Should I get a sandsifting goby?

krash7172 · Feb 26, 2020

codycolina707 said:
having a kole tang try to bully him

Funny. My kole tang always had a problem with diamond goby. what the heck.

krash7172 · Feb 26, 2020

noxel56 said:
What size tank is he in? Would a 40b be big enough? I’ve heard they can get up to 6” so just double checking.

Mine is 180g. I can't say what size is necessary but I keep removing sand to keep the little devil in check.

KSUChemist · Feb 26, 2020

I had one in a 45g cube with 2" sand bed and he did fine until he went carpet surfing (pretty sure he got helped out, but that's neither here nor there). Loved brine shrimp, but would eat anything as well. Sand was always clean, but he knocked any substrate corals over from sifting near them. He also liked to build a mound over my large rocks and in one particular corner of the tank. 9"+ mounds overnight were common. Wife and I took to calling him "Achmed" the tank terrorist for any of you Jeff Dunham fans

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

Daddy-o said:
@noxel56 My son was 14 when he started reefing (he is 16 now) and he was very bummed at how expensive coral was. We have 7 reefs tanks and try to be generous - especially with younger reefers that maybe dont have the same reefer budget as us "old" people. We are in the San Francisco Bay Area and if you are local to us we would be happy to give you a bunch of coral for your reef.
Cheers! Mark

That’s awesome, thank you for the offer! Unfortunately I am no where near where you all are. This hobby is made much better by people like you that are welcoming new people in like me and not turning us away for not always being as knowledgeable. Again thanks so much for the offer, I’m sure you can find someone that you can brighten there day by helping them out. Happy reefing,

-Noxel

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

KSUChemist said:
I had one in a 45g cube with 2" sand bed and he did fine until he went carpet surfing (pretty sure he got helped out, but that's neither here nor there). Loved brine shrimp, but would eat anything as well. Sand was always clean, but he knocked any substrate corals over from sifting near them. He also liked to build a mound over my large rocks and in one particular corner of the tank. 9"+ mounds overnight were common. Wife and I took to calling him "Achmed" the tank terrorist for any of you Jeff Dunham fans

If I have to sacrifice having corals on the sand, I’m willing to make happen.

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

Would he be compatible with a Midas blenny or would it be better to leave the Midas blenny to another build someday?

haiyaku · Feb 26, 2020

noxel56 said:
Would he be compatible with a Midas blenny or would it be better to leave the Midas blenny to another build someday?

I have Gold Head Sleeper goby that's grown to a chunky 5". Eats everything but he ignores the tang's nori. He deposits sand but blowing it off corals is the least I can do for his keeping the sand pristine. He retrieved a coral frag that had fallen down the abyss and put it on his pile. That coral is now back to full health. Couple of days ago, I lost another...is it too much to ask? lol

I also have a Midas blenny. No issues with the goby.

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

haiyaku said:
I have Gold Head Sleeper goby that's grown to a chunky 5". Eats everything but he ignores the tang's nori. He deposits sand but blowing it off corals is the least I can do for his keeping the sand pristine. He retrieved a coral frag that had fallen down the abyss and put it on his pile. That coral is now back to full health. Couple of days ago, I lost another...is it too much to ask? lol

I also have a Midas blenny. No issues with the goby.

What size is your tank? Mine is a 40b...

haiyaku · Feb 26, 2020

noxel56 said:
What size is your tank? Mine is a 40b...

75 gal (soon to be 120).

You're talking 12" of fish with the DW and Midas. That would limit your options for other inhabitants.

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

haiyaku said:
75 gal (soon to be 120).

You're talking 12" of fish with the DW and Midas. That would limit your options for other inhabitants.

All I want other than those is a pair of clowns, a flasher wrasse, and a firefish. Would this be possible?

haiyaku · Feb 26, 2020

noxel56 said:
All I want other than those is a pair of clowns, a flasher wrasse, and a firefish. Would this be possible?

With smaller sized fish, it is suggested 2" of fish for every 10 gallons. Your list greatly exceeds the rec. I'd rethink the list and pare it down to size.

LiveAquaria has good information on sizes and compatibility that will be helpful to you, if you are not aware of that already.

Daddy-o · Feb 26, 2020

I have 25 damsels in my 40B

noxel56 said:
All I want other than those is a pair of clowns, a flasher wrasse, and a firefish. Would this be possible?

Daddy-o · Feb 26, 2020

I don't think many people go by x amount of fish for x amount of water. You just want to make sure that you are able to keep up with nutrients and dont create a "sewer".

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

haiyaku said:
With smaller sized fish, it is suggested 2" of fish for every 10 gallons. Your list greatly exceeds the rec. I'd rethink the list and pare it down to size.

LiveAquaria has good information on sizes and compatibility that will be helpful to you, if you are not aware of that already.

So that means that a Diamond Watchman goby and a clown would be too much, Since they total to 9”?

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

Daddy-o said:
I don't think many people go by x amount of fish for x amount of water. You just want to make sure that you are able to keep up with nutrients and dont create a "sewer".

Yeah I agree. There are some people who can’t keep 20 fish in a 75 and others who can keep 20 in a 55. The bioload isn’t set and stone for the amount of gallons your system is.

noxel56 · Feb 26, 2020

Daddy-o said:
I have 25 damsels in my 40B

I’d be very interested to see this tank, you have a build thread? I’m new to r2r so I’m not exactly sure how to access one of you do happen to have one.

MichaelReefer · Feb 26, 2020

They are great to have but I will warn you, they can be a nuisance. Mine trashes my tank, but my girlfriend loves her so she wont let me get rid of her. She tries to bury my coral and rock, etc etc.

homer1475 · Feb 26, 2020

noxel56 said:
I’d be very interested to see this tank, you have a build thread? I’m new to r2r so I’m not exactly sure how to access one of you do happen to have one.

First off, Welcome to R2R!

Second off, just click the "Build Thread Contributor" badge under his avatar.