Multiple diamond gobies???

aherre07 · Jun 12, 2018

So interesting story, my wife's favorite fishis a Diamond Goby and so we MUST always have a diamond goby in the tank. Well we lost our first one to an unfortunate carpet surfing accident. So off to the LFS we go to acquire another one. Acclimated it and placed it in our tank only to "never" see it again.

Two weeks later my wife and I give up hope that it had made it and thought we had lost it. Or sandbed was also in dire need of a hard working goby. So off to the LFS yet again to replace a 2nd diamond goby.....

Well low and behold three days after introducing the 3rd goby into the tank we finally see the 2nd goby in the tank. The 2nd goby had burrowed himself for at least 3 weeks and now is out and about working hard.

My question is will the coexist?? I have a 240DT. They have their burrows on opposite ends of the tank for now, just wondering how long this will last or if i should expect to see some jarring at each other at some point?

LowLi · Jun 13, 2018

i remember reading some where if they are on separate sides they should be okay especially in that big of tank

eatbreakfast · Jun 13, 2018

It depends. Diamond gobies are usually eager to form prs. If they pr up you'll be fine.

If they don't pr up they can be quite territorial to one another. Resources will dictate the size of territory and the degree of aggression. But even in large tanks one may dominate the other to its demise.

Mark Gray · Jun 13, 2018

Following I want to know to see how they do let us know

alton · Jun 13, 2018

Just like eatbreakfast said they love to be in pairs

aherre07 · Jun 13, 2018

I will definitely keep this updated. They are going 2 weeks in the tank together so not really a fair amount of time to tell if they have noticed each other or if they have already set boundaries.

About them pairing up anyway to know if I have males, females or one of each?? One of the 2 is clearly much larger than the other not sure if that helps any.

eatbreakfast · Jun 13, 2018

I don't know of any surefire way of sexing them. Usually if they are both small or one is small and the other large they will pr. Whereas 2 large indivuals are less likely to pr.

alton · Jun 13, 2018

I have no idea on male or female I always had one smaller/one larger and they stayed in the same cave together

aherre07 · Jun 14, 2018

A small update all still seems well. They are very well aware of each other. I swee them this afternoon have a little stand off as they open their mouths to show each other whose boss and then went back to their respective burrows. The smaller did cross the boundary of you will and no major charging/ chasing from the bigger one. Not sure if this is the beginning of the turf war or match made in heaven. Will be interesting to continue to watch and see how this plays out.

aherre07 · Jun 27, 2018

Wanted to give an update on my 2 diamond gobies...they are actually paired up and swimming around the tank sitting the sand together it's pretty cool to watch. Here's a picture of the 2 together...

View attachment 20180627_125738.jpg

CoralWealth · Dec 11, 2018

any update here?

I am thinking about trying to get another diamond goby for my 180 gallon

YumaMan · Dec 30, 2018

I just bought my first diamond goby today from the LFS. It is in my QT with lots of PVC pipes. I don't have copper in there yet, just a lot of caulerpa macro algae and a dusting of aged live sand. After reading this thread and seeing the picture above I am excited to get a second diamond goby, a smaller one if possible. It would be very cool to see them ultimately swimming and sifting sand together in my 120 gal reef. Also, glad to hear that they might burrow and remain out of sight for long periods of time -- this would have had me worried. I don't might cloudy water -- it reminds me of my teenage years snorkeling in the Florida Keys when the tidal current was ripping. Valuable thread, this one!

N2SMILZ · Mar 7, 2019

CoralWealth · Mar 8, 2019

N2SMILZ said:

Did you buy them as a pair or how did you make this work?

N2SMILZ · Mar 8, 2019

codydemmel4 said:
Did you buy them as a pair or how did you make this work?

They had been in the same tank for a couple of weeks . Im assuming they have bonded?

N2SMILZ · Mar 8, 2019

I got up this morning and both were in the den they had made.

demonspeedn · Mar 8, 2019

I have 2 in my 220g. One is large, the other is much smaller. The larger one chases the smaller one whenever it is in eyesight. They don't fight, just don't hang out together.