My Brackish Tank Journal (30G)
- Thread starter tubbs24
- Start date
07 April 2006
Salinity Level: 1.002
Goal Salinity Level: 1.005
Oooo I'm excited about this update!!! Today was my first batch of brackish-babies!! One of my female platies gave birth to 5 beautiful fry (could be more
). I found them just before I was going to do a water change, and 4 of the 5 were hiding in my cabomba, while the last one was hiding above the powerhead. I wasn't expecting these new bundles-of-joy to come into play, but I guess now I will have more fish than I expected. The colors of the fry are very different than what my previous fry batches were, and from the yellow jacket parents. One of the fry is totally black, while 3 are white, and 1 has black spots on it. I'm guessing the white fry will attain some coloration while they grow, but for now we'll wait and see.*BOUNCINGS
Nothing new otherwise tank-wise. I'm waiting for my salinity level to raise in order to get some bumblebee gobies. But otherwise I haven't done much lately to the tank, just a little here and there. I've been thinking about the stocking plan for my tank now that I have more unexpected fish. I've also wanted to throw in a different kind of goby also, but I will need to know if this will work:
10 Yellow Jacket Platies (if they all survive)
3-4 Bumblebee Gobies
1-2 Knight Gobies
Suggestions are welcomed!!!!!!
Hope you like it,
Tubbs
Salinity Level: 1.002
Goal Salinity Level: 1.005
Oooo I'm excited about this update!!! Today was my first batch of brackish-babies!! One of my female platies gave birth to 5 beautiful fry (could be more
). I found them just before I was going to do a water change, and 4 of the 5 were hiding in my cabomba, while the last one was hiding above the powerhead. I wasn't expecting these new bundles-of-joy to come into play, but I guess now I will have more fish than I expected. The colors of the fry are very different than what my previous fry batches were, and from the yellow jacket parents. One of the fry is totally black, while 3 are white, and 1 has black spots on it. I'm guessing the white fry will attain some coloration while they grow, but for now we'll wait and see.*BOUNCINGS Nothing new otherwise tank-wise. I'm waiting for my salinity level to raise in order to get some bumblebee gobies. But otherwise I haven't done much lately to the tank, just a little here and there. I've been thinking about the stocking plan for my tank now that I have more unexpected fish. I've also wanted to throw in a different kind of goby also, but I will need to know if this will work:
10 Yellow Jacket Platies (if they all survive)
3-4 Bumblebee Gobies
1-2 Knight Gobies
Suggestions are welcomed!!!!!!
Hope you like it,
Tubbs
18 April 2006
Salinity Level: 1.004
Goal Salinity Level: 1.005
In this update, I will be going over what I have done to my tank thus far. It will be from plants to hide-outs to new fish! Also, I am currently in a major algea bloom in my tank, so bear with me on the pics.
Salinity
As you can see, my salinity level is only one one-thousandth away from my goal! So far nothing has gone HORRIBLY wrong (i.e. putting in too much salt, or fish dieing), so I'm still hoping nothing goes wrong.
Plants
Despite the salt in the water, my plants are doing excellent! All of my plants are showing new growth, even from my Lotus (which sent up a pad to the surface)that I thought wouldn't make it. My dwarf sag is also sending out new runners! Here are some pics:
Lotus:
Dwarf Sag:
My plant list is as follows:
1 Moneywort
3 bunched Anacharis
1 bunched Cabomba
2 Wisteria
8 Jungle Val (w/ numerous runners)
5 Dwarf Sag (w/ numerous runners)
I inject CO2 through a DIY, and I add Flourish.
Fish
My fish are more healthier than ever! My now 5 Yellow Jacket Platies (addition of a mature fry) are doing excellent. One of the females recently gave birth to 19 fry, of which don't seem to exactly be Yellow Jacket Platies (look more of a cross-breed between platies and mollies). I recently moved my fry to a 5 gallon tank I set up specially for them, since they have been adding a lot of waste to my tank.
Also new to the tank are 4 Bumblebee Gobies!!! These guys are only 5/8 inches long, but they sure stand out in the tank! Since I brought them home from my LFS (which kept them in freshwater), they have deepened in color and have been more active. Here are some pictures I took:
BB goby on glass:
Size comparison:
Fry (black):
Hide-Outs
Since I got my bb gobies, I made 4 "hide-outs" for each of the gobies out of PVC piping. I made burrows in the sand with them, and my gobies just love them! They are spread throughout the tank in numerous random places.
1 of the hide-outs:
Tank
So far so good! Only downside is I am in a huge algea bloom! I am planning on doing numerous water changes until this is cleared up, which will be this weekend. Other than that, all my perameters are fine:
pH: 8.4 (well water, naturally high)
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20
That is all for now! I will update as soon as when my tank FINALLY clears up from the lake water!
Tubbs
Salinity Level: 1.004
Goal Salinity Level: 1.005
In this update, I will be going over what I have done to my tank thus far. It will be from plants to hide-outs to new fish! Also, I am currently in a major algea bloom in my tank, so bear with me on the pics.
Salinity
As you can see, my salinity level is only one one-thousandth away from my goal!
