Fish ID : Diamond Goby?

[Jimbo]

Hey,
Ordered a Diamond Goby off of Divers Den. It’s over 6 inches long and does not look like the wysiwyg pic.
Is it even a Diamond Goby?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Looks like Valenciennea longipinnis - the Long-finned Goby to me.

 

[i cant think]

Hey,
Ordered a Diamond Goby off of Divers Den. It’s over 6 inches long and does not look like the wysiwyg pic.
Is it even a Diamond Goby?

While it’s not a true Diamond it is in that genus. The diamond goby is Valenciennea puellaris and yours looks to be Valenciennea longipinnis.

 

[Jimbo]

Divers Den says they gave me the correct fish and that it is a Valenciennes Puellaris. They say the fish is stressed and not showing proper color yet……..

 

[i cant think]

Divers Den says they gave me the correct fish and that it is a Valenciennes Puellaris. They say the fish is stressed and not showing proper color yet……..

That is definitely not a stressed puellaris. A stressed puellaris will lose it’s colour however they still show the orange it may just be a bit faint.
This is definitely a Valenciennea lobgipinnis and they are a species of sand sifter that don’t do well in captivity and tend to starve (Most of the Valenciennea species starve without a deep sand bed and a 2-3 year mature tank). Yours is already looking skinny, if you can get a sideon photo of him then it’ll be easier to see how skinny.

 

[adromero]

Definitely not a diamond goby

 

[Jimbo]

Well, they state othewise………

 

[LiveAquaria Verified Sponsor]

@Jimbo Good afternoon. Our Coral Farm and Aquatic Life Facility was able to further review your picture, and we sincerely apologize that you did receive Valenciennea longipinnis instead of Valenciennea puellaris. Please send an email to customerservice@liveaquaria including your order number and this thread so we can determine an appropriate resolution.

 

[Tamberav]

Too bad they do poorly, I would try to feed it and see if you can get some weight on it. That is a much better looking fish than a Diamond goby imo!

 

[Jimbo]

@Jimbo Good afternoon. Our Coral Farm and Aquatic Life Facility was able to further review your picture, and we sincerely apologize that you did receive Valenciennea longipinnis instead of Valenciennea puellaris. Please send an email to customerservice@liveaquaria including your order number and this thread so we can determine an appropriate resolution.

Thank you email sent.

 

[Jimbo]

That is definitely not a stressed puellaris. A stressed puellaris will lose it’s colour however they still show the orange it may just be a bit faint.
This is definitely a Valenciennea lobgipinnis and they are a species of sand sifter that don’t do well in captivity and tend to starve (Most of the Valenciennea species starve without a deep sand bed and a 2-3 year mature tank). Yours is already looking skinny, if you can get a sideon photo of him then it’ll be easier to see how skinny.

You were dead on with this. He died today……slowly starved, was not fun to watch. He consistently sand sifted and ate some Mysis and brine but not enough to sustain him unfortunately. I suspect even though they eat the prepared food it is let out through the gills like the sand. They probably survive on micro fauna in the sand?
Pretty upset to be sent a fish like this that I would have never ordered. They refunded my money but it was not about the money ( Store Credit, actually) This fish belongs in the ocean. Do better Live Aquaria.

 

[i cant think]

You were dead on with this. He died today……slowly starved, was not fun to watch. He consistently sand sifted and ate some Mysis and brine but not enough to sustain him unfortunately. I suspect even though they eat the prepared food it is let out through the gills like the sand. They probably survive on micro fauna in the sand?
Pretty upset to be sent a fish like this that I would have never ordered. They refunded my money but it was not about the money ( Store Credit, actually) This fish belongs in the ocean. Do better Live Aquaria.

It’s a shame to hear that and the reason I say they need a minimum of a 2-3 inch deep sand bed is due to them sifting the life out of a shallow sandbed within days. I’ve also found a 2-3 year old sand bed can keep up with reproducing the micro fauna in enough time as long as it’s deep enough.