Brackish and puffers, another "will this work" thread

[Sea-agg09]

I'm moving at the end of the year, and rather than dealing with selling my 52 gallon "half-back" (1/2 an hex tank), I'm going to be giving it to my girl friend for her to enjoy. She wants to do something interesting, so I suggested brackish with puffers. We both want more than just 2 fish in the tank, so we are debating what to get.

Figure 8 is my first guess. From my reading, they are the least aggressive of the brackish puffers. Mollies are out of the question. I've had them, and I know oh too well how that goes... I'm thinking possibly a "dragon goby", aka violet goby, which would work well with a sand substrate. Since they live in the area, for a mid-water fish, I was thinking of collecting some more diamond killies. They are energetic and are very low maintenance.

My concern is in the puffers. We want something cool, but not at the expense of having other fish. The tank is 52 gallons, so it can hold quite a few fish. I was even hoping to possibly get a pair of puffers!

Yes/No? Opinions please. We have some time to plan this out, so we want to do this right. She is a professional aquarist, so she understands about the background of brackish tanks and upkeep. At this point it is the stocking issue. :)

[Kenneth]

I have had some success with Green Spotted Puffer's being together with Archerfish (toxotes jaculatrix) and some Borneo Bumblebee Gobies. The Puffers seem to stay away from the gobies with no problems at all. Why they do this i'm not so sure, but i did read something about their color possibly being a deterrent, that could be completely wrong though. The archerfish, however, seem to be fast enough and docile enough to stay on the puffers good side. They occupy the top of the water column more often than not (the puffers i have prefer the middle and bottom) and stay out of the way. Feeding is relatively easy because all three of these fish will eat frozen krill when its feeding time. I know most puffers are very smart and have their own personality so im not sure if these fish will always work. I keep my SG at around 1.010 which is not very high but is a little higher than the natural environment for the archers/gobies from what i understand but they are all very healthy and have no problems at all.

[Sea-agg09]

Yeah, I'm concerned about the size. Bumblebee gobies are definitely an option if a Fig8 wont mess with them. the Diamond Killies are small and really energetic, so I am not sure how they will fair with a puffer. I was even considering peacock gudgeons. Anyone else have experience with Fig8's? I'm working on getting onto the puffer forum, but they are backed up with stuff and it's taking a while to register.

[black_knight]

Neovespicula depressifrons (aka dusky goby- not really a goby, leaf goblin fish)- really cool micropredator- it's like a brackish water cross between a lionfish and a scorpion fish (venomous spines). Fish Gallery ( which I'm sure your familiar with) has gotten them in the past.
GSP's are cool, but get very nippy. I've not kept them with bumble bee gobies, but I've raised them to adults. Getting a group to diffuse the aggression would be good.
You shouldn't have a problem with arherfish.
I've kept scats with them, the trouble is they get way too big.
Adinia xenica (Diamond killifish) in small tank with puffer- can you say wild kingdom. Use to collect these- good food for puffers
I've not tried peacock gudgeons (Tateurndina ocellicauda)- may be an easy meal or empire gudgeons (Hypseleotris compressa) may become an expensive meal.
Knight gobies (Stigmatogobius sadanundio)- kept them with GSP- they do ok
There are folks who keep mudskippers with GSP- I've not done it.

[Nickintex]

Jade gobies (larger ones) are tough and strong enough to shrug off a F8 or GSP, though the males's longer more colorful fins may get nipped occasionally. Imagirlgeek has a couple (one was WC in a tide pool in Quintana Beach, Freeport) that I gave her a couple of years ago. I have previously seen them for sale at Fish Ranch and Fondren Fish 'N' Pets.

[Sea-agg09]

I found an option. I wanted her to have something really cool, without sacrificing other fish. The tank is getting set up now. Most fish come in pure fresh, so we are starting the tank off with only a minimal amount of salt, with a SG of about 0.002, so the fish and plants can easily acclimate. I'll make a new thread with the tank setup.

[myjohnson]

Jade gobies (larger ones) are tough and strong enough to shrug off a F8 or GSP, though the males's longer more colorful fins may get nipped occasionally. Imagirlgeek has a couple (one was WC in a tide pool in Quintana Beach, Freeport) that I gave her a couple of years ago. I have previously seen them for sale at Fish Ranch and Fondren Fish 'N' Pets.

Can we please get a full tank shot? )

[Nickintex]

Can we please get a full tank shot? )

Not until you or Tim rescape it. That's an old pic anyway. It looks much better, but still, no.