Can I have a goby with a newer tank?

[zantho]

I was looking for something to help move my sand and keep it clean. I developed some, not a lot of brown algae, new tank syndrome I guess, and have since moved to RO/DI water.
I'd love a goby, but I'm not even sure if I'm ready for one because my tank is so new. I've got a 72g FOWLR, 2 mo after cycle, have 2 very small clowns, 2 small green chromis, 5 small blue legged hermits, and a few turbo and nassarius snails. Not only is my tank new, I have very little live rock and I started with argonite, not LS. So if I were looking for a goby to help sift my sand to keep it clean, what would he eat? Would he eat food that made it to the sand when feeding the fish? I'm thinking that there's not enough little natural critters in the sand just yet to keep him happy.
Do I need to wait a lot longer for my tank to establish before getting a goby that would sift sand? Other recommendations besides a goby?
-Anthony

 

[scsinet]

You're ready for a Goby. They are pretty tough fish, and 2 mo after a cycle, you should be fine.
Gobies don't always sift the sand though until it becomes laden with critters and that takes more time, but he'll eat with the other fish during regular feedings. Gobies are one of those fish that would eat a cheeseburger if you threw it in the tank.
Just don't count on a lot of results with sand sifting just yet.
If you want results with sand sifting, hermits are the way to go. Lots of them. In your tank you should have at least 50.

 

[1journeyman]

IMO avoid a sand sifting goby. They eat the beneficial organisms in your sand that will help keep your sand clean.
Go instead with a Jawfish, or an Engineer Goby. Also, Nass. snails are amazing at keeping the top of your sand bed stirred.

 

[zantho]

Ok, more nass snails, how many for a 72g tank? I love those guys. More hermits... can do.
Will the hermits bother the goby at all? I've heard of some picking on a yellow clown goby. Would a clown goby be alright? They don't sift sand right? I can add more nass snails for that. But I'm looking for another easy addition to the tank for now. Are there fish/inverts out there that I should avoid after adding the goby? I also heard hawkfish might go after small gobies.
Really appreciate the advice!
Thanks!
-Anthony

 

[1journeyman]

Clown Goby should be fine... of course I don't have any large hermits so listen to what others tell you.
I've got both a Falco and A Red Spotted Hawk in my 180. I've read that you have to monitor Hawks with inverts. Imo both of these species stay small enough that they won't cause problems. A Bicolor Blenny might also be a good choice.

 

[scsinet]

We're not talking about the big strawberry hermits, we're talking about the small blue legs and stuff, right?
Those little guys won't bother your goby... at least I've never seen it. If they do try to take a pick at him, he can always swim away.
Funny thing... I have a large pink spotted shrimpgoby in my reef system, and he bullies the hermits. I see him carrying them around in his mouth. Once he realizes he can't get them out he spits them out and they run off.

 

[zantho]

We're talking small blue-legs, yes. I suppose that's a pretty important point.
I'm thinking clown gobies because I can find them locally easily, the rest are hit or miss and it's not a big enough order to place online...
Last question for this thread, if I get a small goby like a clown goby (unless I can find a nice jawfish locally) is a flame hawk out of the question down the line? I was just reading about them on another live aquaria type site... that says to use caution when adding them. I wouldn't want my goby to become a snack.
Also, wow, I had to google image search for a falco, wow those are nice looking fish.

 

[1journeyman]

I love my Falco and Red Spotted Hawk...
Never owned a Flame Hawk but from all that I've read they are more aggressive and get quite a bit bigger. Bigger fish=smaller fish becoming snacks.

 

[puffer32]

Watchman goby is a nice addition also.

 

[zantho]

I'm thinking either a Jawfish or a Yellow Watchman. I was thinking of adding a pistol shrimp to the order. Is that wise? Does anyone have any recommendations on which goby and which pistol shrimp for ease of care and color? Again it's a 72G FOWLR. I've recently added a lot of once-LR-dried-for-a-couple-years-in-a-guy's-garage base rock and I want to make sure the tank is still stable after a few weeks, but I think I'm ready to place the order after that. Again, ease of care
Also, can I get away with Formula-1 or Formula-2 if I don't have much in the sand yet?

 

[scsinet]

I've never seen a yellow watchman paired up, but I haven't seen it fail enough times to say it doesn't work either.
A yellow watchman is a really tiny goby, so be aware of that.
I wouldn't recommend a jawfish. They don't do well in captivity, and I've never heard of anyone keeping them successfully for any length of time. THey also dig up your tank something fierce.
If you've added dried out live rock, you may have an ammonia spike coming. Get your levels stable before you place an order.

 

[zantho]

Then I'm undecided again
I'm planning on watching for the spike. If there's no hint of anything in three-four weeks I'll add the goby. At any rate, I have time. I scrubbed the heck out of the rocks and it didn't look like there was much on there to die even before the scrub.
Any other shrimpgobies that pair with pistol shrimp that you could recommend? You said you have a pink, do you have it paired or by itself?
Thanks so much for responding!

 

[scsinet]

Mine was paired but the shrimp died. Gobies can live for years, pistol shrimps months a year or maybe 18 months...
I have no plans to replace the shrimp. When they pair up they really dig. I lost corals from being buried, had rocks topple, etc. That's my tank and my situation.... yours may be different. :thinking:

 

[dma57]

I have a pink and blue goby with a tiger shrimp that I got from here about 2 weeks ago. They paired up within minutes and there isn't a place in my sand that these two haven't dug up. My sand bed used to be pretty flat and boring, now I have rolling hills everywhere. There is a whole infrastructure going on under all my live rock, tunnels everywhere. Each day they appear somewhere different then the day before. So if you're looking for something to sift(move) your sand this is the way to go. The only problem (which is a small one) is that my tank gets cloudy once in awhile depending on how crazy they get with the digging.

 

[zantho]

For the pink and blue (or pink) did you need to secure the top of your tank? Are they jumpers?

 

[dma57]

I don't have a cover on my tank but my goby never swims around. He always sits right in front of the cave opening guarding the entrance. He won't even venture too far for food, I have to make sure I get the food close to him. He won't even move away when the shrimp crawls right over or under him. I'm amazed at the bond he has with that shrimp.