Firefish hiding!

[Exotrezy]

Hey guys, I have 2 fish, a yellow watchman goby and a red firefish goby aswell as a cleaner shrimp and some coral and snails. Both fish and the shrimp were very active and my yellow watchman goby is very active and coming out and my firefish would always come out and eat and stuff, but starting on thursday this week he started not coming out and just sitting in the little hole / cave he sleeps in. I can still see him a little bit but he isnt really coming out. Maybe he got spooked by something or got poisoned by the zoas? I fed him on thursday by throwing food into his little cave and he tried to come out but I was walking past the glass when he was trying to come out so he kinda got spooked by me and ended up staying in his cave. I have had both fish for a while now I would say since about March of 2025. Any Idea on whats going on?

 

[Exotrezy]

Update: I took a bamboo stick and tried to scare him to come out and came back to type this message. I went back to check and hes out and back to going around the tank!

 

[jabberwock]

Glad you got him out, but I would caution about doing too much. Typically, it is just best to focus on water quality.

 

[Exotrezy]

Glad you got him out, but I would caution about doing too much. Typically, it is just best to focus on water quality.

Alright. I mean I get 0 RODI and everything looks to be fine. I need to top off the tank though so I will do that right now.

 

[Exotrezy]

Update 2: I went to feed them since I havent fed them today and he was eating but moving a little weird like not as active. Could be because he might have not eaten the food from yesterday when I threw it in his cave. I'll leave him alone lets see what happens.

 

[Exotrezy]

Update 3: I left him alone and he came out on his own.

 

[jabberwock]

Fish have good days and bad days.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

My firefish used to always hide when he saw me coming along, they are skittish fish. It sounds like he's found a home and they usually stick close to home.

 

[Exotrezy]

@jabberwock and @Mr. Mojo Rising Thanks for the advice guys. Sorry to bother yall but I broke my hydrometer recently and need to buy a hydrometer or refractometer replacement. Any recommendations? I don't want to spend too much but people say the cheap amazon refractometers are bad.

 

[higher99]

Hey man, is your firefish still alive? I heard they jump out of tanks all the time. I've always wanted one

 

[Rob A]

Hey man, is your firefish still alive? I heard they jump out of tanks all the time. I've always wanted one

I got 8 in my lagoon and they jump like crazy I wouldn't put one in tank without tight lid

 

[Exotrezy]

Hey man, is your firefish still alive? I heard they jump out of tanks all the time. I've always wanted one

Yup, he's good. Sometimes if I scare him when trying to feed him he might go back in the cave but he comes out within 30 secs. I'm just dealing with an aiptasia problem right now.

 

[Exotrezy]

Mine hasn't jumped out of the tank since I got him, but just in case i do have most of the top of the tank covered.

 

[Exotrezy]

I got 8 in my lagoon and they jump like crazy I wouldn't put one in tank without tight lid

I think its based on the fish to be honest. Mine has never jumped out and doesn't really look like he will, like he barely goes near the top of the tank. But to be fair I only have 2 fish in the tank, one is the firefish and the other is the yellow watchman goby and hes near the sand.

 

[higher99]

That's good to hear! I just ordered a fire fish online earlier today. I'm also purchasing some new mesh for my lid since the old ones have a 1/4" opening. Going to change it to a 1/8" mesh to avoid any overboard casualties.

 

[higher99]

I think its based on the fish to be honest. Mine has never jumped out and doesn't really look like he will, like he barely goes near the top of the tank. But to be fair I only have 2 fish in the tank, one is the firefish and the other is the yellow watchman goby and hes near the sand.

Since your initial post (September) has the goby and the firefish grew in size?

 

[Exotrezy]

Since your initial post (September) has the goby and the firefish grew in size?

I'd say they have, maybe not significantly but they have. I can tell a big difference from when I got them in March for the goby and April for the firefish though. They have grown a lot since then.

 

[Exotrezy]

Since your initial post (September) has the goby and the firefish grew in size?

Do you have any tips for my aiptasia? Anything I can use that is reef safe? I was thinking Kukenthali Shrimp but some say they aren't reef safe. I am in houston so I would get berghias but I don't know of any place that has any.

 

[higher99]

I'd say they have, maybe not significantly but they have. I can tell a big difference from when I got them in March for the goby and April for the firefish though. They have grown a lot since then.

That's wassup, I'll let you know the size of my firefish once it touchdown. I also got a blenny & wrasse and they'll all be small sized

 

[higher99]

Do you have any tips for my aiptasia? Anything I can use that is reef safe? I was thinking Kukenthali Shrimp but some say they aren't reef safe. I am in houston so I would get berghias but I don't know of any place that has any.

If it's spreading out of control, I'd say you should get some filefish. If it's just a few, then just manually remove them with a tweezer.