P.T. Barnum was right...

[jayelblock]

...and I'm the sucker.

This is my Aquapod12 before the addition of the ridiculously tiny and expensive flaming prawn goby:

This is my Aquapod12 after the addition of the ridiculously tiny and expensive flaming prawn goby:

FWIW, I did my research and expected this fish to disappear immediately. If I ever see him again, I'll post some updates. At least he survived acclimation.

 

[snorvich]

The rarely appear, even in small tanks. I believe there was a thread on here somewhere about them. A gorgeous fish though.

 

[SDguy]

:lol: At least you have a sense of humor about it. Nice post

 

[jayelblock]

Actually, I'm a bit hopeful. I have gotten a few peeks at him today. He likes to stick to the caves, so after a few weeks, I'm going to rescape so that all the caves face the front. Right now he's the only thing in the tank other than a few thousand pods.

 

[jayelblock]

Woo Hoo!

Woo Hoo!

I reaquascaped, and scared the flaming prawn goby out of his burrow. At first I thought he was just having a fish freak-out and bashing around the sides of the tank, but then I noticed him picking up gravel and spitting it out. Feeding! He finally noticed the thousands of pods on the side of the glass. I finally noticed that his right pectoral fin is missing the colorful part. Perhaps it will grow back.

Sorry for the cloudy pic. The water got stirred up when I was rearranging things and screwed up the camera focus.

 

[Sheol]

That is a superb little guy! I have my eye on a Tiger Goby (Something waidi) but it seems to be in the difficult care list. Gorgeous fish, that one and yours.
Its too bad they are often overlooked because they aren't bigger..

Matthew

 

[jayelblock]

I'd like to get a few more, but they're difficult to find, even with money in hand...
Good luck finding your tiger goby.

 

[Wolverine]

Great looking fish. Hopefully you can keep him coming into view.

 

[Reefsnob]

Sorry... But that is really really funny! I spent a good five minutes doing the where's Waldo thing.

 

[jjk_reef00]

Beautiful fish! And great post. How big do you think he is?

 

[jayelblock]

Reefsnob--I guess Barnum was right about both of us!


jjk--He's a scant 3/4" long. And very thin. I really underestimated how tiny this fish is. I have small fish--neon gobies--and they are huge and full-bodied by comparison.

BTW, he was out cruising around the tank again this morning. Unfortunately, my aquascaping strategy backfired. I thought if I puttied up all the holes on the back side of the rock, he would be forced to stay toward the front. Instead, after watching him for a few days, I see that he likes to move through the holes. I should have left them open and encouraged him to move through the aquascape. Live and learn.

 

[jayelblock]

Like a phoenix, or perhaps a unicorn

Like a phoenix, or perhaps a unicorn

double post during server error

 

[jayelblock]

Like a unicorn, or perhaps a phoenix

Like a unicorn, or perhaps a phoenix

So, a few days went by without a sighting. I finally pulled the shelf holding my tank away from the wall and got my head around to peer into the overflow area of my AIO aquapod. There, in the second chamber, was a fuzzy white smear, like a small twist of cotton candy. I was horrified. I should have checked earlier and rescued my poor goby from days of starvation, grungy sediment and battering in the overflow. I am self-absorbed and irresponsible, and my inattention killed that tiny, perfect fish.

A week ago, I decided to break the tank down, clean it, and make it a dedicated invertebrate tank. I pulled all the rocks out, and hoping against hope, inspected them just in case. Nothing. I plopped them in a bucket with no heat, no circulation, and a minimal amount of water. I drained the tank down to an inch of water, stirred and siphoned the sand bed, and cleaned the glass. I took a break for lunch. I puttered around on RC. I filled up the tank, plopped the rocks back in, and fired up the heater. A few hours later, it was up to temperature. I acclimated the inverts from another tank to the aquapod, including my prized emperor shrimp, and called it a day. That was a week ago.

This evening, as cool as the other side of the pillow, the flaming prawn goby hopped out of the rocks and took a short tour of the tank. It was like seeing a unicorn, or perhaps a phoenix. By the time I grabbed my camera, he was gone.

 

[katarina]

lol. Well, he showed you didn't he.

 

[Sk8r]

Lol---I've got some little experience with the littlest gobies, and they're, yes, cryptic---they hide. They may pop up again. Your tank seems to have no threats to the fish...but what it lacks may be a 'dither fish' like a chromis: certain fish like the more peaceful damsels out and about can persuade these little gems that the coast is clear, and then they may come out and swim. But you have to read fishy minds: a yellow watchman, for instance, goes cryptic if there's a larger fish with conspicuous yellow on him that's occupying a higher water level, ie, higher in the water column. They're fun, but getting them to come out takes patience and careful assembly of a stocking list that doesn't threaten, but encourages confidence.
And sometimes the little beggars just won't cooperate!

 

[jayelblock]

Hmmm, the tiny fish brain is complicated.

My master plan was always to have three FPGs, but they seem to be unobtainable at this time. I believe they are from the Red Sea, and snarled up in the shipping restrictions. I've got plenty of other gobies in my bigger tank. Maybe I'll shift one over.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[jayelblock]

I couldn't stand it and had to purchase a second flaming prawn goby. This one was actually smaller than the first. The two did some sparring when they met (wiggly dance) but have moved to opposite sides of the tank. They're in a 30" 29g, so they've got plenty of room to spread out.

Here is the newer fish in a medicine dosage cup:

For additional reference, the fpg takes up half of this medicine dosage cup, which is 2.4 cm or one inch across the bottom:

 

[Didac]

i never saw one before.. i really like it...

 

[snorvich]

they are gorgeous but cryptic.

 

[jayelblock]

I'm pretty excited because the new fish has been out a lot. It may just be that s/he is unsure where to claim territory in the rocks since the older fpg has already established its own territory. I'm going to reaquascape this afternoon and see if that helps the two settle in.

I haven't noticed any more interaction between the two, but I have seen a lot more of the older fish since I introduced the newer one. I don't know how to sex them, so I can't say whether their behavior is same-sex aggression, typical territorial negotiations or pre-mating behavior.