So far nothing has gone HORRIBLY wrong (i.e. putting in too much salt, or fish dieing), so I'm still hoping nothing goes wrong.Plants
Despite the salt in the water, my plants are doing excellent! All of my plants are showing new growth, even from my Lotus (which sent up a pad to the surface)that I thought wouldn't make it. My dwarf sag is also sending out new runners! Here are some pics:
Lotus:
Dwarf Sag:
My plant list is as follows:
1 Moneywort
3 bunched Anacharis
1 bunched Cabomba
2 Wisteria
8 Jungle Val (w/ numerous runners)
5 Dwarf Sag (w/ numerous runners)
I inject CO2 through a DIY, and I add Flourish.
Fish
My fish are more healthier than ever! My now 5 Yellow Jacket Platies (addition of a mature fry) are doing excellent. One of the females recently gave birth to 19 fry, of which don't seem to exactly be Yellow Jacket Platies (look more of a cross-breed between platies and mollies). I recently moved my fry to a 5 gallon tank I set up specially for them, since they have been adding a lot of waste to my tank.
Also new to the tank are 4 Bumblebee Gobies!!! These guys are only 5/8 inches long, but they sure stand out in the tank! Since I brought them home from my LFS (which kept them in freshwater), they have deepened in color and have been more active. Here are some pictures I took:
BB goby on glass:
Size comparison:
Fry (black):
Hide-Outs
Since I got my bb gobies, I made 4 "hide-outs" for each of the gobies out of PVC piping. I made burrows in the sand with them, and my gobies just love them! They are spread throughout the tank in numerous random places.
1 of the hide-outs:
Tank
So far so good! Only downside is I am in a huge algea bloom! I am planning on doing numerous water changes until this is cleared up, which will be this weekend. Other than that, all my perameters are fine:
pH: 8.4 (well water, naturally high)
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20
That is all for now! I will update as soon as when my tank FINALLY clears up from the lake water!
Tubbs
glad you asked Limi
the algae bloom has finally diminished after numerous water changes. It actually has clear water now, and is finally back to normal!!! Here's what the tank looks like now:
And I still do plan on getting some F8's, only 2 though. Otherwise other than that my tank is complete. I'm starting to run into troubles with a few of my plants, but that was expected once I came into brackish, lol But otherwise, I surprised most of my plants have made it.
the algae bloom has finally diminished after numerous water changes. It actually has clear water now, and is finally back to normal!!!
Here's what the tank looks like now:
And I still do plan on getting some F8's, only 2 though. Otherwise other than that my tank is complete. I'm starting to run into troubles with a few of my plants, but that was expected once I came into brackish, lol
But otherwise, I surprised most of my plants have made it.
Last edited:
Well, I do guess its time for another update....
Things have not been going to smoothly for my tank greenery-wise. I think I pushed my plants to the limit on the salinity levels, and are now starting to die off. I lowered my salinity a bit (1.006 to 1.004) to see if that helps. But otherwise, all is good is the tank. I visited my LFS today to see if they had any F8 puffers, but were fresh out of them. Oh well, I will wait until they get another shipment in.
My batch of fry are doing great in the 5g! as soon as they are big enough to sell to my LFS, I plan on either turning it into a betta tank, or a nano. I havent yet decided what to do yet, and suggestions are welcomed!!!
-Tubbs
Things have not been going to smoothly for my tank greenery-wise. I think I pushed my plants to the limit on the salinity levels, and are now starting to die off. I lowered my salinity a bit (1.006 to 1.004) to see if that helps. But otherwise, all is good is the tank. I visited my LFS today to see if they had any F8 puffers, but were fresh out of them.
Oh well, I will wait until they get another shipment in. My batch of fry are doing great in the 5g! as soon as they are big enough to sell to my LFS, I plan on either turning it into a betta tank, or a nano. I havent yet decided what to do yet, and suggestions are welcomed!!!
-Tubbs
update!!!!
MASSIVE die off in the flora department in my tank. I raised the salinity just a bit too far, and almost all of my plants died off. I maybe have 3 moneywort stalks left, a few anacharis, and maybe 2 dwarf sags. All the rest of the plants you see in the pic are new additions to the tank. Fish-wise, i added ghost shrimp for a clean-up crew, and I added the 19 or so "teen" platies to the tank. All is going well, and I can't wait to see my tank grow-out!
Plants
Fish
Full tank shot:
Mircrosword as far as thee eye can see!:
MASSIVE die off in the flora department in my tank. I raised the salinity just a bit too far, and almost all of my plants died off. I maybe have 3 moneywort stalks left, a few anacharis, and maybe 2 dwarf sags. All the rest of the plants you see in the pic are new additions to the tank. Fish-wise, i added ghost shrimp for a clean-up crew, and I added the 19 or so "teen" platies to the tank. All is going well, and I can't wait to see my tank grow-out!
Plants
- Anacharis
- Microsword
- Wisteria
- Jungle Val
- Tiger Lotus
- Dwarf Sag
- Moneywort
Fish
- Yellow Jacket Platies
- Bumblebee Gobies
- Ghost Shrimp
Full tank shot:
Mircrosword as far as thee eye can see!: