Paring Yellow Watchman gobies

[MysticBlue]

Hey I have a question about paring two YWG together. There only about two years old and male and female but there’s a lot of aggression between them!!! When I first introduced the female today they didn’t notice each other for about 20 minutes but then they both saw each other and swam right next to each other. Everything was good for about 5 minutes then they started opening there mouths really wide and then locked jaws!!! This was on and off for about 2 hours until they both went into hiding. So my question is what did I do wrong or what should I do? Any help is great thanks!!!

 

[Tamberav]

How do you know you have a male and female?

 

[MysticBlue]

How do you know you have a male and female?

The male is a bright yellow and large and the female is a darker grayish tint and a blue underline on her belly.

 

[homegrowncichlid]

The male is a bright yellow and large and the female is a darker grayish tint and a blue underline on her belly.

suggestive, but not definitive. You may also have a beta or sub male. (or two alpha females) well, your chances are better than 50/50, heh. (protandrous hermaphrodites) Time will tell, usually when I do this, I create 2 distinct territories in the tank, a left and a right with 2 caves. A sandy plains in between. I'd introduce the second into the opposite territory, then see how they interact. Easier said than done, heh, if you introduced 2 simultaneously, you also have a chance of success. Anyway, take a look at this.

Yellow Watchman Goby Female?

over the past month or so, my YWG has lost all of its color. It's now grey with the same blue spots and darker markings. After doing some reading it sounds like she's a female. do gobies exhibit sequential hermaphroditism? Wikipedia says yes.... but no specifics. If I introduce another...

www.reef2reef.com

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/ft/index.php

 

[Tamberav]

The male is a bright yellow and large and the female is a darker grayish tint and a blue underline on her belly.

Paul B has a spawning pair and they are both grey.

I don't think color is a sure way to tell.

Found the pic, Post #14:

Yellow Watchman Goby

Hello. Since I added YWG to my DT, I have not ever seen him go after food or shifting sands for food or eating at all. When he was in QT (just for observation only with only Melafix), I saw him eating food from the bottom of the tank once or twice. The rest of the time in QT I had to target feed...

www.reef2reef.com

Video of two yellows spawning. You can see the egg cluster at the end of the video.

 

[homegrowncichlid]

Paul B has a spawning pair and they are both grey.

I don't think color is a sure way to tell.

How do you know about Paul B, way out side of NY? I thought of him as a local persona. heh didn't realize he's "world famous".

 

[Tamberav]

How do you know about Paul B, way out side of NY? I thought of him as a local persona. heh didn't realize he's "world famous".

He has a book

lol

He is a member on a bunch of forums...

 

[MysticBlue]

suggestive, but not definitive. You may also have a beta or sub male. (or two alpha females) well, your chances are better than 50/50, heh. (protandrous hermaphrodites) Time will tell, usually when I do this, I create 2 distinct territories in the tank, a left and a right with 2 caves. A sandy plains in between. I'd introduce the second into the opposite territory, then see how they interact. Easier said than done, heh, if you introduced 2 simultaneously, you also have a chance of success. Anyway, take a look at this.

Yellow Watchman Goby Female?

over the past month or so, my YWG has lost all of its color. It's now grey with the same blue spots and darker markings. After doing some reading it sounds like she's a female. do gobies exhibit sequential hermaphroditism? Wikipedia says yes.... but no specifics. If I introduce another...

www.reef2reef.com

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/ft/index.php

Well no luck finding the female this morning the male is out and about like always but no sine of the other. Any ideas to try to find her? I hope she made it through the night ok

 

[i cant think]

The colours are not a good way to differentiate the male from female. Even a mature yellow can go grey and remain the same gender. As said above, two greys can spawn and two yellows can spawn which is where the question of if the colour change is actually to do with gender.

From the sounds of it… you don’t have two of a separate gender, you have two of the same gender together and usually unless done in a large tank, that winds up with one dead and one victor.

 

[homegrowncichlid]

Well no luck finding the female this morning the male is out and about like always but no sine of the other. Any ideas to try to find her? I hope she made it through the night ok

it has probably found a tiny cave somewhere far away, where the dominant goby has chased it to, and lost it. If you knew where it was, you can target feed and over time, they could pair up. If you can't get food to it, chances are poor. You'll have to broadcast feed the system, till you find it. When I introduce these (or the shrimps) I make a fake cave using PVC piping, or something similar, then aim the fish at it with the clear box. They will colonize it.

 

[MysticBlue]

The colours are not a good way to differentiate the male from female. Even a mature yellow can go grey and remain the same gender. As said above, two greys can spawn and two yellows can spawn which is where the question of if the colour change is actually to do with gender.

From the sounds of it… you don’t have two of a separate gender, you have two of the same gender together and usually unless done in a large tank, that winds up with one dead and one victor.

It’s in a 75 gallon aquarium so I hope it’s large enough for them to work it out.

 

[MysticBlue]

it has probably found a tiny cave somewhere far away, where the dominant goby has chased it to, and lost it. If you knew where it was, you can target feed and over time, they could pair up. If you can't get food to it, chances are poor. You'll have to broadcast feed the system, till you find it. When I introduce these (or the shrimps) I make a fake cave using PVC piping, or something similar, then aim the fish at it with the clear box. They will colonize it.

That’s the thing the original goby is very relaxed and doesn’t want to fight it’s the new one that has the attitude. And yet it’s the new one that’s bigger and it’s the one hiding. I also heard they can change sex depending on the circumstances is that true or false?

 

[i cant think]

That’s the thing the original goby is very relaxed and doesn’t want to fight it’s the new one that has the attitude. And yet it’s the new one that’s bigger and it’s the one hiding. I also heard they can change sex depending on the circumstances is that true or false?

Gobies can change sex yes - However I think they can only change one way and not revert.

 

[MysticBlue]

Gobies can change sex yes - However I think they can only change one way and not revert.

So out of the two I have it’s possible they will change sex to pair up?

 

[i cant think]

So out of the two I have it’s possible they will change sex to pair up?

It’s a 50/50 chance - if only one has actually gone at the other then it’s most likely you will end up with a pair and the new one is a female whilst your old one is a male but even that’s a 50/50 chance of being true.

 

[Cell]

Might have better luck pairing younger specimens.

 

[MysticBlue]

Might have better luck pairing younger specimens.

I mean I thought they were young how young do they have to be? I thought two years was young enough.

 

[i cant think]

I mean I thought they were young how young do they have to be? I thought two years was young enough.

You’d want maximum of a year between introductions for it to have a better chance of working. You need to consider they won’t be 2 years old when you get them from the LFS to your tank and they could be much older. Only way to truly see how old they are is if they were both CB.