is a Mandarin dragonet and diamond goby too much?

[MondoBongo]

that certainly makes sense.

i think for me the reasoning comes down to needing both the rock and sand to be productive in that size tank to adequately sustains a mandarin.

throwing one out of balance, or removing it entirely from the equation, could theoretically remove half their food source.

now that i'm thinking through this i'd be very interested to see what kind of pod populations would be present in a tank with a sand sifter, and without. i don't know much about them, save some short observation i've done at the store and a few minor things i've read, so it is hard for me to make any solid deductive leaps on what their impact may or may not be.

reason #9080 why i need a super cool microscope.

 

[Betta132]

Overall, this is what I'm seeing:
55g is absolute minimum for a mandy and will be tricky without a 'fuge
Goby will quite possibly negatively impact the amount of pods
Therefore, don't risk the goby.

 

[Kwarren]

Ok so what about if I got the watchman goby as someone said. Are they as active with turning the sand bed as the diamond goby? If so I'll just see what I can do with the mandarin after my tank matures. I'm trying to find some nice colorful fishand the mandarin Iis probably my favorite. I know my tank is limited to I'll probably keep my 55g tank to maybe 4 or 5 fish and that's it. As for the CBS I've gave some serious thought as to taking him back to my LFS and maybe getting a skunk cleaner shrimp. He has really nice colors but hhe's definitely protective of his "area" and he hasn't nipped at my fish yet I think he would if they got too close.

Just for productivity for the tank would the cleaner shrimp be better than a CBS?

 

[Betta132]

Watchman gobies do occasionally sift sand, but not enough to impact anything. They mostly just do that if they see something move in that bit of sand. At most, they'll clean a 4" wide area around their favorite hiding spot. Even if one did decide to clean the entire sandbed, he'd do it VERY slowly. I'd suggest you get a pistol shrimp to go with the goby, that's always fun to watch.

A scarlet skunk cleaner might be better than the CBS. They don't threaten anything other than smaller shrimp. They're a bit secretive, but you usually see at least one part of them. Now, a cleaner may lunge at fish that get in its spot, but it can't hurt them.

 

[MondoBongo]

Ok so what about if I got the watchman goby as someone said. Are they as active with turning the sand bed as the diamond goby? If so I'll just see what I can do with the mandarin after my tank matures. I'm trying to find some nice colorful fishand the mandarin Iis probably my favorite. I know my tank is limited to I'll probably keep my 55g tank to maybe 4 or 5 fish and that's it. As for the CBS I've gave some serious thought as to taking him back to my LFS and maybe getting a skunk cleaner shrimp. He has really nice colors but hhe's definitely protective of his "area" and he hasn't nipped at my fish yet I think he would if they got too close.

Just for productivity for the tank would the cleaner shrimp be better than a CBS?

i love my skunk. Lysmata spp. in general are all good with me. he will sometimes clean my hand when i'm in the tank. usually right up front with loads of personality, and never misses feeding time.

you certainly have the potential to keep a mandy. it is just about getting the details for your particular tank worked out. more rock, judicious choice of tank mates, sump w/fuge, and supplemental feeding are all pieces of that puzzle.

i can see both sides of the argument for the sand sifting goby as a potential competitor, but when mandy's are involved, i generally err on the side of caution as far as feeding goes.

for my sand sifting, i like Nassarius snails.

 

[Betta132]

Nassarius snails are good because they don't completely 'sift' the sand. They turn it over and eat large gunk, but they don't eat the critters. They're more like sand stirrers.

 

[Kwarren]

Ok thanks for all the input guys.

 

[Kwarren]

I may have to buy more snails soon. The ones i purchased with my clean up crew the large ones have nearly all died from climbing the walls and falling. When i see them i turn them back over you can't always catch them in time.

 

[Baldguy]

Saltwaterfish.com says a full grown blue hippo needs 150g. LA says 180g. If the fish is no bigger than 2" your tank is ok ... maybe.

 

[jason2459]

Prawn goby and pistol shrimp combo is another great choice and would go great with the coral beauty.

 

[Chief Reef]

Ok so what about if I got the watchman goby as someone said. Are they as active with turning the sand bed as the diamond goby? If so I'll just see what I can do with the mandarin after my tank matures. I'm trying to find some nice colorful fishand the mandarin Iis probably my favorite. I know my tank is limited to I'll probably keep my 55g tank to maybe 4 or 5 fish and that's it. As for the CBS I've gave some serious thought as to taking him back to my LFS and maybe getting a skunk cleaner shrimp. He has really nice colors but hhe's definitely protective of his "area" and he hasn't nipped at my fish yet I think he would if they got too close.

Just for productivity for the tank would the cleaner shrimp be better than a CBS?

Watchmen are fine IMO, Cleaners over CBS. this advice comes from having worked at a LFS previously and noticed Alot of people who bought CBS ended up coming backs months later with a monster specimen who had Eaten his fish, Sometimes Even Two bought as mated pair would end up fighting.

Diamond goby advice was from a friend who added a Diamond Goby after having a mandarin for years and noticed his mandarin wasting away. He put 2 and 2 together and Removed the diamond Goby and Re dosed his fuge with a ton of pods. Mandarin Recovered.

 

[Betta132]

Money cowries work better than snails, because they don't stay flipped. A tuxedo urchin will pick small things up and carry them, but it can flip itself over and it does a very good job. They also aren't that sharp, they feel like hairbrushes.

 

[Kwarren]

Hadn't gave much thought about a urchin, thanks I may try that.

from everyone's feedback I don't think II'll put a diamond goby and a Mandarintogether Iin my small tank but will try the mandarin when my tanks is a little more mature.

 

[Kwarren]

And chief reef i may catch him and take him back this week then lol. Hopefully they'll give me a little off of another purchase or something.