So this is supposed to be a saltwater forum but i have some freshwater questions

[DSC reef]

Don’t amazon puffers need brackish too?

They are freshwater but I read they migrate and do well in tanks with a salt gravity of 1.005

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

They are freshwater but I read they migrate and do well in tanks with a salt gravity of 1.005

So I could try a tank setup like the one I mentioned (fiddler crab, amazon puffer, mudskipper)but they might eat each other

 

[DSC reef]

It's possible. I would research as much as you can. I've never kept them personally.

 

[mch1984]

So I could try a tank setup like the one I mentioned (fiddler crab, amazon puffer, mudskipper)but they might eat each other

Basically what is being said.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Basically what is being said.

Alright I think I may try it out, if it doesn’t work, I’ll turn the whole tank into a puffer tank

 

[Hermie]

To the OP, I would find other people that have kept Amazon Puffers specifically to find out their dietary and maintenance requirements. Not all puffer's teeth have to be cut, or else we'd hear the same thing about Marine Puffers. If you can replicate their diet in the wild, they should never need their teeth to be cut.

 

[Mike1995]

hey everyone does anyone have or had any fiddler crabs, amazon puffers, or mudskippers? I was planning on getting a fiddler crab tank but then came across the other two fish. was wondering if I could put all three in the same tank. Maybe 2-3 puffers 2 mudskippers, and 6 or 7 fiddler crabs. Yes, I will make sure they all have their proper enviornmetns and have a sandy "shore" sort of thing for the fiddlers, some rocks that are easily climbed for the mudskippers, and enough water and swimming areas for the puffers. Really, all I need to know is if it is possible to keep them together, like they won't kill each other and have one fish turn into a murderer. Thanks

Honestly I would avoid housing anything but maybe a pleco with a puffer. Puffers eat clams, oysters and other hard shell things ..so adding crabs is potentially a bad idea. There's a good chance they'd be eaten. Mudskippers are a bit more delicate and require a bit more advanced care.

 

[Gareth elliott]

What is the biome you are trying to replicate with the tank?

The joy i have always found with south american river species is the shear number of environments that are present and the ability to create a tank around the environment your live stock inhabit.

For this reason I always select fish that inhabit the same geographical area and temperament.

Ie my current tank only has fish found in the Guaporé River basin. And designed the tank to look like a snap shot taken under water(poorly i am not the best at implementing soft scapes [emoji23]).

Why I do this is because there is such variation from one tributary to another. The orinoco river basin has lower turbidity and frequently reaches temperatures in excess of 87f. While Mamoré is cooler and contains more silt at times of the year.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Honestly I would avoid housing anything but maybe a pleco with a puffer. Puffers eat clams, oysters and other hard shell things ..so adding crabs is potentially a bad idea. There's a good chance they'd be eaten. Mudskippers are a bit more delicate and require a bit more advanced care.

What do you mean by “more delicate and require more care”? I think I should be ok...any things you can point it to help me about mudskipper care?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Mudskippers spend the vast majority of their time on land. They are not great swimmers, and will eat anything that fits in their mouth. In the wild they wait for the tide to bring crabs, fish, shrimp, sand fleas, etc and hunt the shore line. They are brackish not freshwater. They are kinda a species only tank tbh.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

What is the biome you are trying to replicate with the tank?

The joy i have always found with south american river species is the shear number of environments that are present and the ability to create a tank around the environment your live stock inhabit.

For this reason I always select fish that inhabit the same geographical area and temperament.

Ie my current tank only has fish found in the Guaporé River basin. And designed the tank to look like a snap shot taken under water(poorly i am not the best at implementing soft scapes [emoji23]).

Why I do this is because there is such variation from one tributary to another. The orinoco river basin has lower turbidity and frequently reaches temperatures in excess of 87f. While Mamoré is cooler and contains more silt at times of the year.

I’m trying to get like a shore/river-ocean water/rocky habitat. The shore for the fiddlers, the river ocean water for the puffers, and the rocky habitat for the mudskippers. I was planning on trying to do some kind of high/low tide sort of thing where water would get pumped in for high tide and puked out for low tide. After high tide, I could add in food for the fiddler and mudskipper to sort of act like the tide brought the food in.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Mudskippers spend the vast majority of their time on land. They are not great swimmers, and will eat anything that fits in their mouth. In the wild they wait for the tide to bring crabs, fish, shrimp, sand fleas, etc and hunt the shore line. They are brackish not freshwater. They are kinda a species only tank tbh.

