13 replies to this topic

[MattMudCrab]

Well I have had my set ups for almost three months now. I have upgraded the Striped blenny, naked goby, clingfish, mud crabs and grass shrimp to a 20 gallon high and the thin striped hermits to a 40 long. I have only lost what the mud crabs ate lol. So the barnacles, mussels and anemone are gone. The hermits are growing like crazy and are always busy. I added plastic plants to the tidal creek plants to add some contrast. As you can tell its a pretty barren tank unless you set down to watch them. Then everything comes out and bags for food. I tried to add a rainbow species (which according to Australia scientific papers can handle high salt levels) they acclimated fine ate well but the blenny shredded their fins. Im guessing that since he is the top dog in an empty tank anything I add is going to get bullied. I am curious if another scrappy species might be better to add. Reduce the salinity and add one of the salt tolerant sunfish species or up the salinity and add a damsel. However I might be underestimating the full sizes of all those fish and 7-9 mud crabs. It might be be overcrowded in a year.

[MattMudCrab]

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[Peixe11]

My vote is for damselfish. Some of the colors on them are amazing, too bad they are so aggressive. What salinity is your tank at currently?

[MattMudCrab]

The SG is 1.009. Of course with a damsel I lose the biotope. I still might try mummichogs. Ive been told they can tolerate the bullying.

[Chasmodes]

I think sheepshead minnows will be OK with the blennies.  You can purchase them on-line as well, and they most definitely fit the biotope.

 

Cool tanks!

[Moontanman]

Do you have access to Night Sergeants? Similar to sergeant majors, both of which are tolerant of salinity and very resentment bullying. I've had them spawn and guard eggs in low salinity tanks. I caught them on a rock out cropping and tidal pools near where I live. Sergeant majors are very tolerant of salinity as well.. 

 

https://www.fishbase...duf-taurus.html

[MattMudCrab]

They would be awesome but its only a 20 high. I decided to move the blenny to my 40 gal with the hermits. So I will put wild sailfin mollies in with the mud crabs and naked goby.

[Moontanman]

They would be awesome but its only a 20 high. I decided to move the blenny to my 40 gal with the hermits. So I will put wild sailfin mollies in with the mud crabs and naked goby.

 

I see in the description they say 20cm but I've never seen one more than 10cm, could be the one we have here in the outer reaches of their range are a bit smaller. but mollies are a great choice! I love em! I'd love to see the really big ones from the glades I've heard about. 

[Moontanman]

They would be awesome but its only a 20 high. I decided to move the blenny to my 40 gal with the hermits. So I will put wild sailfin mollies in with the mud crabs and naked goby.

 

What species of blenny do you have? I used to keep these, even spawned a few times, https://ncfishes.com...blennius-hentz/

[MattMudCrab]

I have a Chasmodes bosquianus  1C2A6571-579E-427A-9D7F-8A22D4CD5A5C.jpeg   213.78KB   0 downloads

[Chasmodes]

What a cute little feller.  Striped blennies are great pets.  I currently have two of them, on in QT, and another in my oyster reef tank version 2.  It is a temporary tank until I get my big one set up.  Anyway, I have one that is about the size of yours.  They grow fast.  In 6 months, it will be almost full size.  If it's a male, then could be as big as 5", females max out at about 4".  As they grow, you will start seeing orange coloration on the fins if it's a male.  Females keep their camo juvi coloration. 

[MattMudCrab]

Chasmodes, I love it. Its doing well in the 40 gallon. I was nervous at first because it immediately started tasting the hermits. Then it popped out from under an oyster shell with legs in its mouth. Thank goodness it was just pieces of a shed he was clearing out. The fun part is when it perches on a moving hermits shell and gets a free ride.

[Chasmodes]

Chasmodes, I love it. Its doing well in the 40 gallon. I was nervous at first because it immediately started tasting the hermits. Then it popped out from under an oyster shell with legs in its mouth. Thank goodness it was just pieces of a shed he was clearing out. The fun part is when it perches on a moving hermits shell and gets a free ride.

 That's awesome.  Their antics always crack me up.  The hermit crab ride screams video!!!!

[gzeiger]

Mummichogs should do well in that setup. I really love sleeper gobies too, but they are hard to find and may get too big for that tank.