yasha goby lifespan?

PaulK · Jan 24, 2018

I've had a pair of tank bred yasha hasha gobies for about two years. About two weeks ago the male died for no apparent reason. He had been hiding a lot for about a week before that (usually both the male and female are near the mouth of their cave all day).

I have about twelve other fish in the tank (Red Sea 525) and they're all healthy. I quarantine and haven't added any new fish for the past three months. There were no signs of disease. I've heard some gobies have short lifespans. Does anyone know what the normal lifespan of yasha hasha gobies is? I had these for two years and I think they were full grown when I got them.

nautical_nathaniel · Jan 24, 2018

It might've been his time to go, I too have heard they don't live that long compared to some fish and there's no telling how old it was when it was collected. Sorry for your loss, they're pretty amazing fish for sure

Is there anything else going on with the tank? Parameter swings or anything?

Davy Jones · Jan 24, 2018

I had one too that just died off after about 2.5 years of living with me

PaulK · Jan 24, 2018

Thanks. Nothing else was going on with the tank—everything was stable, no changes. Maybe he was just old. I’m curious about the lifespan partly because I was thinking about trying to get a new male to bond with my female. If the lifespan is that short, though, the female might not last much longer...

andrewkw · Jan 24, 2018

Mine lasted about 2-3 years as well. For the first 6 months he hid completely out of sight then one day just popped up. His pistol shrimp buddy outlived him by quite a bit.

saltyhog · Jan 24, 2018

Mine lasted 3 years...I still miss the little fellow!

There was a hole in the middle of the rock he used as a look out port.

PaulK · Jan 25, 2018

Thanks everyone. So it sounds like they only live for a couple of years. It's too bad, they're really beautiful fish.

SauceyReef · Mar 30, 2021

Bumping this here. I just got my yasha goby last week and it has already been a struggle to say the least. Finally got her pretty situated, eating well, and happy. I used to have a yasha goby pair. One lasted about a year and jumped. The other lived with a black banded goby pair (all 3) for another year but I can't quite remember what happened to it. These small gobies are crazy jumpers.