diamond goby

onecrzyboi4u · #1 08/29/2007, 09:45 PM

whats is everyones opionion about housing a diamond goby in a 29 gal tank?

kkyyllee · #2 08/29/2007, 10:27 PM

it will starve most likely

michaeljames · #3 08/29/2007, 10:39 PM

I have a diamond goby in a 90, he's always sifting but also takes fozen food, just watch out there notorious jumpers... you may find him under your tank

Tahlequah · #4 08/29/2007, 10:43 PM

I have had mine going on 9 months now. The only time he gets close to the top of the tank is when he is after food. He eats anything and everything I throw at him.

I had him in a 29g for about 3 or 4 months before bumping him up to my 75g.

tmz · #5 08/29/2007, 10:55 PM

I have one in a 120gallon and he eats well and also sifts. The tank is tightly covered. I lost one that jumped oput of another tank that was open last year.The fish does a great job on keeping the sand clean.

onecrzyboi4u · #6 08/29/2007, 11:07 PM

Yeah.. i'm looking for something to clean my sand bed. i'm having issues with it.. i have cuke and snails .. there not kicking it.

Peter Eichler · #7 08/30/2007, 12:07 AM

In my opinion they're not good in any tank. Their longterm survival rates in captivity is dismal. If they don't jump they will often slowly starve to death when not in a very large aquarium with a well established sandbed.

onecrzyboi4u · #8 08/30/2007, 12:09 AM

what should i use

Peter Eichler · #9 08/30/2007, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by onecrzyboi4u
what should i use

I think you should figure out why your sandbed is getting so dirty and solve that problem rather than looking for a quick fix. What kind of dirty are we talking about here, detritus?

tmz · #10 08/30/2007, 01:07 AM

I've heard the starve to death concern several times and appreciate it,but I don't understand it. I've had this fish for over a year and it as did it's jumping prdecessor eats very well coming out into the water column to feed on blood worm, mysis, brine ,and cyclopese right along with the rest of the crowd. I know several folks who have them and have not heard of any starvation only jumping fatalities.

onecrzyboi4u · #11 08/30/2007, 01:11 AM

yeah detritus. i increased my flow to 27x. no effect.. so i'm lost. i'm going to buy me a protein skimmer.

ahullsb · #12 08/30/2007, 04:39 AM

I agree tmz. I've heard they starve to death but I've watched mine eat all sorts of frozen food over the last year. And obviously it will eat large pieces sometimes, and spit them back out, or filter through it's gills, but most of the time it goes down, and stays down. I'd like a better explanation from somebody if possible.

darkcirca · #13 08/30/2007, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tmz
I've heard the starve to death concern several times and appreciate it,but I don't understand it. I've had this fish for over a year and it as did it's jumping prdecessor eats very well coming out into the water column to feed on blood worm, mysis, brine ,and cyclopese right along with the rest of the crowd. I know several folks who have them and have not heard of any starvation only jumping fatalities.

All mine did was sift sand and steal food from everyone else. He loved his freeze-dried krill and mysis. I don't know what caused it, but he jumped a few weeks back (we had not covered the tank yet). Found him dried up several feet away from the side of the tank. I don't get how he launched himself that far out.

Diamond gobies are definitely for larger aquariums. I had him in my 56 to start and he kept it perfect. He had some trouble keeping up in the 90 gallon though. During the move he spent 3 days in a tank with no sand, just rocks and the other first. Poor guy was so scared.

I don't know what else would be good to keep sand clean, as mine is nasty now too. I haven't replaced him yet as no one sells Diamond Gobies here, only Yellow Watchman. Who knows. I might end up with that.

tmz · #14 08/30/2007, 10:13 AM

FYI,The scientific name for this fish is Valencienna Puellaris.If you do a web search you will find lot's to read. None of the write ups notes any kind of reluctance to feed at all. They all actually point out that it will eat most frozen foods. Different notes on minimum size of aquarium range from 20g to 50g. Many point out the jumping issue.You will also find a number of on line vendors who have this fish. Saltwater.com has them for$ 19.95.
Don't know where this myth about starvation came from. I think it is unfortunate that some will parrot opinion as fact without checking things out and obviously without hands on experience.

onecrzyboi4u · #15 08/30/2007, 10:17 AM

ok.. so what would keep my sand bed clean? i dont' want to get the diamond to just jump out.. i can't do that to a fish.

Tahlequah · #16 08/30/2007, 11:14 AM

If you keep something over the top of the aquarium, most people use lighting gridding, you should have no problems.

tmz · #17 08/30/2007, 11:16 AM

If you do not wish to cover your tank, Other alternatives might include;sea cucumber, nasarius snails,ceriths and conchs. I also use a turkey baster every few days and gently puff off the top 1/2 inch or so every few days.
Good Luck
Tom

Gdevine · #18 08/30/2007, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kkyyllee
it will starve most likely

Yup, it's a sad fact but that will most likely be the case.

kevinohio · #19 08/30/2007, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by onecrzyboi4u
Yeah.. i'm looking for something to clean my sand bed. i'm having issues with it.. i have cuke and snails .. there not kicking it.

What type os snails do you have in there to clean the bed?

Ismellikefish · #20 08/30/2007, 04:06 PM

Mine is a total pig, I don't think he will starve any time soon.

He eats:
mysis
brine
formula 1 & 2
blood worms
Flakes
shrimp chucks ment for anem :P

He keeps my sand spotless and is a blast to watch, especially when my flame angel wants to swim right beside him and follows him everwhere > they are a hoot together

virginiadiver69 · #21 08/30/2007, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gdevine
Yup, it's a sad fact but that will most likely be the case.

Ya know...just repeating something over and over does not make it true. If the Diamond goby ate ONLY from the sand I may agree but there seems to be many examples of them relaying mostly on prepared food.

Duff Man · #22 08/30/2007, 06:34 PM

Mine eats frozen food and pellets and is very active during frrding time. I saw a survey somewhere on this site where a student was asking for people's experiences with different gobies. I believe that many were saying that they had theirs for years. I can't remember where I saw this though.

Duff Man · #23 08/30/2007, 06:40 PM

I just looked and it's stuck at the top of the Reef Discussion Forum.

vr697getta · #24 08/30/2007, 06:55 PM

my goby is the first one to the food

Peter Eichler · #25 08/30/2007, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by virginiadiver69
Ya know...just repeating something over and over does not make it true. If the Diamond goby ate ONLY from the sand I may agree but there seems to be many examples of them relaying mostly on prepared food.

And denying something over and over again does not make it false... They absolutely can be problem feeders and I've seen it dozens of times with these fish. Even when they are accepting prepared foods I've seen them slowly starve over the course of about a year. It doesn't always happen, it may not even be common, but it's certainly a concern and does happen. Fact is that very few of these fish last long in peoples tanks (over a year) between the jumping issue, starving issue, and high stress of collection and lack of proper diet at wholesalers. In addition, there is probably often stress related with single fish since it's believed Valenciennea species mate for life.