Oldest Citron Goby?!

[JayFish4004]

How old is/was your oldest citron/citrinis clown goby? Please do not answer for yellow or green clown gobies - only citrons with the pink band across the eye count (stock picture below).

These are my alltime favorite marine fish, and I am well aware of their shorter lifespan - which really sucks. Just curious on averages and who might have the oldest one out there. For me I’ve had probably 10 of these guys and longest maybe got to 2 years, but a good chunk seem to barely make it a year.

 

[i cant think]

How old is/was your oldest citron/citrinis clown goby? Please do not answer for yellow or green clown gobies - only citrons with the pink band across the eye count (stock picture below).

These are my alltime favorite marine fish, and I am well aware of their shorter lifespan - which really sucks. Just curious on averages and who might have the oldest one out there. For me I’ve had probably 10 of these guys and longest maybe got to 2 years, but a good chunk seem to barely make it a year.

I never got the ones I kept in the display at a LFS I worked in past the 2 year mark. Most of them lasted 2 years but compared to the other Gobiodon gobies in that tank it was nothing, most of them were hitting 3-3.5 years before they died. The ones I owned were: Citrinis, Blacks, Reds/Browns.

 

[JayFish4004]

I never got the ones I kept in the display at a LFS I worked in past the 2 year mark. Most of them lasted 2 years but compared to the other Gobiodon gobies in that tank it was nothing, most of them were hitting 3-3.5 years before they died. The ones I owned were: Citrinis, Blacks, Reds/Browns.

Do you think it’s just how long the fish lives, or is something about captivity causing them to live shorter lifespans? Im torn a bit as part of me wonders if buying these fish creates a demand for something that maybe shouldn’t be in the hobby, but I also love their little personalities so much.

 

[i cant think]

Do you think it’s just how long the fish lives, or is something about captivity causing them to live shorter lifespans? Im torn a bit as part of me wonders if buying these fish creates a demand for something that maybe shouldn’t be in the hobby, but I also love their little personalities so much.

I haven’t actually gotten to the bottom of why, if I had a guess I think it would be something about captivity. I had a couple that did get past 2 years but the most of them lasted 1-2 years.

 

[JayFish4004]

I haven’t actually gotten to the bottom of why, if I had a guess I think it would be something about captivity. I had a couple that did get past 2 years but the most of them lasted 1-2 years.

Part of me wonders if they need to eat more than most fish - but yeah we can let the suits in Washington figure out the science haha

 

[damsels are not mean]

In the wild they live inside acropora branches. Part of their diet is the mucus. Maybe that's part of it? But other gobiodons are similar...

 

[Zionas]

Waikiki Aquarium kept a G. Okinawae for over 13 years. Its mate died from some infection after 7-8 years. I’m not sure how long the remaining one lived (past the 13-year mark) and whether it was an anomaly. I don’t think they were collected as juveniles either.

 

[damsels are not mean]

What is their breeding like? Do they form little colonies like clowns or are they pelagic larvae types?

 

[JayFish4004]

Waikiki Aquarium kept a G. Okinawae for over 13 years. Its mate died from some infection after 7-8 years. I’m not sure how long the remaining one lived (past the 13-year mark) and whether it was an anomaly. I don’t think they were collected as juveniles either.

Interesting. The yellow clown goby definitely seems to live a lot longer in captivity. It’s super strange that a fish so close to their genus like the citron is so different

 

[damsels are not mean]

Interesting. The yellow clown goby definitely seems to live a lot longer in captivity. It’s super strange that a fish so close to their genus like the citron is so different

Yes especially a fish with such similar behavior and niche too? It's like a percula and clarkii clown having a wildly different lifespan. They both live in acropora branches in the wild.

 

[i cant think]

Yes especially a fish with such similar behavior and niche too? It's like a percula and clarkii clown having a wildly different lifespan. They both live in acropora branches in the wild.

I think it’s something to do with what specific species of SPS they live in. I know Bryaninops gobies tend to live in gonis, and sometimes easier to keep acros and gobiodon gobies like anything from a birds nest to a staghorn. I do tend to find it MUCH easier when it comes to these fish that replicating something like they’d find in the wild tends to help them settle in and become easier to keep alive for longer periods of time. So, feeding things like Phyto might not be a bad idea (I’ve tried to keep 3 gobies of a similar species - The pandas and they didnt last more than a few weeks without Phyto, the ones I got phyto into managed to live for several months, but they also chomped down on the pod population).

Wonder if that’s a similar reason why most gobies don’t live longer than 2-3 years for most people. I know these fish altogether have a short lifespan, usually getting adults/subadults you can get Atleast 3-5 years out of them if you care for them the right way.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I think it’s something to do with what specific species of SPS they live in. I know Bryaninops gobies tend to live in gonis, and sometimes easier to keep acros and gobiodon gobies like anything from a birds nest to a staghorn. I do tend to find it MUCH easier when it comes to these fish that replicating something like they’d find in the wild tends to help them settle in and become easier to keep alive for longer periods of time. So, feeding things like Phyto might not be a bad idea (I’ve tried to keep 3 gobies of a similar species - The pandas and they didnt last more than a few weeks without Phyto, the ones I got phyto into managed to live for several months, but they also chomped down on the pod population).

