"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote:

When I opened the store, I ordered Archers, Scats, Monos and Puffers
so
that I could set up a brackish tank. It was a bit of a mess. Scats
are
the devil's spawn, Monos faint from transportation & water shock,
Archers
grow too big and Puffers are diabolical (those sweet faces as they
sneak
up on an unsuspecting fish).

The best local store near here had a brackish tank for awhile, but on
my last visit I noticed that it was no longer there. Perhaps they
found it to be more trouble than it was worth?

At home, I don't find them to be any trouble, but in a store with
automated water change systems, keeping track of who added how much salt,
when, using log books and teenage part-timers, can be a bit of a chore.
Fortunately, brackish conditions do not have to be that stable, and all
my Monos are young (3"), so they are practicaly freshwater fish at this
age.

I also have a 60g with Mono argenteus and Mono sebaes in it. I wonder
if
I can risk putting the puffers in there. It is only mildly brackish,
the
monos might be quick enough to evade Puffer nips, and they are kept on
a
high protein diet (shrimp, bloodworms, beefheart and community menu).
Any thoughts on whether this is a good idea, or do you think I'll be
netting all 120 of them later?

I'm utterly clueless, I'm afraid. My knowledge of Malabar puffers
comes from the experience of having four of them alone in a three
gallon tank. That's worlds away from having any bearing on what you're
considering.

Maybe I should put a few in a 5g Waterhome. There is no heater, but the
tank runs around 72F. hmmm... )

I doubt that a small amount of salinity will affect them, even though
they're true freshwater fish. The Malabars stay very small and so
might resemble a tasty (and potentially toxic) treat to any larger
tankmates.

Good point (toxins), reconsidering..

About the only advice I could give would be to give it a cautious try
with just a couple Malabars. They're cheap, after all.

What I'll probably do is start with a species tank, and when the
puffers
are a bit bigger, I'll move a dozen over to the mono tank.

I've had my one remaining puffer for five days shy of a year now, and
he's never passed about 1/2" in size. Perhaps yours will grow better.

OK, at that size, the puffers will get their own species tank, or maybe
with some danios for company. Monos are extremely efficient eating
machines. As soon as one puffer was eaten, the rest would be devasted in
an hour (and then I'd have a lot of Monos with a stomach-ache ;~).

Thanks Eric
NetMax

--
www.ericschreiber.com