Diamond Watchman Goby

cjeffrey77

Member
I'm considering getting one of these guys & i'm hoping some of you can give me some info on your experiences with them. My lfs has a really nice tank setup with 2 of them in it, they get along great & they say that they keep the whole sand bed clean. Is this true from your experiences? I like these fish but one of my main reasons for getting one will be to clean the sand.
 

mrdc

Active Member
I never had or heard of one so I had to look one up in my book. I know it by the name Orange Sleeper Goby. Here are some tidbits from the book on this fish:
1) difficult to feed, many slowly starve to death
2) reef safe
3) go deep into the sand bed than many other gobies
4) will eat small bristle worms
Just wanted to add that another site stated that they are easy to care for as long as they are fed frequently.
 

mrdc

Active Member
Always better to see what experience others have had...can't always go by the books
 

cjeffrey77

Member
Does it keep your sand clean? Is your a bother in any way? I've heard of them making big messes by stirring up the sand too much & even disturbing the rock work.
 

jmg416

Member
I've had one for a few month's now. They are very entertaining to watch. He has no problem grabbing himself enough food at feeding time. It did take him a week or two to get comfortable and be willing to come out of hiding at feeding time.
At first eh explored the whole tank and kept all the sand clean. Now he sticks to his area and refuses to touch the other side of the tank. He's very territorial about the shell he lives under. If any hermit crab comes to near, he'll pick them up and spit them out on the other side of the tank.
The only thing I would think it's worth being concerned about is how much the rearrange everything to their liking.
 

keleighr

Active Member
mine is doing great
leaves the tank alone
doesn't change anything around
i will try and get a pic on here later of mine
got it at ***** too!!!! they sold it to me for $3.99!!!!! I was sooooooo stoked!!
 

bailey52

Member
Im just worried about the pod situation.. I hear thats what they eat.. and althought my tank is almost a year old with 4: LS and 90 LR, I dont belive I have a pod population.. almost at alll, so i am worried about one starving to death
 
N

nereef

Guest
keleighr, are you sure that's a diamond goby?
anyway, they are likely to go carpet surfing if given the chance. i have also read that they usually starve to death slowly. they do a fine job of keeping the sand clean though. if you do decide to get one, pick one out that isn't pinched in behind its head. its body behind its head should be about the same size as the head. this will mean that it isn't currently starving.
 

cjeffrey77

Member
I still have'nt decided if i'm gonna get one of these or not, they are very cute to watch. I just don't want to get one that's gonna make a mess of my tank all the time.
 

keleighr

Active Member
Originally Posted by NEreef
keleighr, are you sure that's a diamond goby?
anyway, they are likely to go carpet surfing if given the chance. i have also read that they usually starve to death slowly. they do a fine job of keeping the sand clean though. if you do decide to get one, pick one out that isn't pinched in behind its head. its body behind its head should be about the same size as the head. this will mean that it isn't currently starving.

positive.
if you look at the picture in the Fish sectiona and pull it up, the one pictured on this sight looks small. Mine isn't small and it eats tons. It eats pellets, brine, mysis, and anything it finds in the sand. I did notice that since I have gotten it it has chaged coloring. The makings on the body have darkened.
 
Y

yeffre kix

Guest
Here is a pink and blue shrimp goby I had in my tank. He paired right up with a tiger pistol shrimp. He wasn't much of a sand sifter but sure was fun to watch. The tiger pistol shrimp was a big time excavator. He would work nonstop pushing sand out from under a little island of live rock I had right in the front of my tank.
I had a convict goby a few years ago in a reef tank and he did very well cleaning the sand. He did drop sand over my plate coral at the bottom of the tank though.
 

tmoney

Member
I love my Diamond Goby..great personality, cleans my sand, and is friendly with all my other fish in the tank.

 
Top