Which goby should i get?

Scooter21

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I'm pretty new to this and I want to go buy a goby for my tank. It's a 36 gallon with only fish right now, but I will add inverts shortly and I could see adding some soft corrals in the future.

I want a goby that will help clean the sand and/or rock. Id also like one thst would pair with a pistol shrimp if i end up getting one. My LFS doesn't have that big of a saltwater selection, so I'd like to go in with a list of possible choices.
 

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I'm pretty new to this and I want to go buy a goby for my tank. It's a 36 gallon with only fish right now, but I will add inverts shortly and I could see adding some soft corrals in the future.

I want a goby that will help clean the sand and/or rock. Id also like one thst would pair with a pistol shrimp if i end up getting one. My LFS doesn't have that big of a saltwater selection, so I'd like to go in with a list of possible choices.
Watchman gobies, yasha goby, black ray shrimp goby, honestly there are alot more you can look at live aquaria for a good forum, i wouldn't buy from there but you can look at your options there
 

AFHokie

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What other fish do you already have? That is an important factor. My wife is always getting on my case that we never got that goby...the one fish she wanted. Well I have a longnose hawkfish and most gobies that would fit comfortably in my tank will also fit comfortably in his mouth.
 

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Honestly i love my yellow watchman goby. Bright yellow with little blue speck dots. Always out looking around or guiding the shrimp around. Issue most shrimp pairing gobys arnt the gobys that are gonna clean all your sand. They eat food and maybe sift a little but there not swimming around sifting all day. My advice as another beginner who researches more then i should. Get the proper clean up crew for the proper job. Want clean sand bed get you some snails that do that or tiger conch. Get the goby and shrimp for that cool relationship and look.

The supper cleaner sand sifting gobies that will keep your sand spotless are often short lived especially in newish tanks as we just dont have the buildup or biom to provide enough for them long term unless there readily eating pellets and food.

side note that shrimp is gonna rearrange everything, pile sand around move small rocks any lose corals or frags. Iv had to steal back frags from mine, ended up removing all lose frags to frag racks or gluing them down.
 

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What other fish do you already have? That is an important factor. My wife is always getting on my case that we never got that goby...the one fish she wanted. Well I have a longnose hawkfish and most gobies that would fit comfortably in my tank will also fit comfortably in his mouth.
they will fit in a lognose hawkfishes mouth? dont they have small little mouths?
 
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Scooter21

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Watchman gobies, yasha goby, black ray shrimp goby, honestly there are alot more you can look at live aquaria for a good forum, i wouldn't buy from there but you can look at your options there
Thanks. Will those clean the sand and pair with a pistol shrimp? The only thing I see on live aquaria is a picture, price and minimum tanks size. It doesn't say anything about anything else
 
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Scooter21

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What other fish do you already have? That is an important factor. My wife is always getting on my case that we never got that goby...the one fish she wanted. Well I have a longnose hawkfish and most gobies that would fit comfortably in my tank will also fit comfortably in his mouth.
Currently, I have 2 clownfish, bicolor blenny and a fire fish. I'm going to pick up some pajama cardinals and I also want a royal gramma. Then I want some crabs, snails, cleaner shrimp and maybe an urchin.
 

Mr. Mojo Rising

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You might want to keep it at 5, maybe 6 fish, so that everything has enough space to call its own territory..

The blenny might have a problem with the goby and firefish, IME blennies just dont like gobies for some reason.

A gramma might have a problem with the firefish, due to similar coloration.
 
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Scooter21

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You might want to keep it at 5, maybe 6 fish, so that everything has enough space to call its own territory..

The blenny might have a problem with the goby and firefish, IME blennies just dont like gobies for some reason.

A gramma might have a problem with the firefish, due to similar coloration.
That's why I was thinking about a goby that stays on the sand. The blenny hangs out on top of the rocks and has his favorite holes.
 
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Scooter21

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Here's what the tank currently looks like. This was right after adding the rock and moving everything around. That's why the water is cloudy. It's crystal clear now
 

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they will fit in a lognose hawkfishes mouth? dont they have small little mouths?
They look tiny but actually open quite wide. Could easily fit a small goby in it. I could probably be safe with a larger YW but would still be concerned with aggression. He leaves my two clowns alone, they keep each other in check, but one day after months of getting along fine he decided he no longer liked my flasher wrasse and ended up bullying it to death.
 

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I got a yellow watchman and pistol shrimp the same day and they were fast friends. They just need a good hiding spot. The shrimp will turn over your sand all day as they build their hide outs. I think that particular goby is very hardy however tank should definitely be pretty well established before adding a goby/pistol pair in my opinion. I would wait until you see copepods and things crawling around on your glass
 

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I bought a YWG recently but I haven’t seen it yet. I also just got a firefish goby and OMG what a beautiful fish ! It really stands out nicely against the purple coralline with the white and different shades of red.

I think it’s going to be my favorite fish. Although all my fish are my favorite. I think saltwater fish are so beautiful !
 

efish

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Thanks. Will those clean the sand and pair with a pistol shrimp? The only thing I see on live aquaria is a picture, price and minimum tanks size. It doesn't say anything about anything else
On live aquaria there usually is a description under quick stats, called overview, this is where it tells you things like if it burrow or not, the 3 gobies I recommended were infact sand burrowers! That will pair with a pistol shrimp.
 
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Scooter21

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I called the LFS and these are the ones they have:

Green clown
Watchman diamond
Sleeper golden head
Blue dotted sleeper
Banded sand sifter

I don't think any of those pair up with a pistol shrimp, which I guess is fine. I'd rather have one that will clean the sand. Are any of these better or worse choices?
 

areefer01

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If you went the captive bred route, Biota, you could add:

Links Goby
Starry Goby

Two of my personal favorites and own both so I'm sort of biased I guess. Links is a nice little goby that hovers over the sand substrate. Will sift but I wouldn't buy it for utility but rather for the fish. Starry goby is a hidden gem to be honest and is lost in my 210 gallon. It is a rock dweller and will find an area to call home. Depending on the display maturity it may be hard to see but once you know its territory you will see it dart out for food rather quickly. Slow motion example of mine below.

Biota has other gobies and is a good source. But again know I own Biota fish and a fan.

 

Dave1993

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I called the LFS and these are the ones they have:

Green clown
Watchman diamond
Sleeper golden head
Blue dotted sleeper
Banded sand sifter

I don't think any of those pair up with a pistol shrimp, which I guess is fine. I'd rather have one that will clean the sand. Are any of these better or worse choices?
the ones that clean the sand are Valenciennea i think and they will starve in ur tank
 

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