Help me pick fish for 60 cube reef

Several people have mentioned a goby shrimp pair and I am extremely interested.

I dont know anything about the relationship they share could someone explain to me how that works?

Certain gobies and pistol shrimp have a symbiotic relationship.

The shrimp has very poor eyesight. In return for a safe burrow, the goby keeps a watch for danger while the shrimp builds and maintains their burrow. If you watch closely, you'll notice the shrimp almost always has one of its antennae in contact with the goby's body. Any sudden movement or perceived danger from the goby will send the shrimp scampering back to the safety of the burrow.

That's why you almost always see 'watchman' or 'shrimp' in the common name for gobies who share this relationship with pistols.

I have a Yasha paired with a candy cane and the two of them are fascinating to watch.
 
I'm unsure of your buying preference but DD has goby/shrimp pairs pretty regularly. That said, I wouldn't get too caught up in buying an already established pair. Individual specimens will usually pair up pretty quickly.
 
I have a local guy that gets really good livestock that I prefer to buy from. He can probably get me just about anything I ask for.. If I am willing to pay for it lol. He always has healthy stuff tho
 
Hey guys I was at my lfs today and I saw a dragonface pipefish. It was the first pipefish I have ever seen in person and it I thought it was really cool. Im not really planning on having one of these in my tank because of how difficult to feed they are but I would like to know more about them.

If anyone has experience with them and can tell me more about them that would be great!

Or if you could give me a link to any good threads about them
 
I can't help you specifically other than to say pipefish and seahorses are usually best left for experienced reefers in species only tanks.

There is a a subforum for them here on reef central which you may find informative.
 
Yes. And I must say I've never kept them so please don't take my word for gospel. I'm sure there are several people in the seahorse forum who could give you much better advise for your situation.

These fish have special needs and one of the big reasons they don't do well in a community reef tank is that other fish will easily outcompete them for food.
 
Im just trying to learn :) Im not planning on keeping them anytime soon I am just interested in knowing more about them
 
Hey, no way. I am getting a dragonface pipefish. It is on order. About them being kept in species only tanks, that is so not true. People keep pipefish in lots of different set ups with success(just stay away from aggressive fish that would eat/kill it). I have heard mixed reviews on their eating habits. Some say the are the hardest, others the easiest. The pet store i am buying from has had greet success training them on frozen, so I am going to give it a try. As for them being out competed, I think that if I over feed a little, it should get enough. My cleaner shrimp cleans up pretty well. :) If you ever do decide to get one, just make sure you are well educated on them. I myself am no expert reefer, I have only been keeping salt water for a little over half a year, but I feel educated enough to give it a try. Hope this helped. :)
 
Awesome! They had it in a 100 gallon tank with some green mandarins at my lfs. I was trying to look at the mandarins and see if they looked healthy and I couldn't keep my eyes off of the pipefish. It was soo cool. I'm not comfortable trying it yet but maybe one day.

What size system is yours going into?
 
Mine is going in a 40gb. I know, it's small, but I have been keeping my pod pop. up and it will be trained on frozen, so it should work. I am even taking some risks by adding some stinging LPS. But I figure if I put them in place then would be had to reach for the pipefish, he should be safe. Dragonfaces don't swim, they slither, so if I put it in a place it can't slither to, I should be fine. But, you never know.
 
I don't know. I think I'll have to re-order it. I ordered it almost two months ago. I ordered a tailspot blenny from this place as well. It didn't come in until I re-ordered it, came in the next week. :)
 
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