Adding fish to my brackish tank

[Dozer550]

So I have a 46 gl brackish tank with three figure 8s about 2-3 inches apiece. I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on other fish that could be added? What I'm loking for is something that wont eat the puffers, that wont get too big for the tank, and that will be big enough to stand a chance of not being devoured by the puffers. Thanks!

[gsolman6]

This link might help you though certain people here disagree with some of the recommendations(as people always do!):

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

[Boxermom]

A better website IMO is http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/aquaria/ ... part1.html

[Fella]

Nmonks brackish FAQ is the holy grail for brackish information on the net. I'd trust that over other sites.

I keep a figure 8 with a green chromide, an archerfish, a pair of oligolepis acutipennis gobies and 5 mudskippers without any problems, and my F8 has been agression free. I'm not saying this setup would work for everyone, just that it works for me, and that the puffer gets on fine with the other fish. I keep the SG at 1.005.

Eventually I'll be upgrading the tank to a 5x2x2 I would have imagined...

[Dozer550]

the lfs told me I might be able to get away with a scat if I can find one over 3". Anybody have any Idea about this? He also mentioned a brackish moray eel, anyone have any clue about that?

[Pufferpunk]

Your tank is too small for a scat. They like high-end BW/SW as adults & grow as large as a dinnerplate. I suggest a pair of knight gobies & a violet goby.

[straitjacketstar]

Orange chromides, knight gobies, several native killifishes (Adinia xenica, Cyprinodon variegatus, Fundulus heteroclitis).

[OraLacerta]

I have gotten away with having a Bumble Bee Gobi, a Knight Gobi, a "Fresh Water" Flounder, and a couple of mollies without any problems. The flounder is an easy target for an aggressive or curious puffer because he buries himself in the sand with his eyes sticking out, but for almost a year now I've had no problems.

The flounder will grow to be about 6" in diameter and requires sand. The gobies are much less demanding, stay small, and with plenty of hiding places they are fantastic at keeping out of the way of my pair of F8s.

Violet aka Dragon gobies could work as well, but they do grow rather large, and can be hard to get feeding. When I had mine (before he died from a tumor), he was very hard to feed because my other fish were so competitive. You may find your bio-load increasing tremendously if you have to overfeed to make sure he doesn't starve. I think a sand substrate would be easier to maintain a Violet Gobi in because they are sand-sifters, but I am not familiar with your set-up and what substrate you chose.

Well, good luck, and if you aren't sure about your puffers' aggression, you could either immediately try out some of your preferred tank mates, or go the cheaper route and try a molly or two and then determine if they might tolerate a more vulnerable tank mate. Figure Eights are a blast, enjoy!

[Pufferoni]

I have a couple of sailfin mollies with two F8s and they seem fine after about 2 months. The mollies even had a few fry and the puffs ignore them so far.

[OraLacerta]

Really? All of my fry have disappeared really quickly. It may just be the Knight Gobi eating them though; I can't really tell because the fry usually disappear at night.

[kjharve]

Orange Chromides go well with F8s. Very attractive little fish too!

[Corvus]

He also mentioned a brackish moray eel, anyone have any clue about that?

There are some moray species which can live in mid range to high end brackish water, but should be in a marine tank when growing up. However, they are no fish for a community tank unless you get a green one with white cheeks (they are rather peaceful and smaller compared to others). Any fish to about 1/4 of the moray can be considered as food even after some weeks and most of them grow to 25 inches. In addition they are sometimes hard to feed, because they are easily stressed and shy.