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help with plants for brackish set up

fz1ben

Member
Joined
24 May 2013
Messages
97
Hello all

I'm in the process, well planning stages of a brackish tank.The tanks a standard 125l tank about 80x35x45 and lightning is 2X24w t5s

It will only be low end brackish as I'm hoping to keep a couple of figure 8 puffers.

Have you guys got any suggestions as to the best plants to try? I'm hoping for a heavily planted set up to give the fish plenty of cover and keep algae at bay.

Will the same planted substrates be as effective in brackish water?

Thanks a lot
 
Well...you could try Java fern and anubias spp., and Vallisneria will do OK as will Egeria and some Sagittaria and Hygrophila spp. I'd also beef the scape out with wood, rocks, sand and gravel.
 
I've had the most success with Saggitarian Subulata, Crypt Wendtii, Bacopa Monnieri and Aponogeton Crispus which have been in my tank since day one. I've had a java fern in there for about 6 years but it's tiny due to it constantly producing plantlets. I've had varying success with others but summers have always killed them off, I suspect that my bad husbandry, the stress of salt and heat together with lean fert dosing killed them but they'd still be well worth a shot, these are:
Cerataptoris Thalictroides (water sprite)
Egeria Demersum (very susceptible to heat)
Java Moss
Vallisneria.
plants that are supposed to tolerate brackish water that I didn't have success with are:
Tiger Lotus (probably needed more light and ferts than I was willing to give because it grew profusely until the bulb exhausted itself).
Anubias.
lilaeopsis brasiliensis

I've had a Figure 8 for over 6 years now and they will do fine at SG1.003@25°C but take it any higher and the plants will begin to suffer.
 
Thanks guys, I'll give some of those I'm glad you mentioned vallis as I'd like a lot of this to give some height and shade.

How do find the algae in your tanks? I've been reading the brackish tanks can grow algae like no tomorrow.

It'll be my first figure 8, Ive kept dwarf puffers for years and there great little characters so hopefully the figure 8s will be the same.Have you had any trouble with their teeth overgrowing?
 
Thanks guys, I'll give some of those I'm glad you mentioned vallis as I'd like a lot of this to give some height and shade.

How do find the algae in your tanks? I've been reading the brackish tanks can grow algae like no tomorrow.

It'll be my first figure 8, Ive kept dwarf puffers for years and there great little characters so hopefully the figure 8s will be the same.Have you had any trouble with their teeth overgrowing?

I used to suffer massively with cyano but when I added more current it disappeared, I've got a fluval 306 on a 60l.

As for beak problems; I used to have 2 in the 60l which is twice as many as you should have and the smallest never really had to tackle shells, it would wait until the other had dislodged the meat before diving in and I had to cut his teeth about 3 times. I took him to the vets to get it done the 1st time but his cutters were far too big for my puffer and he ended up breaking his teeth and they never really recovered properly. I've never had to cut the larger ones teeth. I feed cockles with shell and/or shrimp with shell on the weekend and a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, bloodworm, mysis, cockle etc. Through the week
 
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