Anyone keep coral gobies in their SPS tanks??

[mark97r6]

Hey guys,
About a month ago i added a pair of Citroen(sp?) coral gobies to my 360g SPS dominated (but mixed) reef.

I did know that these fish reside in the the branching SPS corals, but i didnt exspect it to disturb the corals this much!
I thought the fish would choose a coral and stay in/around it. So far both of them travel the full length of the 8' tank hopping in and out of all my SPS corals.
My Millipora's and longer polyped acros have all retracted their polyps, though so far have retained their colour.

The gobies appear to be 'picking' at the corals! And so far every single frag i have taken since their introduction has bleached out and died. I have seen them frequently 'picking' at the frags as they do the larger colonies, and i beleve this is the reason for the bleaching.

Will the corals do ok while the polyps are retracted?

Will they 'get used' to the gobies and display their polyps again?

When fragging how many of you guys take your frags straight from the tank and into the frag tank without letting them recover?
I useually wait untill they encrust around the base, but am considering taking them straight out now, as not one has survived a week from being fragged.

Would you guys just get rid of the gobies??

Cheers for your help.
Mark

 

[mark97r6]

bump!!

 

[Kent E]

I found that sps retracts polyps with the emperor in the tank. They open at night while it is sleeping. Hope that helps.

 

[fishgeeksrus]

we have a green clown goby and haven't seen any problems its caused since we introduced the fish 1+ years ago

 

[aurora]

I had a pair of yellow goby who did really well with my sps. They did irritate the polyps but did not seem to harm it. That is until they started nesting and actually laid eggs in the middle of my prized blue table colony. It was cool when they started laying eggs directly on the coral but then the area began bleaching and the whole colony rtn'ed faster than I could save it. If you look carefully, you can see yellow tails in the middle of that blue table. That colony was about 12" across.

Definitely stay away from the yellow ones.

 

[quaz]

I made the same mistake. Most likely, like you, I should have done my research and talked to people with experience. The clown gobies SUCK in an SPS tank. The same thing happened with my millepora and other acros. I took him out.

 

[coker98]

citron gobies secretes a poison and can affect the coral resulting in bleaching and receeding of flesh

 

[MiddletonMark]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6562486#post6562486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishgeeksrus
we have a green clown goby and haven't seen any problems its caused since we introduced the fish 1+ years ago

Same here. My green has been in the tank over a year now [from softie tank] ... the coral it lives in mostly shows no distress.

Wouldn't try a yellow or citron, though. No one seems to have luck with them, or so rumor says.

 

[mark97r6]

Err Wow!!
Thanks for the replys guys. I thought i had done my research! I thought they just seeked the shelter and protection of the corals. Thought they may even benifit them if i ever got red bugs or bad nudies...Man i was wrong.

Well thanks for the help, they will be out ASAP, i may just chuck them in my softie frag tank. Cus they are kinda cute.

Cheers
Mark

 

[marinelife]

so far my yellow has been fine, 4 months

 

[Kent E]

I was considering a bunch, thank you for the reports. You may have lost you colony but you are saving others by sharing, thanks!

 

[mark97r6]

Glad to be of service Kent Lol

Nah it isnt really that bad as i have not had them long at all, its about coming on a month.
I think it has helped that i have numerous colonies to disapate the attention. I just noticed this mouthing/picking at the corals, but i have lost quite a few frags! Luckily they were all frags i had taken and not ones that i had acquired and added resently. That would have been much worse!!! TRhey would have been flushed. lol.

They should be easy enough to catch, just place a decent sized acro in the fish trap and the should go in in time.

Thanks for all the help guys. Kent.. I would pass on these. Though they would be a great addition to a softie tank. Though if you still want some, i may be able to source a pair for you!! lol

Cheers
Mark