Sand sifting goby pairs?

[JessenD]

Hey R2R, so I’ve got a banded dragon goby that I have paired with a cleaner shrimp. While they were a pair the spent most of there time hiding in a burrow, about a week in the tank and my yellow tang developed a taste for cleaner shrimp lol now with no mate the goby spends his days devoted to covering every coral on my sand bed. So my question is is there any inveterate less likely to be bothered by the tang?? Or should the shifter.

 

[ichthyogeek]

I had to google what a banded dragon goby was. Interestingly, I don't think I've ever heard of cleaner shrimp and gobies cohabitating together. Seems like it might have been a "we're both stressed and hiding together" thing rather than a "we are bonded together" thing. I could be wrong though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Fairly certain that sleeper gobies are supposed to sift sand. It's kind of what they do. Feed more, and it will probably stop sifting as much sand, but will still sift sand.

 

[JessenD]

I had to google what a banded dragon goby was. Interestingly, I don't think I've ever heard of cleaner shrimp and gobies cohabitating together. Seems like it might have been a "we're both stressed and hiding together" thing rather than a "we are bonded together" thing. I could be wrong though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Fairly certain that sleeper gobies are supposed to sift sand. It's kind of what they do. Feed more, and it will probably stop sifting as much sand, but will still sift sand.

You could be right, maybe the were both just laying low together but regardless he is a sand sifting fool. Lol

 

[JessenD]

I had to google what a banded dragon goby was. Interestingly, I don't think I've ever heard of cleaner shrimp and gobies cohabitating together. Seems like it might have been a "we're both stressed and hiding together" thing rather than a "we are bonded together" thing. I could be wrong though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Fairly certain that sleeper gobies are supposed to sift sand. It's kind of what they do. Feed more, and it will probably stop sifting as much sand, but will still sift sand.

I too had never heard of them,the pictures don’t give it justice its a beautiful fish.

 

[Tired]

I don't think cleaner shrimp form that sort of symbiotic relationship. They normally put themselves relatively out in the open, so fish can spot them. A cleaner shrimp that hides in a hole all day is a cleaner shrimp that's probably being threatened by something.

 

[JessenD]

I don't think cleaner shrimp form that sort of symbiotic relationship. They normally put themselves relatively out in the open, so fish can spot them. A cleaner shrimp that hides in a hole all day is a cleaner shrimp that's probably being threatened by something.

Yep a yellow tang in this case.

 

[JessenD]

I don't think cleaner shrimp form that sort of symbiotic relationship. They normally put themselves relatively out in the open, so fish can spot them. A cleaner shrimp that hides in a hole all day is a cleaner shrimp that's probably being threatened by something.

Yep a yellow tang in this case

 

[GoingBroke88]

Is that normal for a yellow tang to take out a cleaner shrimp? I thought yellow tangs were reef safe. In fact, mine used to enjoy getting cleaned by the cleaner shrimp.

 

[JessenD]

Is that normal for a yellow tang to take out a cleaner shrimp? I thought yellow tangs were reef safe. In fact, mine used to enjoy getting cleaned by the cleaner shrimp.

It’s kind of a split field with yellow tangs a lot of people say they never have issues and others say the will agitate and or kill invertebrates.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I had a banded dragon/sleeper goby for maybe 6 months. He had to go! The sand storms were too much!

 

[JessenD]

I’m about at that point! It like a have Ing a snow plow in the tank!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I’m about at that point! It like a have Ing a snow plow in the tank!

Ya it sucks because I really liked that fish. So cool looking

 

[Katrina71]

I think a tiger pistol is the easiest to pair with most gobies.

 

[scdigby]

now with no mate the goby spends his days devoted to covering every coral on my sand bed.

When i first started keeping lps corals i had to find a new home for my goby for this reason.

 

[Katrina71]

They are a pain, but totally a cool pair that I'm glad I've gotten to observe. Can't imagine a tank without them now.

 

[ThRoewer]

It’s kind of a split field with yellow tangs a lot of people say they never have issues and others say the will agitate and or kill invertebrates.

I tried one and kicked him out again after a few weeks. All he was doing was trying to bully everyone and making everyone nervous and shy. That was my last attempt on keeping tangs - I'm done for good with those miserable ick spreaders.

 

[ThRoewer]

As for the Sand sifting gobies - in the wild they are always found in mated pairs. They will likely do better in captivity if you keep them as pairs there as well.
The sandstorm they cause is normal and the way they look for food. If that's something you can't have you should find a different home for the goby.

 

[ThRoewer]

As I suspected, they form monogamous pairs:

Monogamous Mating System and Spawning Cycle in the Gobiid Fish, Amblygobius phalaena (Gobiidae)

Female egg care subsequent to removal of egg-tending male in a monogamous goby, Amblygobius phalaena (Gobiidae): a preliminary observation