Questions about the Fire Fish Goby..

Babygecko1233 · Nov 22, 2017

So we just purchased a fire fish goby...
My husband has been wanting one...and I never really paid them any mind to even see what one looked like. Besides the massive thin fin . The colors were okay in picture.. but when I seen it up close and personal...it was so pretty. And I am. Glad we bought it

I just don't know anything about it lol.

Questions:
1. How do I coax it out of hiding? Or will it just come out on its own?

2. Special diet or???

3. Any cases of jumping???

DeepBlueSomething · Nov 22, 2017

Congrats!
I don't have one personally but agree they are quite nice. Here is some useful additional information to get you started -- http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/168/firefish?pcatid=168&c=15+1926+168

steelwrap · Nov 22, 2017

When it's comfortable it'll come out. They "hang around" by their hiding holes. I believe they will jump if spooked

Maddlesrain · Nov 22, 2017

1. They are shy fish by nature. All the ones I have kept come out on their own given a day or two to settle in (and if no tank bullies are present).
2. They should eat just about anything frozen (but might eventually go to pellets)
3. They are jumpers. I believe jumping is behind my helfrichi’s ‘mysterious’ disappearance, unfortunately. I can’t be sure because one of our four cats or two dogs would have eaten him as soon as he hit the carpet. Uhg.

Goodluck with your new fish! It looks like you got a nice one!

Maddlesrain · Nov 22, 2017

To add: I kept the three I’ve had in rimless tanks. The first two never jumped. I think it’s a toss-up on the individual fish (and luck).

Pittsford_Pets · Nov 22, 2017

I lost mine to jumping the 3rd day I had it. You definitely will need a lid if you don't have one [emoji1]

Eddie7144 · Nov 22, 2017

Glad you are enjoying fire fish, as stated above they are very shy,But will come out in time and they may jump. Otherwise it's a great fish will eat any frozen food and will be visible pay of the time. Of you like the red fire fish check out the purple fire fish very pretty and the helfrichi’s fire fish is gorgeous !!

TheLadyCrash · Nov 22, 2017

Mine current one took about 2 weeks to come out of hiding. I lost 1 to jumping and another that got startled, slammed into a rock, and succumbed to an infection from the injuries.

Beautiful fish though....named mine Torpedo because of the shape and how fast they are.

Crashjack · Nov 23, 2017

You really need a top or it will jump out, I have a top and mine jumped out once during a water change. Luckily they are tough as nails. I don't name my fish, except my firefish, Die Hard. I got him from Liveaquaria. The LA rep I talked to said it would ship at 1.024 so I set my QT up to match that. When I tested the bag water, it was 1.017. As the open bag was floating in the QT, the fish jumped from the bag into the QT... a salinity difference of .007. When it flew out of the DT, it landed on my ceramic tile floor with a splat. We picked him up, put him back in the tank, and he has done fine ever since. My firefish eats everything, it just can't get anything very large into its mouth but no food is too small.

Babygecko1233 · Nov 23, 2017

We have a glass top with 2 holes drilled out for finger access to remove the lid . Thank you for all the great advice

and I will soon find out if mines a jumper....one more question. Should I buy a mate for the fire fish?

DSC reef · Nov 23, 2017

Congrats, firefish are awesome. Are you sure your just not advertising for your fish store?

Like others said, they do jump. As long as you have enough hiding space and room I don't see an issue with a pair. We did that with our purple firefish. Bought one then the next week added another. They were always out together.

Maddlesrain · Nov 23, 2017

Babygecko1233 said:
We have a glass top with 2 holes drilled out for finger access to remove the lid . Thank you for all the great advice and I will soon find out if mines a jumper....one more question. Should I buy a mate for the fire fish?

Firefish can fight and kill one another if they’re not bought as a mated pair. I would just stick with the one unless you have a fairly large tank where tank where they can get away from one another.

eatbreakfast · Nov 26, 2017

Firefish are intolerant of conspecifics unless they are bonded pr. They aren't sequential hermaphrodites like many reef fishes, so pairing separate fish often doesn't work.

PatW · Nov 26, 2017

I have a pair. They spend most of the time towards the bottom at the front of the tank. They are peaceful. I have never seen any aggression from them. But they are intolerant to conspecifics. They seem to eat any frozen food.

Bitcoin Reefer · Oct 1, 2023

PatW said:
I have a pair. They spend most of the time towards the bottom at the front of the tank. They are peaceful. I have never seen any aggression from them. But they are intolerant to conspecifics. They seem to eat any frozen food.

Is your pair same color? I've read other places that they do better to not be as shy, if paired. I have a purple, and am thinking of getting a red to pair, but I wonder if red and purple will pair? Anyone know?

BOYERZ · Oct 1, 2023

Back from the dead!

Court_Appointed_Hypeman · Oct 1, 2023

Mine wasn't hiding much in QT, it would just tuck itself next to pvc, on intro into my display, it hid for a short time, maybe a half hour.

But one time a pyrex cup used for thawing frozen was dropped into my tank, and I didn't see it for nearly 7 weeks. I thought it was dead and just showed back up one day.

Idech · Oct 1, 2023

They are very shy fish. Mine stays in its cave most of the day and comes out to eat and sometimes just hang out for a while. Make sure you have many hiding places in the rocks so it can choose you where its comfortable.

They are very shy when eating also so make sure food flies towards them. Mine won’t go after food if another fish is around. And one is always around, so it only eats « leftovers ».

Great fish but not one I see much.