mmittlesteadt
New member
I recently acquired a Twin Spot Goby from my LFS. I had been observing him there daily for the past month. Active, apparently feeding (definitely sifting) and look very healthy. However I know that my LFS is in no position to really give it personal attention and care so leaving it there would make it less likely to survive than in my tank (however long that may be). I did not get him on impulse and I've researched him before getting him and I know I can do better for him than it living in the tank at the LFS.
I already realize the poor track record of keeping them in home aquaria. I also understand that their feeding habits and food source is extremely problematic. So this is not a thread posing a question as to whether or not I should keep him or return him. I'm more interested in any information anyone can share with me about helping him live as long and as healthy as possible. I have scoured the internet and read absolutely everything I can possibly find on them.
I have him in a 40 gallon breeder reef tank. Tank is only going on 2 months (fully cycled with no ammonia, nitrite and less than 5ppm nitrates) and it has a 65 gallon sump with a 27 gallon refugium with chaeto and copepods. It currently has no competition (and never will) for food. There are two Ocellarus Clownfish and one Firefish in the tank. There are ample caves in the rockwork even under the sand (rockwork is directly on the bottom). The firefish made a cave in the middle section and the Goby has made two caves on each end of the tank under rock ledges (that are under the sand).
He is only about 1 1/2" long and is very active morning and evening (that I can tell...I'm not home during the day). I have been target feeding him Reef Chili every morning and night. I make a super concentrated batch of it and I'm injecting it about 1/2" into the sandbed and on it, all around the two rockwork caves he inhabits. Some gets out into open water and my corals and other fish love it.
By sticking the bottle tip into the sand bed and making a trail in it while I dose the Reef Chili, I can see where I put it. I've seen him come out and follow this trail actively sifting. From what I can see the sand is coming out as he sifts, but not any of the plankton in the Reef Chili. I can only assume he is gobbling it up as he is sifts along this trail. I also have New Life spectrum sinking pellets that settle on the sandbed in little eddy's around his caves where there is very little water flow. I can't verify that he is eating them though.
It is my understanding that these Twin Spot Gobies do not eat the larger copepods found in rockwork, but rather the smaller zooplankton in the sand.
I'm doing the best I can for it, and honestly he isn't going to get more personal attention anywhere else and the feeding schedule is not a bother to me. I'm also making sure my skimmer is handling the feeding. Is there any more I can do for him? Any suggestions on anything else I can do for him are appreciated.
Here's a pic of him in my tank near one of his caves. He's not fat, but he's not wasting away either.
I already realize the poor track record of keeping them in home aquaria. I also understand that their feeding habits and food source is extremely problematic. So this is not a thread posing a question as to whether or not I should keep him or return him. I'm more interested in any information anyone can share with me about helping him live as long and as healthy as possible. I have scoured the internet and read absolutely everything I can possibly find on them.
I have him in a 40 gallon breeder reef tank. Tank is only going on 2 months (fully cycled with no ammonia, nitrite and less than 5ppm nitrates) and it has a 65 gallon sump with a 27 gallon refugium with chaeto and copepods. It currently has no competition (and never will) for food. There are two Ocellarus Clownfish and one Firefish in the tank. There are ample caves in the rockwork even under the sand (rockwork is directly on the bottom). The firefish made a cave in the middle section and the Goby has made two caves on each end of the tank under rock ledges (that are under the sand).
He is only about 1 1/2" long and is very active morning and evening (that I can tell...I'm not home during the day). I have been target feeding him Reef Chili every morning and night. I make a super concentrated batch of it and I'm injecting it about 1/2" into the sandbed and on it, all around the two rockwork caves he inhabits. Some gets out into open water and my corals and other fish love it.
By sticking the bottle tip into the sand bed and making a trail in it while I dose the Reef Chili, I can see where I put it. I've seen him come out and follow this trail actively sifting. From what I can see the sand is coming out as he sifts, but not any of the plankton in the Reef Chili. I can only assume he is gobbling it up as he is sifts along this trail. I also have New Life spectrum sinking pellets that settle on the sandbed in little eddy's around his caves where there is very little water flow. I can't verify that he is eating them though.
It is my understanding that these Twin Spot Gobies do not eat the larger copepods found in rockwork, but rather the smaller zooplankton in the sand.
I'm doing the best I can for it, and honestly he isn't going to get more personal attention anywhere else and the feeding schedule is not a bother to me. I'm also making sure my skimmer is handling the feeding. Is there any more I can do for him? Any suggestions on anything else I can do for him are appreciated.
Here's a pic of him in my tank near one of his caves. He's not fat, but he's not wasting away either.
