My goby is going to give me a heart attack

[katsreef]

So I just got this ywg 4 days ago. He has already slipped through the weirs but now he can’t anymore because I put a plastic sheet there. He spends almost the entire day on the sandbed like normal and eats fine. I started to take this video because he will sometimes swim and if he does it’s near the weirs. I’ve seen him get stuck to it like 3 times, usually he swims off right away. This time he was just chilling there. I stopped recording when he didn’t swim off immediately because I got scared obviously. I put my finger in the tank to push him off and before I could touch him he just swam off on his own. Why is he giving me a heart attack??? i have a pistol shrimp but it’s the wrong kind so they won’t pair so I am getting another soon. Maybe he will stop when he has a friend?

btw he is a-okay and back on the bottom being normal

 

[WavyAquatics]

Hi Katsreef, as soon as you pair him with a pistol shrimp, he will remain in the sand next to that pistol. I see you have decent surface agitation but do you have sufficient flow in the tank? lack of flow could be a reason why he is riding the wave up there.

 

[907_Reefer]

Sounds like similar behavior of the YWG we just added, and took him almost 3 days to pair with a pistol shrimp we already had in the tank.. For the first 2 he mostly cruised the top, finally ventured down to the sand and finally paired. Now, he doesn't leave their home Give him some time.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Mine did the same thing when it didn't have a paired shrimp from time to time. Once it has a hole and feels comfortable it will be fine. I would keep calm, take some deep breaths, and know they're just figuring things out rn. Give them a bit, make sure they're eating, and Def keep a lid on for the first couple weeks if you can/think they'll be chased a bit. They're reasonably strong swimmers for gobies when they want to be, so I wouldn't worry too much about the weir unless your flow is massive. I've got almost 50x tank volume flow in my display, and he gets around when he needs to.

 

[katsreef]

Hi Katsreef, as soon as you pair him with a pistol shrimp, he will remain in the sand next to that pistol. I see you have decent surface agitation but do you have sufficient flow in the tank? lack of flow could be a reason why he is riding the wave up there.

I seem to have decent flow in the tank, my corals have been happy. I actually just rehomed the pistol that was the wrong kind and now the goby is in one of the burrows. I think the big caribbean pistol shrimp was scaring him because he had stayed away from all the burrows. I’m getting the right pistol shrimp next week for him! Hopefully he feels safer in the burrows now

 

[Cthulukelele]

So I just got this ywg 4 days ago. He has already slipped through the weirs but now he can’t anymore because I put a plastic sheet there. He spends almost the entire day on the sandbed like normal and eats fine. I started to take this video because he will sometimes swim and if he does it’s near the weirs. I’ve seen him get stuck to it like 3 times, usually he swims off right away. This time he was just chilling there. I stopped recording when he didn’t swim off immediately because I got scared obviously. I put my finger in the tank to push him off and before I could touch him he just swam off on his own. Why is he giving me a heart attack??? i have a pistol shrimp but it’s the wrong kind so they won’t pair so I am getting another soon. Maybe he will stop when he has a friend?

btw he is a-okay and back on the bottom being normal

Also out of curiosity what kind of pistol shrimp do you have?

 

[katsreef]

Also out of curiosity what kind of pistol shrimp do you have?

I just rehomed him but it was a caribbean pistol shrimp. Store said they would pair and then online said nope, they won’t. It was way bigger than my ywg and he was definitely scared of being in it’s burrows. Now that the shrimp is rehomed, the goby has claimed the burrows. Getting a candy cane pistol for him next week

 

[Cthulukelele]

I just rehomed him but it was a caribbean pistol shrimp. Store said they would pair and then online said nope, they won’t. It was way bigger than my ywg and he was definitely scared of being in it’s burrows. Now that the shrimp is rehomed, the goby has claimed the burrows. Getting a candy cane pistol for him next week

Oh jeez what a rude lfs. Yeah no wonder he was running that shrimp would have absolutely killed it if it got too near. Good on you for getting it out it can be a tough ask. I've done both candy cane and tiger with mine over the years. Both worked, but he seems to fit better in a tiger pistol burrow as he ages.

 

[olonmv]

I’d reconsider the shrimp. I truly regret getting mine. Moves everything. Glued or not. As for the YWG. Sounds like normal behavior for an adolescent goby. Mine did the same until he got bigger in size.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Candy cane will be less of a mover than a tiger, but it can still move around very small frags.

 

[katsreef]

Oh jeez what a rude lfs. Yeah no wonder he was running that shrimp would have absolutely killed it if it got too near. Good on you for getting it out it can be a tough ask. I've done both candy cane and tiger with mine over the years. Both worked, but he seems to fit better in a tiger pistol burrow as he ages.

I had to trap it in a corner when it burrowed under my only isolated rock and then netted it haha. It was kind of wild

noted! I like the idea of a smaller pistol because I have a 20g. Also made less of a mess. I’ll get in there and help make some bigger burrows if I have to lol

 

[katsreef]

I’d reconsider the shrimp. I truly regret getting mine. Moves everything. Glued or not. As for the YWG. Sounds like normal behavior for an adolescent goby. Mine did the same until he got bigger in size.

Mine made a big mess with sand but ended up fixing it over the course of a few days. Never touched any of my frags thankfully. Well my hammer fell but I think that was my urchin

 

[olonmv]

Mine made a big mess with sand but ended up fixing it over the course of a few days. Never touched any of my frags thankfully. Well my hammer fell but I think that was my urchin

I’ve forgotten how many mine has killed.

 

[Tired]

Fish are smart enough to understand "if I go near this, I get sucked onto it". Sounds like he's doing that on purpose, given that he can easily enough escape it. Maybe he likes the feeling.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Mine made a big mess with sand but ended up fixing it over the course of a few days. Never touched any of my frags thankfully. Well my hammer fell but I think that was my urchin

The candy cane will make MUCH less of a mess than that monstrosity. You're honestly lucky you didn't lose any fish or inverts to it even in only a few days. I'm really disappointed in a lfs that'd make a sale like that. If you have other local options I'd consider them.

 

[katsreef]

The candy cane will make MUCH less of a mess than that monstrosity. You're honestly lucky you didn't lose any fish or inverts to it even in only a few days. I'm really disappointed in a lfs that'd make a sale like that. If you have other local options I'd consider them.

It’s very odd because it seems that the toronto fish stores all believe they are compatible. I’m assuming just misinformed? Because the rest of the help I got was great

 

[Cthulukelele]

It’s very odd because it seems that the toronto fish stores all believe they are compatible. I’m assuming just misinformed? Because the rest of the help I got was great

It's more that there's danger of death. It's like a shotgun wedding and they are generally just not associated with shrimp gobies.

 

[Tired]

I don't think that's what "shotgun wedding" usually means.

There is a species of largeish green pistol shrimp that pairs up with gobies. I had one years ago. They might have mixed yours up with one of those.