I’m planning on doing some kind of high/low tide thing where I pump water in for high tide and pump it out for low tide. I will add the food after high tide to imitate the high tide bringing in the food. You said they aren’t good swimmers so I’ll have a few rocks that go past the water surface and a few rocks below the water surface for them to rest on

 

[Mike1995]

What do you mean by “more delicate and require more care”? I think I should be ok...any things you can point it to help me about mudskipper care?

They are not a full aquatic animal so housing them in a total aquatic environment is not ideal. They require running as well as still water and area in the tank so they can leave the water. Sort of like a basking area that turtles use.

 

[Gareth elliott]

They dont really need a tide in aquarium. One way to create their tank would be replicating a tidal pool where they can get moist and then go back to their mud. Ime maintaining water quality in a partial aquarium is more annoying than in a full aquarium but can be done. I would use live plants in the water portion to maintain nutrients levels, just dont let salinity go to high ~(1.010 most shore plants start dying). Want to stay around 1.007-1.008 which is going to be a challenge in the reduced water volume.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Admitted i do not have mudskippers but this partial setup minus the salt is how i keep my tree frogs.

Challenges i had to overcome with making this work.
-pumps always got clogged with substrate eventually printed my beach stand so this was easier. But i have a 3d so this was more a time issue than an added expense for me

Water quality diminishes quickly, mind you i am feeding 100% live foods that are constantly drowned themselves fouling the water more quickly.
- keeping the air and substrate moist is not as simple as having pools of water. Plan this out on paper, test, test and test some more before you even add a single live stock.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

They are not a full aquatic animal so housing them in a total aquatic environment is not ideal. They require running as well as still water and area in the tank so they can leave the water. Sort of like a basking area that turtles use.

Yeah that part I know, I wasn’t going to fill the entire aquarium.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Admitted i do not have mudskippers but this partial setup minus the salt is how i keep my tree frogs.

Challenges i had to overcome with making this work.
-pumps always got clogged with substrate eventually printed my beach stand so this was easier. But i have a 3d so this was more a time issue than an added expense for me

Water quality diminishes quickly, mind you i am feeding 100% live foods that are constantly drowned themselves fouling the water more quickly.
- keeping the air and substrate moist is not as simple as having pools of water. Plan this out on paper, test, test and test some more before you even add a single live stock.

Ok I’ll start another thread when I get the chance about the set up. I will probably sketch it out

 

[eatbreakfast]

Fiddler crabs and mudskippers are brackish, whereas Amazon puffers are a true freshwater puffer species. Green spotted and figure eight puffers are more commonly available puffer species that are brackish species.

Gsp and figure eight puffers get a little bigger than an Amazon puffer, so eventually may pose a bigger threat to the fiddler crabs, especially after a molt.

Puffers are also known to be nippy, so sedentary fish often end up with nipped fins.

As long as there is hard substrate or rocks available I have never had a problem with puffers teeth growing too long. There curious nature leads them to try and bite just about everything, so nipping at rock or gravel they self regulate the teeth themselves.

By supplementing with live snails they also bite the shells, but also are on the lookout for more items to "try" to eat, which helps keep them biting new things, including hard surfaces, which keep their teeth down.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend keeping all 3 together though, do to the possible aggressive interactions between the puffers and the other 2.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Fiddler crabs and mudskippers are brackish, whereas Amazon puffers are a true freshwater puffer species. Green spotted and figure eight puffers are more commonly available puffer species that are brackish species.

Gsp and figure eight puffers get a little bigger than an Amazon puffer, so eventually may pose a bigger threat to the fiddler crabs, especially after a molt.

Puffers are also known to be nippy, so sedentary fish often end up with nipped fins.

As long as there is hard substrate or rocks available I have never had a problem with puffers teeth growing too long. There curious nature leads them to try and bite just about everything, so nipping at rock or gravel they self regulate the teeth themselves.

By supplementing with live snails they also bite the shells, but also are on the lookout for more items to "try" to eat, which helps keep them biting new things, including hard surfaces, which keep their teeth down.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend keeping all 3 together though, do to the possible aggressive interactions between the puffers and the other 2.

I think I’m going to try to keep the, together, BUT if they do start attacking I will separate them and/or move them. Have you ever had any amazon puffers? If you have, what we’re your experiences? I keep hearing that amazon puffers are brackish, then someone else will say they are freshwater. Now I’m getting confused. I believe they are brackish aren’t they?

 

[DSC reef]

I've read they migrate and do well in a low salinity of 1.005