Clown Goby and Algae Blenny Unlikely Enemies...

[starypotter]

Hi everyone,
I have a green clown goby and an algae blenny in QT together. I didn't know who started it until now, I'd just see the blenny chasing the poor goby around the tank, thankfully the goby seems to be faster. Well now I know that the blenny starts it. I just watched the blenny dart off from one end of the tank to start chasing the poor little goby around. Saw a few nips tried too though not sure if he actually managed to bite the little fella.

The clown goby isn't the smallest in the tank, and is also not the only clown goby. The green clown goby is the one that gets chased, it's in between the other two size wise. I have a yellow one that's smaller, and a black one that's bigger. I even have a neon goby that I've seen perch on the algae blenny without issue. And there's another green clown goby in an acclimation box to make sure it's eating enough. No other fish are having issues except those two. There's plenty of PVC and even some rock in there that algae grazes on and the green one wasn't even near anything I'd begin to consider the algae's territory.

It's only the start of QT so I'm thinking I'll have to put the poor little clown goby into an acclimation or mesh breeder box which will be a major pain but if I see another incident I might have to, all the fish are free and wandering the tank except the little green fella who can never come out of hiding. It took the people at LFS a good five minutes to catch this green fella and they had an 8 inch net and had to remove several decorations from the tank first.

Any tips on what I should be trying to do for these fish? They're in a 29 now but will all be going in my 75 when the time comes.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I would put in that box to corner off the green goby. Sometimes fish just do not get along. Better safe than sorry.

 

[starypotter]

I would put in that box to corner off the green goby. Sometimes fish just do not get along. Better safe than sorry.

I'd rather be safe than sorry thanks, I wasn't sure if I should try to wait and see or not, I guess I was hoping for that answer since the little one will be hard to catch but safety comes before ten minutes of frustration. I'll find the box and stick the little one in there.

 

[starypotter]

Little green friend has been placed in the little blue box safe and sound.

 

[starypotter]

Okay everybody, new problem.
The little blue box I have stinks, it's got one suction up that always comes off the wall. It came off a couple times but floated around so I tried moving it in different spots thinking maybe the flow was too much for the suction cup. Did this a couple times and it seemed to be okay. However this morning the little blue box came off again and floated onto it's side so little green fella got out. My mom said that within minutes the algae blenny was chasing the GCG around for no reason, just took off from one end of the tank in a mad dash to try to bully the GCG. Algae blenny chased him into a corner and my mom was able to frighten him away and catch the GCG and put it back in the blue box with a chip clip holding it to a wire. It worked for the moment at least but it's not something that could be maintained consistently. And then what if it doesn't change when they're in the big tank?
When GCG wasn't in the box, I never found him. Always hid in the corner, I didn't even see him eat food but I knew from watching them feed him at LFS that this little guy had no problem enthusiastically trying to eat a mysis shrimp whole. Now that he's in the box which has some fake plants in it, I'll see him bounce around from twig to twig, has no problem eating when I put food in there, and is much more likely to be visible.
So I guess my question is looking for some people to confirm what I fear. Do you think that the algae blenny is a lost cause? Algae blenny ignores the box that GCG is in and leaves the yellow and black clown gobies alone. I've never seen him chase anyone else, but I have seen some irritated flicks or movements on occasion to some of the other small fish in there. I probably shouldn't expect things to change in this display tank should I? I'd much rather make a catch and return to LFS from QT instead of trying to chase either of these in the display if they just can't work it out.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Honestly, you have a real bully. If you can exchange him or get credit or money back, I would. Get a blenny later on and after the clowns are all settled. Should help. Get a little on if you can too. Sorry he is a brat.

 

[starypotter]

Honestly, you have a real bully. If you can exchange him or get credit or money back, I would. Get a blenny later on and after the clowns are all settled. Should help. Get a little on if you can too. Sorry he is a brat.

Yeah it sounds like it. It's still within 30 days and LFS has a 30 day return for store credit so I guess I'll have to do that. Any suggestions on bagging? I think I threw away all of the bags I got with them. I'm sad, I really liked the little fella but I fear that he's going to start bullying more people and well I don't like him so much now that he's being a bully, just the idea of him I guess.

 

[DeniseAndy]

You can always get another one later. They have great personalities, usually. I would use a ziplock of some kind or tuperware with lid. That is if lfs close by.

 

[starypotter]

You can always get another one later. They have great personalities, usually. I would use a ziplock of some kind or tuperware with lid. That is if lfs close by.

It's only about 20 minutes but it's so disgustingly hot out today that I'll try to wait to see if it's any better tomorrow, I have a pretzel jar that I was planning to use for mixing or storage or something, I'll likely use that.