Pairs & Groups of Yellow Clown Gobies?

[Reef Frog]

I was looking around the LFS yesterday at a new fish shipment. The store had a tank chocked full of only Yellow Clown Gobies of all size ranges. I didn't count but it was probably 25 plus in a 3' wide tank. All looked healthy and I didn't see any aggression at all but I only observed them for less than 5 minutes.

I thought it was a very nice and cheerful sight. I already own one YCG in a lightly stocked 65g stony reef. I've had the fish for 2 years or so, and I was wondering:

-Are a pair OK in a 65? I've seen folks with a mated pair, but what if I get a same sex pair? I don't think they can be sexed, but correct me if I'm wrong. I seem to remember talk that a same sex pair may quarrel and I figure the chances are 50-50 of getting it right (or wrong depending on how you look at it). If adding a 2nd YCG shoukd I choose a larger or smaller fish than the first one? Can anyone verify?

-What about a trio or even more - say 4-5 - assuming there was plenty of LR & suitable corals to perch on, no bio load issues and no acropia to get damaged? Not really leaning this way now but the idea intrigues me. I do want a pair, depending on any problems I might learn about. What about a mix of the yellow, green & black color morphs? Are groups a bad idea long term? Any negative issues likely?

-How long do Yellow Clown Gobies typically live in aquaria? I've heard it said that they are not naturally long lived fish, but am thinking that person was perhaps getting them confused with the short lifespans of blue neon gobies. Can anyone out there in RCland say they've kept them for more than 2 years, 3....4....? How long can they last?

Thanks in advance for any advice or comments.

 

[Betta132]

As far as I know, the yellows are perfectly fine with each other. They don't fight or act particularly territorial. I'm not sure about a mix of colors.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

I have had one for a month now in my fish only nano tank and I love it. It eats pellets and frozen food. It's not shy at all. You could get away with 3 in your 65. You should research this particular fish's symbiotic relationship with SPS corals before putting it/them in your reef.

 

[Reef Frog]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll pick up a second tomorrow. There's plenty of room in my tank so hopefully there will be no issues, but I'm still not sure about what happens if I get two of the same sex. Hopefully the pair will interact. I think I'll try to get one about the same size to minimize the chances of any problems. If something does go wrong I don't think this fish will be be too hard to remove to my frag tank.

The one I have now perches on corals and I can't see any problems developing. No acros so that's not an issue. So does anyone have any insight into lifespans?

 

[fearyaks]

I've got a red and a green in quarantine now and they're not bothering each other at all... granted it's a red and a green. Funny fish that do like to hide/perch.

 

[Moort82]

They are gender benders so one will change to suit the needs of situation, ie if you have two males you will likely get a bit of a scrap before one converts itself to a female, the same if you have two females, so basically you will be guaranteed a pair eventually.

The only downside ime is they can be downright nasty at least to begin with. This is likely a problem of either too small a tank or likely two males in my case but given your generous tank I think you would be unlucky to have much of a problem.

 

[Reef Frog]

Thanks again.

I didn't know there was a red morph too. Just like a bag of M&Ms.

Thanks Moort, I forgot the scientific name for this sex change but that makes sense & puts my mind at ease, as I don't want to add fish aggression to my tank if I can help it. I guess they might hang out together & interact some as a M-F pair?

 

[Moort82]

I think okinawae are technically bi-directional protogynous hermaphrodites, but can't remember for certain so don't quote me on that, hence gender benders. The gobiodon family does have other types in the family though.

They do form groups in the wild and a friend had a breeding pair that were always interacting and side by side. I did try it once but they scrapped and came out in spot so I had to split them up. I then went sps so never tried again.

I do still have one and I have had it around 4 years and the chap I got it from had it for a couple, so its at least 6 now and shows no signs of age. I did read of one much older (Snorvich maybe) think that was 8.

 

[o2manyfish]

You can have lots of them without any issues.... Until they decide they like each other. Then they will pair up... And you will say - Oh My God that's so cute, look at them hanging out in my beautiful Acro together.

And then one night you dim the lights in your tank, the pumps go into their evening mode, and the one cute little goby winks and the other and says, "Hey Wanna go behind that Monti and get something going". And the other goby says, "I would love to!!! But first we need a home for our youngins".

At this point the cute little couple scoots themselves into the center of your favorite and most cherished acro colony.....

And then proceeds to tear the flesh off the inside of the colony to build their cute little nest.

They are cute, they are adorable, they come in all kinds of colors, they have little smiling faces if you look at them closely.

And when they get frisky -- They skin your acros

Beware

Dave B

 

[CoralsAddiction]

You can have lots of them without any issues.... Until they decide they like each other. Then they will pair up... And you will say - Oh My God that's so cute, look at them hanging out in my beautiful Acro together.

And then one night you dim the lights in your tank, the pumps go into their evening mode, and the one cute little goby winks and the other and says, "Hey Wanna go behind that Monti and get something going". And the other goby says, "I would love to!!! But first we need a home for our youngins".

At this point the cute little couple scoots themselves into the center of your favorite and most cherished acro colony.....

And then proceeds to tear the flesh off the inside of the colony to build their cute little nest.

They are cute, they are adorable, they come in all kinds of colors, they have little smiling faces if you look at them closely.

And when they get frisky -- They skin your acros

Beware

Dave B

OMG that is the funniest post I have read thus far on RC. :lolspin:

 

[Reef Frog]

Yea that was a good one O2. If I end up with a frisky pair, and I decide to tempt STN and try acros again, I'll put a sign over the tank that reads

DONT COME A KNOCKIN IF THIS ACROPIA IS A ROCKIN

But curious, is an acro mandatory for some funky luvin or will they do the dirty deed somewhere else? Do they typically completely destroy a large acro or just a branch?

 

[Reef Frog]

Great info Moort, appreciate it. Glad to know a longer lifespan is possible.

 

[Moort82]

No they don't need a coral to lay their eggs in, any substrate will do but I guess acro's are preferred because they are easier to defend. My friend who spawned these had a pipe stuck to the glass in the corner of his reef and they used to lay in there.
Acro's tend to be bigger in the wild as well so minor damage is inflicted. If you only have smaller colonies/frags then it might be a problem.

I'm not sure if it is the same with YCG but the green have been shown to be beneficial to corals as they poop and feed them but also reduce the risk of predation but more importantly its been described that corals send out chemicals which the gobies react to (from a distance so they migrate), and once there the goby helps combat algae. (really poor explanation but essentially they fight off algae accumulations in corals).

 

[fearyaks]

FYI here is what the green one I have looks like -

The Red one I have is hiding now so I can't find a picture of it and I don't see a good one on LA. Perhaps it's labeled there as the brown one.

 

[zooman72]

I have seen a couple of displays at public aquariums housing a larger group (~12), but they were not being kept with live stony corals...