How many DPs?

manutius · Post by **manutius** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:38 am

Belack1120 wrote:
manutius wrote: Also you state that there is little suction on the filter which would indicate to me that the filter is not high turnover which you really need in a puffer tank
What do you mean it has little suction, if you read my whole post you would have read that there is a second vent half way up the pipe that is submurged in the tank. It was designed like that to prevent having fish get stuck to it!

Ok I missed that but my other points are valid. What size is your filter?

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:03 am

So far you have created a good home for three SAP, I would venture to guess they are pretty happy in there. If the tank seems like its missing something, or your looking for something more, have you thought about growing aquatic plants? Its a whole other aspect of tank keeping that is actually pretty cool and can make your tank look amazing. If you want to put more money into your tank your fish would love you a lot more for new plants than more tank mates. Sometimes the plants in my tank get more oohs and ahhhs than my actual fish do (ok maybe because my fish are in the plants, they love it!) I assure you that there are more benefits to be reaped from learning the ins and outs of c02 than there are testing aggression between species.

manutius · Post by **manutius** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:18 am

Great post ariadne, I have to agree

When I got to the syage whene I was happy with the fish I had I took to learning about plants and CO2. Once you og down that road it really brings another dimension to this wonderful hobby

Belack1120 · Post by **Belack1120** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:57 pm

OraLacerta wrote:

I know that's a rather long, overly simplified explanation, but I just want to be sure you don't get overly confident with your tank's capacity .

OK, what if I added maybe another 55 gallon filter to the tank, than could I maybe add another SAP or maybe a dwarf?

OraLacerta · Post by **OraLacerta** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:04 pm

Belack1120 wrote:
OraLacerta wrote:

I know that's a rather long, overly simplified explanation, but I just want to be sure you don't get overly confident with your tank's capacity .
OK, what if I added maybe another 55 gallon filter to the tank, than could I maybe add another SAP or maybe a dwarf?

No, I would not. Adding another filter or replacing the current one with something rated higher would just mean that your tank is adequately filtered for the bio-load you have in there. Right now it is under-filtered IMO. As I wrote in my previous post, my AC 500 is the perfect amount of filtration for my tank that has about an equal bio-load as yours. Even with more filtration, you still have a limited amount of territory in that tank, and even generally tolerant puffers such as SAPs will start to have issues if you put too many in a tank. If you want more SAPs or to mix in DPs, get a larger tank. Otherwise I think you will end up with both bad water quality and stressed fish.

These aren't guppies or some other smaller bodied fish; they can be aggressive, they are large-bodied so they create a lot of waste, and they are messy feeders. Adding too many and/or mixing species is asking for problems when you are not providing enough space. I would only mix DPs and a group of SAPs if I had a much larger tank than their recommended requirements.

manutius · Post by **manutius** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:07 pm

I have to agree with oralacerta there. With most fish territorial spats dont case too much physical damage, but a warning nip from a puffer will cause serious damage. I would look to set up a seperate tank for DP if you really want them and consider upgrading your filtration as you suggest

Belack1120 · Post by **Belack1120** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:14 pm

OK I won't get any puffers for tank mates but could I maybe put in a bumble bee goby or two in with them because I found them at the LFS today and they were REALLY tiny and REALLY cute

OraLacerta · Post by **OraLacerta** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:01 pm

I really don't think you should add anything else to that tank. And unfortunately Bumblebee Gobies do best in brackish water at about 1.005. They are often housed with Figure Eight Puffers that have the same preference for low-end brackish.

Maybe you should think about setting up another tank. Write down a list of the fish or things you would enjoy in a tank that you don't have in your SAP tank, see what is compatible and then you have a plan to slowly put together. I did that when I decided I wanted a marine puffer, and several months later I am just now getting my tank set up and I am very happy with it because I spent so much time figuring out what I liked and how I could build the tank I wanted. It gives you plenty of time to save up so you can get the best equipment too.

crazedpuffer · Post by **crazedpuffer** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:06 pm

Actually there are 2 species of bb gobys. One with unbroken stripes which can thrive in FW and one with broken bands which must be in brackish. I can't see 2 harming your tank much, mine aren't messy at all.

OraLacerta · Post by **OraLacerta** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:38 am

From what I have read about Bumble Bee Gobies, Brachygobius xanthozona can tolerate FW, but I would still recommend keeping them in BW. Brachygobius nunus, the other species, needs about 1.005 SG like you said.

It's ultimately up to him whether he wants to add something else to his tank. A puffer would be a terrible idea, but a BBG I suppose would be a better choice but the ID is important to tell whether or not it would tolerate the FW. Also you need to keep in mind SAPs are much more active than other puffers and BBGs are slow, like to perch on objects in the tank, and may not accept food which is complicated when over-zealous feeders such as puffers are present. My Figure Eights do get rather feisty when I feed them, but my BBG has become a good feeder and figured out not to go for anything my puffers want but to eat the scraps.

Belack1120 · Post by **Belack1120** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:52 am

I am 100% sure that these ones will tolerate fresh water because when I was looking at them at the store one of them swam up to the top and I could see that it had unbroken stripes. And I was also looking for something that would clean up the scraps off the bottom but still looked really awsome.

Boxermom · Post by **Boxermom** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:55 am

Bumblebee gobies are carnivores but are not scavengers.

crazedpuffer · Post by **crazedpuffer** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:03 am

Yeah it won't clean the bottom. With SAP's it would be hard for it to get any food.

Why don't you just stick with your SAP's? If there still juveniles they will grow to fill your tank nicely.

VanillaShake311 · Post by **VanillaShake311** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:03 pm

I have to agree with OraLacerta... I keep turtles all types in tanks and I have to keep sometimes four or five filters on one tank. I don't even own a puffer yet but on its tank that is cycling I have two powerful canister filters and a bio wheel filter. I would much rather have the water Perfect and clear and clean than see a fish floating at the top of the water. Turtles are soooo messy. I also keep oscars and man are they messy too.

I wouldn't add any more fish. Maybe you should get a nice 10 gallon and cycle it and setup for DPs?

Belack1120 · Post by **Belack1120** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:50 pm

I have decided not to add anything to my tank but I will save money for a new tank if I can find the space.

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How many DPs?