gobi fish.. need info and experience..

[ThaNgBOm321]

are gobi's reef safe??? they hard to keep?? i never understood why people like them so much but i finally found one that i thought was really cool looking... so now im trying to get info on them for when and if i ever get one... ohh and pls post pics and name of the gobi.. so i can goo look for it if i need to ... ( plzz dont make super big pics.. im on dial - up )

TIA

YzGyz

[ahullsb]

The yellow watchman goby, and diamond goby, are two of my favorites. You can do a google image search and there are tons of pics. Gobies are reef safe, but what kind are you looking at getting. They have different requirements, and there are a few not suitable for the average hobbyist.

[jvr1102]

I have the yellow watchman goby and love it. I sit and watch em hours at a time

[Victor1046]

tank jumpers..... make sure you have a cover of some sort on your tank.

[bramjansen]

Try to see if you can get your hands on a yashi goby. I got one and love it! Make sure it eats before you buy it. Rainford gobies are aweseome too, but only eat whats on the rock, so you need a larger tank (mine is a 120). Do not buy a signal goby (fourwheel drive gobY), they will starve!

[ThaNgBOm321]

i dont think i will get a yellow one.. think they are plain.. ( kinda like the yellow tang that im trying to get out... lets sasy im loosing that battle right now...) dont know exactly which one i want .. i just seen a cool looking one with redist vertical linse on it and thought it looks kinda cool... thats why im looking for info.. pic ..each fish have little things that it needs... i googled them but dint get too much.. i wanted like a list and pic tp discribe them.. not just posted pics...

anymore info??


Thanks all so far, need more info !! feed me!!!
YzGyz

[Sk8r]

Remember that red in your tank somewhat depends on your lighting: it may look brown.
I'm particularly fond of gobies: ich-resistent, self-feeding off sand detritus [if a sand-sifter], not typically aggressive toward other gobies. I have the red-stripe highfins [hide in burrow unless food is in tank], a yellow watchman. They mix well with blennies; jawfish. Often sit and lurk. I have a blue chromis in my tank to provide color and motion, ditto a mandarin, but generally my favorites are the gobies. If you don't have a big threat [tang] in your tank, these fish will tend to come out to see you if you sit down in front of the tank: they'll pick holes in the rock to live in, and sometimes come out to tour, but mostly sit or hover close to their hidey-hole. They eat mostly mysis, cyclopeeze, formula one. Do not get a rainford [court jester, or old glory] goby: they're very hard to keep, eating mostly cyano and filamentous algaes; but none of the rest are hard. You will HAVE to guard your escape routes, because they will follow a water current into your sump, and they're generally very small. I've never found them to be jumpers [my dartfish are, but they're not gobies] but they will slip through any hole available. They love holes.

Diamond or dragon gobies are sand-sifters, and may disturb the sand excessively, plus stripping it of life. Too much for most tanks.

The yellow watchman, however, will pair with a tiger pistol shrimp, and together they dig burrows and pop out at odd moments; many of the less colorful gobies pair with pistol shrimp, and their amusing behaviors make up for their lack of color. Mine knows certain people, like me, and my tanksitter, and will come out for us, but if there's a stranger, you'll play hob finding him.

[ThaNgBOm321]

hum.. so gobi and yellow tang is a no goo ( thats ok cuzz it's going out i think... ) i dont want asand diggin one.. i have a maroon clown that already do that.. ( tank is bear there.. i only see the glass bottom ) so they eat unwanted algea and stuff off sand?? particularly which one???

TIA
YzGyz

[Sk8r]

There are 2 types of gobies, in general: the sand-sifters [yellow watchman, dragon goby, signal gobies: all these tend to pair with shrimp. The yellow is the safest, because he doesn't kick up much sand: his sandpile tends to be about 5" in diameter, though he does move about from day to day. A diamond/dragon [same fish] may raise huge clouds of sand that annoy corals.] And there are the free-swimming gobies, the highfins, tangeroas, etc. Avoid the 'neon' or 'cleaner goby'. They're a pest to other fish, and the false cleaner is even worse: he's a fish nipper, and I'm not even sure he's a goby.
But look in the marine fish dept of liveaquaria.com if you'd like the grand tour of gobies: they give behaviors, feeding, sizes, compatibility, etc. There are hundreds of types of gobies, most well-mannered and easy care.

If you want a fish to really take after algae on rock and glass, the lawnmower blenny [a gray, unobtrusive character] is tops, but you must have enough algae to keep him alive. Some will learn to eat spirulina flake, but many won't.

[ThaNgBOm321]

kool.. thanks a million sk8r... imma go look them up on liveaquaria..

Thank guys/gals

YzGyz