Fingers crossed he turns around, as said above in many cases this is from old age and not the owners faultUpdate on this thread - about to have another citron not make it a year. Through my best efforts of trial and error I’ve been able to get him to eat, but even so like others before he just gets skinnier and skinnier until he’s flesh and bone. Really hard to watch and I have no idea what to do differently with these things. As much as I hate to say it I might have to give up on citrons soon
I cant help but think there is something nutritionally they are not getting in our aquariums that they do get in the wild that is very unique to this species. What it is I have no clue and wish I did, they are such cool fish.
It could very well be that - when I first put in my Bali green slimer acro he definitely ate some slime, but its still very much a frag. I often see him sitting near the acro frag and watching it - maybe he’s hungry and waiting for slime with that behavior?
Annoyingly, that’s with every fish listed for a nano tank. They all have that 1-5 year life span. Very few will live to 7 or even a decade.
Yeah it’s really interesting - I’ve been keeping fish my whole life and this is the one species I can’t keep around long enough. Im at a point where I feel like I’m perpetuating the abuse of this species by feeding the demand for it in this hobby, and maybe we should consider this species better left in the ocean. They are such amazing little creatures and seeing them not thrive in my tank is absolutely heartbreaking
I was thinking of attempting this species in the future (I will find a way to sneak a group of gobies into my larger tank eventually, for now I’m hunting for a small group of trimma caudomaculatum). I wonder if these need well established, medium/large acropora colonies to thrive?
My previous citron ate ferociously - anything you put in the tank he was at the top ready for it and eating mysis very healthily. Even so - wasted away a year later by getting skin and bones. So even by getting lucky and finding one that readily eats, they still don’t thrive. I have a local fish store here in LA who stopped carrying them for the same reason.
I usually consider it a win if I can get a plump and happy goby that makes it 1-2 years in my tank - at the very least able to thrive and be happy for a large chunk of time.
I totally get you - At the moment I have a yasha that’s surpassing the average life span of 2 years, I’m hoping I can keep him for 3.I usually consider it a win if I can get a plump and happy goby that makes it 1-2 years in my tank - at the very least able to thrive and be happy for a large chunk of time.
What I hate is when a fish is never in this state and just wastes away and never thrives. They deserve better
Here’s a video of the mandarins eating - you can see Sunny chillin by the Bali. He hasn’t taken food last couple days and breathing is a bit more labored.
I am going to give citrons one more try because I found SeahorseSavvy.com listing citrons that they claim are aquarium-conditioned and actively eating mysis and tdo pellets. I also like that they run these fish through quarantine which does not seem to be the case for anybody else. He arrives tomorrow - wish us luck!
seahorsesavvy.com
This was a great read - of course the citron only has 1 sample but it is pretty eye opening. I think it does help me a bit to realize even best case some of these gobies live a couple years - it could be very likely Im receiving some of these citrons at the end of their life span.
reefs.com
Amblyeleotris guttata - Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby
super interesting how much longer shrimp gobies live - poor clown gobies got the shaft
Raising the broodstock is extremely hard as the juveniles/babies are very small. If I ever get the chance to then I’d love to attempt breeding a species of clown goby. The other issue that comes with them is getting a pair as some will be in rather large groups in the wild (Okinawae being one of them). getting them to breed is another issue.super interesting how much longer shrimp gobies live - poor clown gobies got the shaft
Wonder why you never see captive bred clown gobies - maybe the short life span makes it too challenging
Happy to report SeahorseSavvy.com is a gem - new citron arrived extremely healthy and is eating tdo pellets like a champ. For whatever reason the wholesale guys send the most emaciated citrons I’ve ever seen - if you’re looking for healthy fish i recommend these guys for sure!
