Yellow clown gobi eggs.

[Paul B]

These clown gobies have been spawning for over a year but this is the first time I can see the eggs. You can see them just to the right of the clown gobi who is on the left. Those little "bubbles" are eggs. They cover about 3/4" of the piece of that coral and the eggs will kill that spot on the coral. The other dead parts on that coral were buried while I was in Hawaii 2 weeks ago and I will cut them off so they re grow.
Now all my fish are spawning except my copperband and we know that ain't happening.
That includes firefish, mandarins, watchman gobies, threadfin cardinals and two other cardinals. The bluestriped pipefish lived out their life and I don't have them any longer, but they spawned a number of times also.
I was away for 12 days and during that time the fish were only fed every other day which may have induced them to spawn, although I am guessing.



You can see the eggs just under the gill of the left gobi

 

[mayjong]

very cool.
hey paul i've always enjoyed your posts here. do you have any other pics you can post?
i'd love to see your (no waterchange,no chemical) tank!

 

[Paul B]

Thank you Mayjong. My tank has been on here many times and there are way more pictures posted than you would want to see. But here it is again.
I know a bunch of people seem to think that I don't change water, but I do change about 100 gallons a year in this 100 gallon tank.
I wish I could get a better picture of these eggs but that coral is not to close to the front and it is in the branches of the coral so even if I put my underwater camera in there, I doubt I could get a better picture.

 

[mayjong]

thanks Paul -looks great, especially for being 30 years young!

 

[Paul B]

thanks Paul -looks great, especially for being 30 years young!

Thanks, but it is actually 42 years young. :smokin:

 

[Paul B]

That firefish should be fireclowns, I made a mistake.

That includes firefish, mandarins, watchman gobies, threadfin cardinals and two other cardinals.

 

[Reef Frog]

Neat! Is this their first spawn...do you think the eggs are viable? Is this the first spawn & are you going to try to raise the fry?

Paul, do you know the possible lifespan of these gobies? I've been told its kind of short like Blue Neon Gobies. Mine is going on 2 years. Is he an old man in fish years?

 

[Paul B]

2 years is middle aged for these small gobies. I think they can live may be 6 or 7 years but I am not absolutely sure. I think mine may be about 3, I forget. They have been spawning for over a year but they never spawned in a place where I could get a picture. I guess the eggs hatched because that place on the coral is not a patch of algae and the eggs are gone. I just returned from a few days in Vermont and didn't see them hatch. I don't raise fish any more as I am not home enough and it is very time consuming. I also could not easily collect any fry in this 6' long, 100 gallon tank

 

[Paul B]

This is wierd, but they laid another batch of eggs, this time there are more than last time. I don't know how they laid eggs twice in a month.

 

[Paul B]

I am glad they laid eggs but they really are destroying that coral. After the eggs hatch, that place is dead and algae grows there. From sitting on other parts of the coral, they also kill that. The coral will grow back, but I can see that a bunch of these fish spawning could really decimate a small patch of acropora.

 

[steamer51]

I was going to ask if they are doing any damage to the Acros. I have read that it is not recommended to keep clown gobies in an Acro tank since they spawn on the branches and spend most of there time just sitting on them. Not suggesting you remove them (impossible probably in your tank) and like you said the coral will grow back.

 

[Paul B]

They are mutliation that acropora. It is what it is.