Tips on Keeping Gobies

[mav.23]

Hello! In the past I bought two green clown gobies (separate times) and both times they didn't last more than a few weeks. I had a damsel, a clown, a Valentini puffer and a convict blenny. Would the damsel have been the reason they didn't live? Or are they difficult to keep?

 

[Myles]

Not difficult to keep. They are pretty mellow so may have been a victim of bullying or intimidation. Also Scott Michael has written that they tend to come in with parasites so that may have been an issue. I have kept one and it was long lived and easy to keep happy.
Myles

 

[mav.23]

Not difficult to keep. They are pretty mellow so may have been a victim of bullying or intimidation. Also Scott Michael has written that they tend to come in with parasites so that may have been an issue. I have kept one and it was long lived and easy to keep happy.
Myles

ahh. Thank you. I never saw any bullying, but who knows what happens when the lights go out. The parasites might make sense. How could you tell?

 

[Myles]

Sometimes a shy fish can be intimidated just by being added to a tank with aggressive tankmates. One of the reasons I quarantine apart from disease issues is to give a new fish time to put on weight, gain strength get used to the routine of being in captivity, and time to recover from the trauma of being shipped half way across the planet.
As far as disease it would be better if someone else chimed in as I am no expert but white spots, eye cloudiness, breathing hard, and scraping on substrate, and not eating would be some signs.
Myles

 

[Rover88]

I had four, unfortunately three succumbed to Ich.

The last one has been with me for probably 7 months or so now, treated through quarantine with the rest of the fish, ichless, and happily living almost inside a hammer I have.

My girlfriend absolutely adores the gobies, and was quite heartbroken to have lost the rest, so I'm sure I will be getting more soon...