goldmullet
New member
All the post above say the diamond Goby and the pistol shrimp team up and make a great pair. True?
Best Sand Sifting Goby
- Thread starter goldmullet
- Start date
muffe
New member
I have a sleeper banded goby and fine sand substrate. If I don't want him to sift the sand I put nori on a clip and he attacks it as primary until he's stuffed. If I don't put food on the clip he goes back to his sifting routine. I'll confess he does litter the base of my rocks with sand but its about 3" to 4" of the bottom. If I want something sand free I just place it 5" or above the substrate.
I love him:inlove:, for being the largest fish in my tank he is the most shy. He's a true gentle giant.:lmao:
I love him:inlove:, for being the largest fish in my tank he is the most shy. He's a true gentle giant.:lmao:
Last edited:
Sport507
~Just a Farm Boy~
If you want corals that might like to live in the sand bed think twice about a sand sifting gobie. I have a dragon gobie and I would give anything to catch him I hate that fish. :furious::uzi: When he was small it was a big deal but now that he is about 4-1/2 to 5 inches long he makes MOUNTAINS! all over the tank. No coral is safe in the sand bed without getting covered up. I didn't think for enough ahead.
dzhuo
Active member
No. I don't think it will. This particular goby is not known to associate with pistol shrimp. When you think of a pair like this, the pistol is the main maintainer of the burrow while the goby serves as standing guard. Both wouldn't venture out far from the burrow and more or less relies on food drifting to them. The sand sifting goby, on the other hand, spend majority of its time outside of the burrow and looking for food. It would not be a good candidate for the shrimp as a guard. If you are looking for a shrimp / goby pair, I would look elsewhere. However, strange relationship does develop in a closed system (think of a clown fish hosting unusual corals that almost never happen in nature) so it's possible the goby would tolerate the pistol shrimp. Or when the pistol shrimp has no other alternative, it might pair up with the goby as a last resort.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
I have to agree on the pairing with a pistol. I'd look into a shrimp goby for that. The watchman or sleepers wouldn't really get any benefit of a pairing with a pistol. In my current tank, the 6-spot sleeper dug all the burrows (except the one the pistol dug for itself), and the shrimp goby just takes advantage of what the sleeper dug. I think the shrimp goby has figured out there's a pistol now, cuz he's starting to hang out over there, but I don't think the pistol has figured it out yet. The sleeper isn't the least bit interested in any of the shrimp, including the cleaner.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
This is the shrimp goby I have, orange-spotted shrimp goby. It's supposed to sift sand, but it's been very rare with mine, and then just a mouthful a couple of times in 6 months. As you can see, the mouth is built different from the watchman and sleepers who are active sifters.
The 6-spot sleeper
The 6-spot sleeper
Angel*Fish
cats and large squashes
I don't know how current this info is, or if we know something now that wasn't known when the list was made. I've never had one as I have a dsb, so personally I'm clueless about them. Just want to insert a word of caution. This fish is listed on RC's list of
Fish Best Left For Experienced Or Knowledgeable Hobbyists:
Diamond, Golden Head, Sleeper Gobies (Valenciennea spp.): Sometimes starve to death even when accepting prepared foods, tanks with large sandbeds containing lots of food will help as will frequent feedings when they will eat, mated pairs may help as well
Fish Best Left For Experienced Or Knowledgeable Hobbyists:
Diamond, Golden Head, Sleeper Gobies (Valenciennea spp.): Sometimes starve to death even when accepting prepared foods, tanks with large sandbeds containing lots of food will help as will frequent feedings when they will eat, mated pairs may help as well
SushiGirl
Premium Member
Yeah, I've been seeing that since I got back into the hobby this time around. Not sure how/why that got started from when I was in the hobby before and haven't seen anything definitive on it other than "recommendations" from web sites and individuals. So far haven't seen any factual backup for it. Would love to see it if someone has it. I do notice that it says "sometimes" though. 
dzhuo
Active member
I don't believe the after-mentioned gobies are hard to maintain long term even in a medium size tank. Unlike other sand sifters, this particular one is quiet hardy provided that you are willing to feed it daily. A few years back, there were generalized statements about certain sand sifters which do not accept any prepared food and their long term survival is low. This slowly turns into all sand sifters are impossible to keep. There were also lots of misconceptions about DSB (also a few years back) which would provide enough micro-fungas for the sand sifters to feed on to a point you don't need to feed him. For those who are following these recommendations, we certainly know they weren't true so lots of people end up not having a good experience with these fish. Now that it becomes more apparent that it's highly unlikely a sand bed in a closed system would provide anything nearly enough food these fish need so we know we need to feed.
I have a twin spot goby. Works hard all day sifting sand and keeps it very clean. He has learned to look for sinking pellets during feeding time and is doing very well. He really does not spraed sand all over, just sifts it through his gills and settles right back down to the bottom. Very active and very interesting to watch
dzhuo
Active member
For a beginner, I would not recommend a twin spot goby. In fact, I probably would never recommend a twin spot goby to anyone unless you have a very large sand bed surface area. How long have you had him?
JG1
New member
For those who are looking for a goby that would associate with a pistol, the Amblyeleotris randalli (aka Randall or Orange Stripe Prawn Goby) is a good choice. The goby will not, however, sift sand. There are lots of other gobies that known to pair with a pistol.
Do you have a shrimp for him?
JG1
New member
Ah, ok. Thought this was your regular tank.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
I kinda figured that was the case. It was interesting coming back into the hobby just after 6+ years to see the changes in "philosophies" on a lot of stuff. When I first started, the DSB and bioballs were all the rage, no one knew about caulerpa going sexual, Carpenter's wrasses were $24.95 and recommended for 30 gallon tanks, pistol shrimp were the scourge of the tank, and feeding only a couple times a week was never mentioned.
EuroDriver
Member
I have a yellow head goby in my 50g tank and hes does a great job! Initially, I bought the mated pair but one jumped and met its demise. The two were a bit too much for my setup, but with one it's quite ideal. It keeps the sand white and it does not disperse it all over the rockwork - it's very tidy. At first, he was extremely shy and after about a month - just when I began to regret it, it lost its shyness and it now parades itself all over the tank.
thebkramer
New member
Just wanted to know if yours came out yet?? We both purchased one on the same day :lol2:
Mine started doing his thing today.. he's soooo cool!!
Hope yours is going to work too!!Heres my baby... love watching him bulldoze through everything!!:celeb1:
goldmullet
New member
thebkramer
I have seen mine once so far he peeked out when I was feeding and went back to hiding. He built a cave under my live rock and hasn't really sifted much. He has sifted a little but not lots.
My diamond head is all white, I hope that means he's a diamond head?
I have seen mine once so far he peeked out when I was feeding and went back to hiding. He built a cave under my live rock and hasn't really sifted much. He has sifted a little but not lots.
My diamond head is all white, I hope that means he's a diamond head?
