Sharing a bed..., of sand.

[chasekwe]

Hi folks, tried this thread over on my club forum but maybe no one has had this combination before. Anyways, figured I'd ask here and get some more views.


"As you know my tank is 18x18, so the sandbed area is 17x17" (some rock in there too, of course). * I'd like to keep a mandarin (or maybe a pair if I can get them eating pellet, etc.), a yasha goby w/banded pistol shrimp, and a blue spot jawfish. *The goby/shrimp and jawfish will be pretty permanent sandbed residents and I'd imagine the mandarin will spend most of their time there as well.

Do you think everybody will get along? *In theory they're all peaceful but the sandbed is limited and I don't know if conflicts would ensue.

Here are the competitors for reference, all quite small:

Thanks guys! "

 

[aulepe]

A 17x17 is probably too small for the mandarin in terms of having enough live rock to forage on- unless you can get it to eat other live or frozen foods which isn't always easy.
Blue spotted jawfish often have territories in terms of a few feet in the wild. If the goby is considered a competitor, the 17 inches between them may not be enough. When I added a blue spotted jawfish, my yellow watchman ended up moving to the other side of my 72 inch aquarium.

 

[chasekwe]

Thanks aulepe!

I'm not very worried about the mandarin, the tank is 42g and theres a ~25g fuge (pod factory), I also have ~80lbs of live rock despite the small footprint. And that doesn't even count however much rubble and etc. will be in the fuge for the pods.

As to the goby not enjoying the company of the jawfish that was what I thought might be the case. I'll likely reconsider this aspect of my fish list, thank you again.

 

[joejoe1055]

keep us updated

 

[chasekwe]

Nobody else keeps a jawfish with a shrimp/goby duo? Another couple opinions or solutions, etc. would be appreciated.

 

[29reef]

Your tanks too small of an area to house those fish together. I don't think it will work.

 

[Spazdad]

yeah the blue spot needs to be off your list if you want to keep the others.