PETCO advice, 'Fire Fish Goby too aggressive to house with same species'

[Chukthunder]

Started using a 55 gallon tank in my basement to store some bleached coral and old live rock I've had curing in the garage.

Upped the ante by adding lights, throwing in some snails and a fire fish goby.

After a month the goby, snails, water, bunches of rock, old school lights, heater, and HOB gear all seem to be fine and working adequately.

So off I went to PETCO to grab the little guy some company, Fire Fish Gobies were on sale for $12.99. The first thing I notice is that they are all in separate tanks cowering in corners with their dorsal fins retracted. I figure I'll a couple out of there, dip them in a bath, give them a home and hope for the best.

The sales girl informed me that although they are labeled as peaceful they're actually aggressive and that two are never stored in the same tank. I explained to her that they are schooling fish and she politely corrected me again.

So I was politely refused because I said I would house them together in my 55. On the one hand I applaud PETCO for having a policy to refuse questionable sales, however on the other hand is the 'Fire Fish Goby', or less apparently to me at least, a true terror of the ocean's deep.

Since they have decent prices on most everything else they'll still get my business but an employee claiming that this is an aggressive fish worthy of separate housing is gonna stay with me for a while.

 

[Gareth elliott]

They are not the same schooling fish in our tanks. Lack of territories lack of free space, something about about a glass box makes most systems with more than 1 not in a true pair, eventually become just 1 surviving fish.

 

[Friday24]

Unless paired they will not tolerate more of their species.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Unless a mated pair, more than one firefish will not coexist long-term. The stronger one will force the weaker into hiding and starvation.

That said, they are quite timid with all other fish and I wouldn't describe them as aggressive by any standard.

One if my favorite fish!

 

[PatW]

I had 4 fire fish. They paired up. They went into a 300 gallon. They divided the tank with a right and left pair. Then it became a pair in the open and one in hiding and then 1 pair.

Otherwise the fire fish are pretty peaceful. I have not seen them bother other fish. So they should do fine with any other peaceful fish.

Now my pair is great. They generally hang out close together which is visually appealing. They eat small pellets, brine and mysis. So you could try adding another fire fish and hope for a pair.

 

[Baldguy]

As others have said it is aggressive to it's own kind. Unless you get lucky and they pair up your pair will not work out. Looks like their advice on housing separately was right on.

 

[extremetang]

Petco girl is not entirely wrong. Unless paired, they can be quite aggressive towards its own kind. And They don’t always pair up automatically. I once had a pair for a long time, but one unfortunately did a carpet dive, so I tried to replace his mate with a new one. That attempt didn’t even last two days. He terrorized the poor thing to death. I have not been able to add another dart fish ever since. Now, I often wonder if I added two dart fish, instead of one at the same time, if the outcome would change. Just haven’t dared to do it.

 

[Chukthunder]

Absolutely thank you everyone, it's great to learn something.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I'm happy to hear about how this particular Petco employee handled this.

Most reef fishes are hermaphrodites, so 2 immature individuals can be added simultaneously and eventually form a pr. This isn't the case with firefish. They are born with their gender determined. They also do not exhbit sexual dimorphism. Firefish are intolerant of conspecifics, unless they are a pr.

 

[Baldguy]

It can be very confusing when you walk into almost any lfs and they've got 20 or 30 firefish in a little 10 gallon tank. That works out for them as those fish won't be there long and they are often very young. Then those employees think that proves it's ok.

It is refreshing that in this case the Petco employee knew her business. Petco specifically and lfs's in general get ragged on a lot but often they are correct in their advice.

 

[Jesterrace]

Outside of schooling fish, unless they are a mated pair (or at least a male and female) of the same species, it is generally asking for trouble. The dominant fish gets the breeding and feeding grounds in the wild, and those instincts don't simply go away just because they are in a tank instead of the ocean.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

My purple firefish and regular firefish have lived peacefully in my little 13.5 for 4 months. The purple has the right side as his territory and the regular has the left side. But they do swim to the other side often and havent seen any battles.

 

[eatbreakfast]

My purple firefish and regular firefish have lived peacefully in my little 13.5 for 4 months. The purple has the right side as his territory and the regular has the left side. But they do swim to the other side often and havent seen any battles.

Firefish don't battle though. One stresses the other one out to its eventual demise.

 

[Stigigemla]

I usually order 5 or 7 of the general firefish. I put them together in a 58 gallon sales tank. After a week I have to move out the first and others will follow to separate tanks until its only 2 left. After a week I can put all the singles together and start the procedure again to get the next pair.

 

[MnFish1]

They are not the same schooling fish in our tanks. Lack of territories lack of free space, something about about a glass box makes most systems with more than 1 not in a true pair, eventually become just 1 surviving fish.

Disagree. It depends on the ground available have had 10 in a 120

 

[eatbreakfast]

Disagree. It depends on the ground available have had 10 in a 120

For how long?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Disagree. It depends on the ground available have had 10 in a 120

There are always exceptions to every rule, but given the large number of people that had fish deaths vs those who had all multiple fire fish all live to full life expectancy(3-6 years depending on the source).

They are not hierarchal forming fish in which aggression is lessoned by overstocking. They are territorial fish that evolved particular behaviors to ensure mate selection and food security.

 

[Skep18]

First fish of the BRS 160 were 6 firefish.

 

[dealseer]

Petco is right on this. Just because they’re Petco doesn’t automatically mean they’re wrong.

 

[MnFish1]

its like discus - if you have 4 in a tank the smaller/less strong will be killed - and then the next and the next. The note you have - the less likely you will have a problem. With Firefish - most people don't have the number required to 'not have problems' IMHO.