Watchman Goby Tips?

[Dark_Knightt]

Im not sure if you read my last thread, but I'm interested in buying a new and final fish for my tank.
I have a 20g tank, so a watchman goby should work right?
My next concern is feeding? What do I feed it? Are sinking pellets and frozen shrimps okay?How often should I feed it? I would prefer only having to feed it once a day.
If I do get one, I'll pair it up with a snapping shrimp for the symbiosis. But if you guys think its a bad idea then I might go for a blenny or yellow tail damsel.
Tell me what you think, #reefsquad

Btw the tank has no lid? Is that an issue?

 

[SuncrestReef]

My yellow watchman goby loves the LRS Reef Frenzy food I feed all my fish. For a small fish, it has a pretty large mouth and can swallow even large chunks of food in one gulp.

He lives in a burrow under a rock that my pistol shrimp is constantly maintaining. I've rarely ever seen the goby go more than about 3 inches from the burrow, so I doubt you'd have any issue with it jumping. They tend to stay very low to the sand at all times.

They're a lot of fun to watch:

 

[Dark_Knightt]

My yellow watchman goby loves the LRS Reef Frenzy food I feed all my fish. For a small fish, it has a pretty large mouth and can swallow even large chunks of food in one gulp.

He lives in a burrow under a rock that my pistol shrimp is constantly maintaining. I've rarely ever seen the goby go more than about 3 inches from the burrow, so I doubt you'd have any issue with it jumping. They tend to stay very low to the sand at all times.

They're a lot of fun to watch:

They seem to have epic personalities and i remember the first time i ever saw one: it was a full grown one but it was soooo tiny!! Everything i see online seems so big, then when i go to the store theyre acc TINY!! Not sure if its just because im 6'1" and still growing or if thats just the way it is lol.
Thanks for the help man fish lookin healthy. Also how often should i feed?

 

[wonroc]

I also have plans to get a yellow gw soon.
My concern is not with the watchman though. It seems that no matter what kind of shrimp, they have their destuctive issues. And i even have read about the pistol shrimp stunning small fish.
The others will move frags around or worse.

 

[SuncrestReef]

They seem to have epic personalities and i remember the first time i ever saw one: it was a full grown one but it was soooo tiny!! Everything i see online seems so big, then when i go to the store theyre acc TINY!! Not sure if its just because im 6'1" and still growing or if thats just the way it is lol.
Thanks for the help man fish lookin healthy. Also how often should i feed?

I’ve read on various sites that they recommend feeding twice daily. That’s the schedule I’ve been following for over 2 years now for all my fish.

 

[saltyhog]

I don't do much special to feed my shrimp gobies other than occasional target feeding. They compete for food very well. I would strongly recommend that you don't get a tiger pistol shrimp but instead get the much smaller and prettier A. randali. There are lots of shrimp gobies you can choose from.

 

[Paul B]

I just found mine by accident with eggs again

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I don't do much special to feed my shrimp gobies other than occasional target feeding. They compete for food very well. I would strongly recommend that you don't get a tiger pistol shrimp but instead get the much smaller and prettier A. randali. There are lots of shrimp gobies you can choose from.

What kind of substrate do you have? Would the goby be okay if you were out of town two weeks?

 

[saltyhog]

What kind of substrate do you have? Would the goby be okay if you were out of town two weeks?

I have Carib Sea special grade sand.

I have been gone as long as 12 days but I had a friend feed the tank once a day....so they did not get their usual amount of food but didn't do completely without. My goby/shrimp combo did fine with that on multiple occasions.

 

[Mkvc]

So I've had a yellow watchman goby in the family for a little under a decade now. I strongly recommend getting the shrimp. My goby hid all the time for years but since I got him a buddy he's been out front/center every single day. Together they have dug several tunnels under the live rock. They uprooted one frag... but I just moved it somewhere else. No actual victims. My sand bed looks fine.

Mine competes well with other fish in the tank for food (including other much more aggressive ones). He never ate flake, but he's eaten any kind of sinking pellets or frozen food I've offered. Usually I feed everyone only once a day (skipping 1-2 days every now and then when I'm out of town or have algae blooms). I've left him for 2 weeks before with a shrimp pellet loaded autofeeder and no issues.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I have Carib Sea special grade sand.

I have been gone as long as 12 days but I had a friend feed the tank once a day....so they did not get their usual amount of food but didn't do completely without. My goby/shrimp combo did fine with that on multiple occasions.

Is it a true statement to say that I should not use crushed coral from CaribSea with them?

 

[saltyhog]

Is it a true statement to say that I should not use crushed coral from CaribSea with them?

Honestly I would never use crushed coral for substrate in any tank, but yes it wouldn't be great for sand dwelling or sifting fish.

 

[Paul B]

Is it a true statement to say that I should not use crushed coral from CaribSea with them?

I don't use crushed coral as it was not available in the 70s when I set up my tank but I use dolomite, no longer available. It is almost the same as crushed coral.
My watchmans live between 10 and 12 years and constantly spawn in it.
The different size gravel pieces makes it very easy for them to construct burrows.

I normally also have a mated pair of shrimp living with them.
They eat anything meaty. I feed pieces of clam, LRS food, and live white worms once a day.

I also have no cover and never did. I lost one to jumping many years ago but not in probably 20 years. As was said, they don't leave their den.

Here she is tending more eggs.







I like to get them as babies.

 

[Zionas]

They’re so cute!

Yes any sinking pellet or frozen food will get to him, don’t think they’re hard at all to feed. And yes please pair him up with a Pistol Shrimp good luck!