Twin Spot Goby/Two Spot Goby/Signal Goby/Crabeye Goby/Signigobius biocellatus...Help.

[TomCs]

Ive been on the waiting list for these little guys for the better part of a year now. I've now been informed that the "area" from which the divers usually collect the twin spot gobies from apparently no longer has any of them living there...Basically meaning that its now down to pot luck (if it wasnt already) if they happen to stumble across some while they are down there on subsequent dives.

ANWAYS, what i wanted to know is if anyone had an idea about wether this is a problem just related to thier reclusive behaviour or if there is a population issue with these guys out on the reef. I already understand that they are hard to come by at the best of times but to actually hear from the source that they no longer inhabit thier typical range or sites mkaes me worried about still wanting these guys taken off the reef. I have no problem with staying on the waiting list for a whole more year if i have to but not if it means contributing to a problem if there happens to be one.

...at the end of the day i could be being fed BS to shut me up until they just happen to come acroos some so ill stay on the waiting list but wanted to hear what you guys might have to say about it first. Sorry about all the reading too.

 

[Luiz Rocha]

That's a good question Tom, I doubt the species is in trouble throughout its range, since it ranges from the Philippines all the way to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and is present within several conservation areas (including the GBR). However, it is possible to deplete populations if they don't move around too much and limit collections to small areas.

 

[Sigmund]

Very difficult to keep alive, need a dedicated tank with a sand bed absolutely crawling with pods. Even then they can be difficult as they generally come in, in bad shape. I have seen a healthy pair before and it is one of the coolest pair of fishes to see when they are working together. That being said the odds are very much against you...

 

[IFbettas]

I think its odd that you aren't able to find this fish. Every time I go to my lfs they have them in stock. Also LA has them in stock right now...

But as Sigmund said, they usually don't survive for very long in aquariums.

 

[TomCs]

OK, thanks for the good info guys. They would be going in to thier own dedicated tank, its a year old with just a cuc and a tonnes of various corals...its just waiting for the fish to arrive. As for pods my refuge seemes to be doing ok even without a major food source. Pods are present in what i hope are good enough numbers (crawling all over rock work, glass walls near the sand bed). Ive been resisting buying sand sifting snails or starfish to leave the sand bed oosing with life for the gobies once they arrive. For this reason the water chemistry takes a bit more work to keep in check but have managed to do so for this long and if it works out it will make it well worth it. Amphiopods and bristle worms are also in HUGE proportions, the amphiopods populate just about every little knook and cranny in me LR, and same thing goes for bristle worms when they come out of an evening.

To be honest i wasnt aware that they required this amount of care and feel kinda stupid for not finding out earlier. i have done what i though was enough research as well as checked on here with the "hard to care for species" list sticky and didnt find them there (last time a checked anyways). Thank you guys for pointing me in the right direction, im really thinking about not getting them at all. i understood that they weren't the easiest fish to keep but not to the extent of rarely surviving!

If someone could outline me the absolute needs for these little guys beyond normal husbandry id really appreciate it, just so then i can be sure that i would or would not make an adequate carer.

Luiz, its good to hear that for now im just being a little paranoid about the wild population situation. Even though im no expert in goby elcolgy it still doesent sit well with me that they're even depleated in localised communities. I didnt think that they were imported all that much, for me its crazy to hear that they're always in stock over there. For crying out loud they're on our back door step (Cairns) and we barely see the come in at all!

Anyways, again guys thanks for enlightening me about thier care if it sounds like ive got no clue about looking after them, no worries jsut tell me and i wont go near them. id rather that then watch them die in my own care.

 

[Peter Eichler]

They're on the list and have been since it was originally made many years ago. Sorry you missed it...

Twinspot Goby (Signogobius ocellatus): Terrible survival rates in captivity, rarely accept prepared foods or survive long even when they do

If success is to be had the larger the sandbed the better, I just don't think the sandbed in a 50 gallon could possibly have enough life in it to sustain them for any length of time. Unfortunately, the same probably goes even for tanks several times that size.

 

[IFbettas]

I think that their care is similar to that of mandarinfish in several ways. If your tank is well established and you have a thriving refugium you should be ok. If you get the gobies to eat prepared foods then that is a plus too. I've never kept them though, so I can't really give much more advice.

 

[Peter Eichler]

I think that their care is similar to that of mandarinfish in several ways. If your tank is well established and you have a thriving refugium you should be ok. If you get the gobies to eat prepared foods then that is a plus too. I've never kept them though, so I can't really give much more advice.

Not even close, they're many times more difficult than mandarins.

 

[IFbettas]

I didn't mean that their difficulty level was the same. The point I was trying to make is how long the tank needs to be established before one could successfully be kept... if at all.

 

[TomCs]

Like an idoit i must have glazed right over it....found it, right under rainford's goby. Is a really good thread.
Looks like im going to bail on the twin spots, no good reason why i should have them if there's so much going against me...So id have a better chance with a mandarin?
I realise they're no walk in the park either put would like to move on from caring for the usual culprits. Then again maybe ill give them a miss too, i hear there's even more of a collection stress placed on them in regards to thier species, there's a good chance that im completely wrong there too but though id ask...

 

[Peter Eichler]

Like an idoit i must have glazed right over it....found it, right under rainford's goby. Is a really good thread.
Looks like im going to bail on the twin spots, no good reason why i should have them if there's so much going against me...So id have a better chance with a mandarin?
I realise they're no walk in the park either put would like to move on from caring for the usual culprits. Then again maybe ill give them a miss too, i hear there's even more of a collection stress placed on them in regards to thier species, there's a good chance that im completely wrong there too but though id ask...

Thanks, glad you like the thread. Yeah, you'd have a much better chance of success with a mandarin.

 

[GoneJohnson]

And I just bought a two spot Goby. It is 4 years later too. I really did not want a hard to care for fish. I'll need to give supplement feeding. I have good live Rock full of all sorts of little creatures it's a 16 gallon Nuvo rimless. I beefed it up running 2 - 300 GPH pumps, New baskets better media, the rotating outlet heads in tank. It's been running about 14 or to 16 weeks now. I also just bought a light to replace my stock ones. They'll work good as supplement light or in a sump if I decide to get a bigger tank.

Off to read about Gobies.

 

[nikon187]

thats funny, we get them every single wed with our order. Very difficult fish to keep alive but nothing from our supplier that they arent avalible or they are having trouble collecting. We have 2 pairs and 4 singles atm, none are eating other than pods.

 

[snorvich]

thats funny, we get them every single wed with our order. Very difficult fish to keep alive but nothing from our supplier that they arent avalible or they are having trouble collecting. We have 2 pairs and 4 singles atm, none are eating other than pods.

That is what they eat in nature. I have been afraid to try them but they are cool fish. In nature, they are somewhat cryptic preferring shaded areas on rather barren sand. I usually see them in pairs. I wonder if they would eat Nutramar Ova?

 

[nikon187]

occationally if they are at the store long enough some seem to take to the ocean nutrition roe eggs.

 

[small alien]

As someone who routinely takes on difficult to feed fish, I still avoid this species.