I’m out of my Goby mind! Help me pick a goby please.

mistergray

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Okay, I need help picking a goby. This is like looking for a new car. All I really want is a orange marked (cross hatch) goby, but they’re impossible to find. Any who, the kids and I initially had a yellow watchmen goby. It committed suicide in the powerhead. Then we had a Ruby red dragonet and it died during the night. It’s still an unsolved mystery. Recently purchased a two spot goby and couldn’t get the thing to eat at all.

Need help finding a goby that will eat frozen food like the rest of the fish I have that come to the top of the tank to eat. Doesn’t grow over 4 inches. Is reef safe. And hopefully, maybe, prayerfully will sift at least some sand, without making the tank look like a sand storm.

If all this sounds impossible, perhaps I need to wait until a orange marked goby one day pops up on the Internet. And no, none of my local fish stores will order one.
 

Fish Think Pink

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Okay, I need help picking a goby. This is like looking for a new car. All I really want is a orange marked (cross hatch) goby, but they’re impossible to find. Any who, the kids and I initially had a yellow watchmen goby. It committed suicide in the powerhead. Then we had a Ruby red dragonet and it died during the night. It’s still an unsolved mystery. Recently purchased a two spot goby and couldn’t get the thing to eat at all.

Need help finding a goby that will eat frozen food like the rest of the fish I have that come to the top of the tank to eat. Doesn’t grow over 4 inches. Is reef safe. And hopefully, maybe, prayerfully will sift at least some sand, without making the tank look like a sand storm.

If all this sounds impossible, perhaps I need to wait until a orange marked goby one day pops up on the Internet. And no, none of my local fish stores will order one.

Sorry for your losses.

What about a neon blue gobie? This fish isn't true bottom dweller, will not sift sand, but WILL be eating food out of water column like rest of your fish plus mine like to look at me as often as I look at the tank. It's like having a puppy. I do feed my tank 2x daily to help my small fishy friends keep enough food in their tiny bellies.

You are looking for a bottom dwelling sand sifting fish that doesn't eat like its species... You don't say why you don't go with another watchman goby.

Dragonets/mandarins starve regularly in this hobby as their nutrition needs aren't like other fish and what they eat is also eaten (faster and more) by every other fish. This is a good post for supplemental daily feeding, if you ever go dragonet again: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/thanks-paulb-mandarin-feeder.263752/
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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Sorry for your losses.

What about a neon blue gobie? This fish isn't true bottom dweller, will not sift sand, but WILL be eating food out of water column like rest of your fish plus mine like to look at me as often as I look at the tank. It's like having a puppy. I do feed my tank 2x daily to help my small fishy friends keep enough food in their tiny bellies.

You are looking for a bottom dwelling sand sifting fish that doesn't eat like its species... You don't say why you don't go with another watchman goby.

Dragonets/mandarins starve regularly in this hobby as their nutrition needs aren't like other fish and what they eat is also eaten (faster and more) by every other fish. This is a good post for supplemental daily feeding, if you ever go dragonet again: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/thanks-paulb-mandarin-feeder.263752/
Thanks, thanks and thanks! You have a great point and I’m not sure I thought about it until you mentioned it. You’re correct, I’m asking for something bottom dwelling to do something different. The two spot was doing a great job of sifting my sand and that was a big plus. My tiger conchs do okay and my other snails are more rock and window workers. The nassarius snails do less than okay because they only move the sand every so often. That’s one of the main reasons a goby is pretty important. Plus my kids like watching it dig holes and sift the sand as well.

I’m definitely done with mandarins/dragonets. They’re such specialized eaters. I was hoping my two spot would fit in well with my 2 clowns, gramma and flame hawkfish when it was feeding time. But as you stated, that’s not their “thing”.

I’ll look into the neon blue gobie. I don’t know much about it. Also, thx for the reading material!
 
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Fish Think Pink

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Thanks, thanks and thanks! You have a great point and I’m not sure I thought about it until you mentioned it. You’re correct, I’m asking for something bottom dwelling to do something different. The two spot was doing a great job of sifting my sand and that was a big plus. My tiger conchs do okay and my other snails are more rock and window workers. The nassarius snails do less than okay because they only move the sand every so often. That’s one of the main reasons a goby is pretty important. Plus my kids like watching it dig holes and sift the sand as well.

I’m definitely done with mandarins/dragonets. They’re such specialized eaters. I was hoping my two spot would fit in well with my 2 clowns, gramma and flame hawkfish when it was feeding time. But as you stated, that’s not their “thing”.

I’ll look into the neon blue gobie. I don’t know much about it. Also, thx for the reading material!
Neon blue gobies only have a 2 year life span. That is really the only bad thing about them. I was going to see if I couldn't get another year or so out of mine, but I had to travel back east, BF thought I was feeding tank too much so didn't follow directions, eaten/gone in 2-3 days - I think crab did it, he wants to blame tangs - mostly he is to blame - my big fish gotta eat, and little snack fish... well, gone now :( Haven't yet replaced either of my neon blue gobies.

I'd even recommend a neon blue PLUS bottom gobie if you want sand sifting type.
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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Curious what fish you ended up getting? I'm also thinking about picking up a cleaner/blue neon goby.
Nothing yet. Still contemplating. I was hoping to have a goby that spent more time sifting the sand but isn’t longer than 4 inches. Additionally, isn’t difficult to feed. The only one that checked all the boxes was the orange marked goby.
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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Any luck yet?
I've pretty much decided on either the orange marked (crosshatch) goby or the biota link's goby. They're perfect for the size I'm looking for, don't require a "special diet" and both actively sift sand neatly. Unfortunately, they're sold out on all trusted websites.
 
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Sounds like you need to implement a QT system.
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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Sounds like you need to implement a QT system.
Possibly, fortunately my other 4 fish are happy and healthy. It seems that my luck with gobies has been the only problem I've had thus far.
 
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