stocking a 120g tank, help needed

[Odessus]

I have a recycled 120g tank waiting for puffers to move in. I just need to decide which puffers to go for . It would be a bit easier to go for FW puffers and get 10-20 SAPs and plant heavily, whereas a BW tank would have to be barren of living green plants... At least I have been told that there are no plants sold in LFS that thrive in brackish water? I like the coloration of F8 and GSPs more than SAPs but I don't like the idea of going for a tank without any green in it since I have enjoyed the look of my previous planted community tanks.

I have been toying with the idea of putting 2 different puffers together (SAP and red-tailed puffer or DP). There seem to be post both for and against this in this forum so I guess that it's not really a safe way to go.

I would like to hear any suggestions for this tank since I really like to think these matters through before making any hasty decisions. I am drooling already thinking about the puffers in my LFS just waiting to move in

[Missus]

There are actually quite a few plants that can do well in brackish water, java fern in particular is known for being hardy. I just found this link here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubW ... plants.htm about all the plants that can be kept in brackish water, it looks like quite a variety to be honest, although whether they'll thrive or merely survive will probably depend on the SG and type of plant I guess? I'm not too "up" on plant knowledge so someone feel free to step in here!

I really really like the idea of a big planted tank with a school of SAPs in it, they're very active fish and very fun to watch. They live in groups in the wild, so i would imagine you would see some very interesting behaviour. I also think that GSPs are far more likely to become aggressive to each other as they mature than SAPs are, also with GSPs you would have to be aware that you would need to gradually increase the salinity as they mature, which could have an adverse affect on any plants you wish to keep! I'm not sure how F8s do in groups, I'm sure someone else on here would know though!

As for keeping different species of puffers together, I kept a single SAP with female irrubesco for a long time with no problems, and before that Irrubesco with DPs with no problems, but as usual it would depend on the personality of the individual puffers, and would only recommend trying it if you have a suitable tank set up incase they need separating at any point.

Anyway, good luck with your decision! I wish I had an empty 120 gallon tank lying around, I would probably get my own school of SAPs!

[Odessus]

The idea of a large group of SAPs is really seducing... I might consider placing some irrubesco with them.

You are probably right concerning the GSPs that as the salt concentration increases plants will suffer. Nice link by the way. Does someone know how well F8 do in a group or should I post this in the BWpuffer forum.

[PuffTheMagicFishy]

A large group would be neat, but remember that SAPs need an absolute minimum of 15 gallons each, according to our PufferPedia article. You could safely have a school of 8 maximum in your 120 gallon tank, not 10-20. 20 puffs would only get 6 gallons each, less than half of what they require.

Irrubescos need 10 gallons each. So you could go with 4 SAPs and 6 irrubescos, or something like that. Irrubescos are highly individual in their personalities, so you could be fine with a mix or you could end up with a war zone. Probably it would be best to stick to SAPs, since they are known to do well in groups. I know I personally would not trust my irrubesco with any other living creature--she's too much of a hunter. She fixates on movements and attacks tank decoration in hopes that they have become food. She's been in that tank almost six months now, and she still tries to kill the duckweed when it moves in the current. She might be on the high end of the aggression scale for irrubescos, but still, why risk it?

[Ariadne]

You could give a fahaka a lovely lush and green apartment in that size also

[saynever]

remember, you'll need a rather large snail operation for that many SAP's(i have went from the goal of 5 SAPs in my 75g to something easier, and am planning on 3 SAPs in a 40g breeder).

It would be sweet though, just think like roughly half the main tank volume in snail breeding. haha.