Bella Goby "bonded pair" is fighting

[rwb500]

I bought a pair of Bella Gobies from Diver's Den which were sold as a "bonded pair" but the two spent their first few weeks at opposite ends of my 125 gallon sandy bottom tank, and now they spend time mostly on the same end and the big one constantly attacks the small one. The small one's fins are in rough shape and the small one hardly gets any food. If this continues the small one will die.

Obviously if I could catch either one and separate them that would solve the problem. Is there anything else I can do?

 

[Zionas]

What are their sizes?

A lot of fish sold as “bonded pairs” are really just two that seem to be getting along in the dealer’s tank or maybe in the wild where they were caught.

I don’t know if this is the case for Gobies, but not all “bonded pairs” are male-female. They could be two of the same sex only sticking together (in the wild or in an unfamiliar environment) for protection, once the environment changes the dynamics could change at any time.

There is also variance among the Goby family when it comes to being capable of sex change versus having fixed sex. I am not sure about these Gobies.

 

[i cant think]

I bought a pair of Bella Gobies from Diver's Den which were sold as a "bonded pair" but the two spent their first few weeks at opposite ends of my 125 gallon sandy bottom tank, and now they spend time mostly on the same end and the big one constantly attacks the small one. The small one's fins are in rough shape and the small one hardly gets any food. If this continues the small one will die.

Obviously if I could catch either one and separate them that would solve the problem. Is there anything else I can do?

I wish I could help but Valencienna is the only genus of gobies I haven’t had too much experience with, the rest I have had tons of experience with.

 

[rwb500]

What are their sizes?

The big one is about 4.5 inches and well-fed. The smaller one is about 3.5 inches and starting to look thin.

 

[i cant think]

The big one is about 4.5 inches and well-fed. The smaller one is about 3.5 inches and starting to look thin.

Does one of them have a black throat and mouth?

 

[rwb500]

Does one of them have a black throat and mouth?

The big one does. I'm not sure about the smaller one, I will have to try to get another look at it.

 

[i cant think]

The big one does. I'm not sure about the smaller one, I will have to try to get another look at it.

Okay, you definitely have Atleast one male, if the other one doesn’t then that’s a female. If that other one is a female I’d recommend trying to get a third female bella and see if a harem is better for these gobies.

Okay, I messed up with that, I meant to say is the black patch the same size on both gobies? If so then yes you have two males but if it’s smaller with one bigger then you probably have a female and a male

Sexing these fish is hard with just description so if you have a picture of both then it may make it easier

 

[rwb500]

thanks. she does come out sometimes, but other times she is deep in her cave (where he makes her hide). I will try to get a better look ASAP. That's an interesting thought - We love these fish and would be happy with a third. And divers den seems to have them a lot.