Compatibility - Longnose Hawkfish & Neon Goby

[chessmanmark]

Best pals these two. See for yourself-

 

[Chromey316]

thats great to see.
Your lucky.

 

[Amoore311]

Why didn't you ask this question before you bought the fish ? did you tell your lfs what was in your tank already? if so and they still sold it to you I'd look for a new store...

I guess Chessmanmark's photo answered the question for you huh? The problem with Reef Central is you have a few great experienced hobbyists who like to share info, then you have 100's of others who just parrot what they read on a thread somewhere to sound like they know what they are doing.

You are advocating him to take his business to another store, when in reality there was no reason for the store to advocate against him putting these 2 fish together.

Unless you are familiar with the posters here, it's sometimes impossible to decipher. When that's the case, sometimes you just have to try something out for yourself and see what happens.

Like most things in the hobby, there usually is no right answer. All you can do is take in all of the information, try and decipher it.... and make the best educated decision from there.

 

[Moort82]

Iwondered exactly the same thing but with the scarlet hawk and neon gobies. I must say i was advised to not try it. I have seen them coexist in a local tank but the hawk and gobies where massively overfed so i'm not sure that one the hawk was hungry enough and two the goby would fit in anyway.
I did chicken out as to even trying for myself but i have the added complication of mini maxi nems which i'm sure would eat a neon if one was silly enough to sit on it.

Good on you for trying it, i'm normally cautious but i'm glad it worked out this time. I would have probably put the goby in a breeding trap for a few days just to see if it was being watched first though.

 

[peasofme]

a month is hardly a success story.

 

[Amoore311]

a month is hardly a success story.

If the goby is actively cleaning the hawk fish regularly... I'd call it a success.

If they were simply.... coexisting (ie. goby hiding for his life 24/7) I'd agree with you.

I'd like to hear some stories from people who have actually scene a hawk fish eat a neon goby. Not heard a story from a their uncle's cousin, or some other anecdotal evidence.

I'd kept Neon Gobies with far more proficient predators than Hawkfish, and no fish seem to pay them much mind.

 

[chessmanmark]

I enjoy the goby so much that I decided to add another one. It took about 24 hours, but they made friends pretty quick. *Their behavior is quite comical. *I was worried the hawkfish would see this new one as food but he hasn't shown any interest in this goby either. It's another ORA goby, a little smaller than the first one, but still a good size.

 

[chessmanmark]

I enjoy the goby so much that I decided to add another one. It took about 24 hours, but they made friends pretty quick. *Their behavior is quite comical. *I was worried the hawkfish would see this new one as food but he hasn't shown any interest in this goby either. It's another ORA goby, a little smaller than the first one, but still a good size.

 

[Aaarrrggg]

It's possible the Hawkfish sees their value as cleaner fish and leaves them off the menu.

The Yasha goby in my first tank wasn't so lucky...