Regretting our decision

[Reef_Obsessed]

Had one in a cart, ready to purchase, and I decided against it. Glad I did. They’re cool looking for sure, but the mess they make is not worth it IMO.

 

[AquAttila]

My wife favorite fish in my 65 gal is the Dimond goby . I had him for over 2 years now ... it even eats algae from the algae clip with the tangs.

 

[CincyJDH]

We love ours. He has been a model citizen since we bought him 6 months ago, eats with everyone else and dosent bully anyone. His burrow is under one of my largest rocks. Every night he closes his burrow with himself in it, it's quite comical. He's left all my corals alone other than the occasional dusting of my zoas. We do have cloudy water on occasion, I replace the filter floss regularly.
He is currently in our 28g JBJ biocube, and will be one of the reasons why we get a bigger tank when he outgrows ours.

 

[CincyJDH]

When I was feeding my other fish Mysis he went to town on it. Lawnmower blennys aren’t this bad. Shoulda held out. Lol live and learn.

Curious what other fish do you have in there? Reason why I ask, we put ours into an established tank where our flame angel rules the roost. Maybe some of the behavioral issues are related to your current pecking order?

 

[Teaman89]

I think they are great in bigger tanks. My sand is corse enough to stay put, but small enough for the diamond goby. He is a model citizen in my 180 and the sand is super clean. Everyone loves watching it sift the sand and it even shares its cave with my purple fire fish. Some thoughts for success:
- need a larger tank 90-100+
- sand that doesn’t blow around easy
- no sensitive coral on the sand
- give it some time & sand storms will fade

Thanks for the input. We have found him a new home to a local couple that have a 300 gal. There getting him tomorrow. We are just starting up a 75 gal with a sump, skimmer and refugium. My AI 16 HD’s showed up today. Gunna be a long slow build but will be worth it.

 

[mike550]

We have a diamond goby in a 120G. @Teaman89 you're absolutely right that it will keep sifting and moving around your sand. When I do water changes (before goby has left its hole), I have a long spoon that I use reshape the sand bed back to what I want. The goby then spends the next week or so moving sand. Then I change it again. It's a bit of a game but it also keeps it busy.

Maybe try again later as they are really entertaining and keep your sand clean and aerated.

 

[Teaman89]

Curious what other fish do you have in there? Reason why I ask, we put ours into an established tank where our flame angel rules the roost. Maybe some of the behavioral issues are related to your current pecking order?

2 mocha clowns. Australian banded pipe fish and a spotted mandarin goby.

 

[Erick375]

I loved mine in my 180 but still seemed to not get enough food. Died after a year. And my sand beds miss him. Love the personality though. Looking for another one and will work on a special supplemental diet.
IMHO, tanks are moving art, not static, and that includes the sand beds. Now my tuxedo urchin, that is a whole other issue.

 

[McPuff]

I've got a pink spotted watchman goby which is a sand sifter as well. It didn't every make the huge mess that diamonds are known to make. And to be honest, I don't see him sifting much sand anymore. But he eats everything.

 

[DrDeGuzman]

But the real question is how did it get in the back filter without getting caught on the sponge filter

 

[Teaman89]

But the real question is how did it get in the back filter without getting caught on the sponge filter

The sponge filter is about half the size of the chamber it’s in. Giving him enough space to play hide and seek.

 

[rknott]

Do you have a mechanical filter? With mine I had to run filter floss, without my water was cloudy. However, I have had 2 and couldn't keep them alive in my mature 75. Both lasted for 2 or 3 months and were eating mysis and whatever else I put in the tank. They still got thinner and thinner over time. I saw both of them eating, but evidentially not enough. I was breeding tons of pods in my fuge, but not enough to keep up I guess. At times they would put on more weight, but in the end . . . . . I wouldn't buy again unless I was committed to purchasing pods on a regular basis to keep him fed. Or maybe many feedings per day would help? OR maybe couldn't outcompete my other fish (clowns, wrasses. . . . )? Awesome to watch, but unless committed to the previous I wouldn't recommend.

 

[AKReef]

I think the diamond goby is one of the most interesting fish to own. I have a 7" long 300 gal tank, and he sticks to one side of it. The sand on that side of the tank is super clean

He's the most industrious fish in the tank, always working. Makes all the other fish look lazy. Sure he makes huge piles of sand in random places, but it's fun to watch. He doesn't mess with any other fish, but he does like picking up hermit crabs and chucking them aside when they get too close to his burrow

I had another one in my 60 gal tank, before I upgraded. He was a brave fish and I accidentally sucked up up my siphon tube when cleaning once! We was fine, but I unfortunately lost him when I was QT'ing my fish to transfer to the new tank.

I find their antics very entertaining.