess this is my nudge to get my bio over to Bob...meanwhile, I'm a woman living in one of the Chicago suburbs.> >my name is Aldo age 24 and i am from Malta Eeh and when i will know what are all the species of the aquarium i will let you know so that you can help me <Do start with the search engine at the bottom of the FAQ page -- I know I do! --Ananda>