Dwarf seahorses and clown gobies?

[smartorl]

I had purchased a tiny neon goby to put into my dwarf tank to help clean up some of the excess brine generated because I am feeding babies and having to feed a 15 gallon tank in the process to ensure that they are getting enough. My neon goby died before I got home. I went back and she gave me another, it died during acclimation. I am not sure whether it is just those fish or if they are delicate. I have two very small clown gobies, one citron, one green that I am thinking about trying out but don't want one of my babies to die in the process. I have not had them very long so I am not really as sure of their behavoir as some of my other fish that I have had for a long time. SWF.com shows that like the neons, their diet is brine shrimp and that they are peaceful. Any thoughts, gut feelings, or personal experiences with the clown gobies?

 

[rykna]

Seahorses, especially ponies, are best keep in a species only tank. My fire goby, Flash, was fine with my Kuda, but the only other live thing in my pony tank is my gorgonian.

 

[smartorl]

I was afraid someone was going to say that, lol. How do you cope with the excess brine? I am so worried about crashing my tank. BTW, still 4 babies and two more expectant daddies!

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by smartorl
I was afraid someone was going to say that, lol. How do you cope with the excess brine? I am so worried about crashing my tank. BTW, still 4 babies and two more expectant daddies!
Well Gorgonians, being filter feeders, love baby brine shrimp

My corky finer gorg loves sharing dinner with the ponies.That helps a little. What kind of filter system are you using? And how many gallons did you say your tank is?
I just moved my little family of 5 into a 29 gallon with 2 hang-on power filters with flow control. I haven't really noticed much of dinner hanging about by 2-3pm the next day. The best thing I've found is to change water frequently and make sure you're using carbon. I know what you mean about the fear of the tank crashing though. I'm hoping the 29 gallons will help with that. I'm going to get some more gorgonians too.

 

[smartorl]

Do you have deep sea gorgs or fan? My guys aren't impressed with the fan gorgs at all. Their favorite hitching post is a dead fan gorg though.
I do have two deep sea gorg's on order that should be delivered next week.
The babies are getting more mobile so I feel that I can cut back now that they can move to the food. Feeding that much just goes against every fiber of my being, lol.
I have a HOB filter with the flow adjusted down. It is a 15 gallon and I am changing out a half a gallon every four days. So far my water params are great but I still worry.
I am thinking about trying to set up a 1 gallon refugium for a nursery for the babies in the future just to ensure their needs are met and moving the older crew into a larger tank.

 

[bronco300]

you know you could also syphon all the excess out after you leave the bbs in the tank for quite a while to feed...then syphon, put in a cup and reload them on supplements and feed again later as either the third snack type meal, or the next days

 

[texasmetal]

For what it's worth, sounds like something was wrong with those Neon Gobies. They are very hardy fish... was my first saltwater fish, and I seriously doubt it would be too stressful on ponies, but then again, if they're babies... probably not a good idea.
Clown Gobies will steal the food from the ponies. They are totally different from Neon's, can be pretty bold. Most of the time they perch on rock, but they aren't shy.
We actually have a yellow coris wrasse, a pearly jawfish, and a pajama cardinal in our Erectus tank, but it's also a 60 gallon, so everyone has their own space, and the ponies have tons of hitching posts all over the tank, including a mobile post aka Alligator Pipefish who is a pig. This setup has been working smoothly for quite sometime, with the exception of a yellow cucumber nuking it several months ago.
Sorry, that's probably more info than you wanted.