2 Gobies 1 too Many?

[z3speed4me]

I have a JBJ 28 cube; LFS said it was ok to have a pink spot watchman and a diamond together. I picked them up as my first inhabitants with some frags this weekend.

I have read multiple people saying they may fight, or not get along in such close quarters. Are they going to be ok? So far they have little caves they have dug out and were next to each other eating this morning. Am I getting over-anxious?

 

[Jeff4777]

In my experience aggression is mostly based off individual fish. Yes some people/literature may say certain same species may fight and so on. So hey if yours are getting along good for you. Its something I would absolutely keep an eye on since 28 gallons isn't too much space. Also as fish mature, they can get a bit more mean.

 

[Spork3245]

That's likely too many in such a small space, especially since they'll be competing for territory and sand to sift as they both fit the same ecological niche. If you want to mix gobies I'd recommend a Neon Cleaner Goby with a sand-sifter (Cleaner Gobies are small but have a huge personality, just be aware that they have a short lifespan of ~2 years).

In my experience, keeping multiple sand sifting gobies only works if they're a mated pair.

Right in the LiveAquaria descriptions for both the Pink Spot and Diamond Goby...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1926+221&pcatid=221

It requires a 30 gallon or larger aquarium with plenty of loose coral rubble, ample swimming room, and a sand bottom for burrowing. It rarely becomes aggressive towards other fish, but it is territorial, and will fight with its own kind unless they are a mated pair. It may try to jump out of the aquarium or other small openings, therefore, a tight-fitting lid is required.

 

[Sk8r]

They're the same type. You can pair some of the very small gobies, or you can have multiple types of goby, but if they look alike, don't put them together. Hold a mirror near, eg, a yellow watchman and he'll blow a gasket trying to kill the 'other fish.'

 

[TatorTaco]

A 28G may be too small, but it would help if you were able to create some sort of natural barrier so that they're happier on their respective side of the tank.

 

[z3speed4me]

So far we seem good, they have 2 little burrows each and haven't seemed to bother each other at all. Lucky so far, maybe... if things get out of hand I'll see if LFS takes the larger one as a credit possibly.