Wonder if that’s a similar reason why most gobies don’t live longer than 2-3 years for most people. I know these fish altogether have a short lifespan, usually getting adults/subadults you can get Atleast 3-5 years out of them if you care for them the right way.

I think feeding habits are the missing link with lots of fish. Think about how many stories of chromis populations dwindling due to aggression. I also wonder if damsel aggression could be curbed with different feeding routines. Might all be because the way we feed is very unnatural and gives them a lot of free time to be bullying eachother while forcing them to compete more for food. Watch any video or go diving to see how damsels feed in the wild. Constantly picking food out of the water coumn in the same way a mandarin eats pods on the rocks. They don't have time to fight and they don't need to because the food is a constant blanket. I hope to experiment one day with some sort of continuous feeding system.

 

[i cant think]

I think feeding habits are the missing link with lots of fish. Think about how many stories of chromis populations dwindling due to aggression. I also wonder if damsel aggression could be curbed with different feeding routines. Might all be because the way we feed is very unnatural and gives them a lot of free time to be bullying eachother while forcing them to compete more for food. Watch any video or go diving to see how damsels feed in the wild. Constantly picking food out of the water coumn in the same way a mandarin eats pods on the rocks. They don't have time to fight and they don't need to because the food is a constant blanket. I hope to experiment one day with some sort of continuous feeding system.

I may actually try feeding my gobies phyto and a natural diet to see if that helps keep them fatter (Currently I have a WC K. hectori who eats nothing but algae and he is the fattest in the gang of 3).

 

[JayFish4004]

I may actually try feeding my gobies phyto and a natural diet to see if that helps keep them fatter (Currently I have a WC K. hectori who eats nothing but algae and he is the fattest in the gang of 3).

Im still working on getting my new citron eating (arrived tuesday)

 

[i cant think]

Im still working on getting my new citron eating (arrived tuesday)

Fingers crossed, I’d also try getting him eating phyto if he isn’t already.

 

[JayFish4004]

Fingers crossed, I’d also try getting him eating phyto if he isn’t already.

Still no dice - he’s been in tank 15 days and haven’t seen him eat a lick of brine, mysis, rod’s original, cyclopeze. I’ve been putting pods in the tank and assuming he must be eating those. Wish there was a tricky to this - he shows zero interest in any dropped in food, wouldn’t even flinch at live brine.

Otherwise seems perfectly healthy and happy. Hopefully its just a waiting game and he won’t starve himself to death

 

[i cant think]

I recommend trying to wedge mysis or brine into small gaps on the rock and seeing if he eats it then, it’s annoying when these fish don’t want to eat for you. I have a Koumansetta hectori that is wild caught and he didn’t eat for a good week or two, eventually after watching the other guys go for it he ate it.

 

[JayFish4004]

I recommend trying to wedge mysis or brine into small gaps on the rock and seeing if he eats it then, it’s annoying when these fish don’t want to eat for you. I have a Koumansetta hectori that is wild caught and he didn’t eat for a good week or two, eventually after watching the other guys go for it he ate it.

Update on this - almost 2 months in and he seems alive and well.

Will not eat:
Rod’s Original
Live nano brine shrimp
Mysis shrimp
Cyclopeeze

Only eats pods.. so because of this, I have an AlgaeBarn subscription and a mandarin goby - and twice the nitrates trying to get him to eat haha

Wonder if citron’s should be treated the same as mandarins in that sense - I’ve definitely had some that eat everything, but Sunny is not one.

 

[i cant think]

Update on this - almost 2 months in and he seems alive and well.

Will not eat:
Rod’s Original
Live nano brine shrimp
Mysis shrimp
Cyclopeeze

Only eats pods.. so because of this, I have an AlgaeBarn subscription and a mandarin goby - and twice the nitrates trying to get him to eat haha

Wonder if citron’s should be treated the same as mandarins in that sense - I’ve definitely had some that eat everything, but Sunny is not one.

Photos?

Also I have found they can be relatively difficult to get eating in the start, if you manage to get a finicky one (Seems like you did) then you can always treat them like Discordipinna griessingeri

These guys love pods but rarely move off the sand bed and seem to be nocturnal. So what I do to try get frozen into mine is I will let the frozen fall onto the sand bed, get wedged between sand or even rocks where there is very little flow and leave it there till night.

 

[JayFish4004]

Photos?

Also I have found they can be relatively difficult to get eating in the start, if you manage to get a finicky one (Seems like you did) then you can always treat them like Discordipinna griessingeri

These guys love pods but rarely move off the sand bed and seem to be nocturnal. So what I do to try get frozen into mine is I will let the frozen fall onto the sand bed, get wedged between sand or even rocks where there is very little flow and leave it there till night.

I like this plan! My flow is pretty solid so nothing really sits in the tank when I feed mysis and if it does the nesarrius snails make quick work of it. If I can find a way to wedge in a rock that may work.

Lights are out - I’ll get a shot tomorrow. He’s a lot more shy than the citrons Im used to but he’s active and interacts. Definitely seems happy.

This is Limon (RIP) - used to sit on my hand and help me place corals. Ate everything and a ton of personality. Still miss him