Engineer Gobies are the coolest fish to watch! What other fish are like them?

[zeromus-x]

I've only had these guys for probably a month and they do everything together. I got them both the same day, from the same tank... who knows how that affects things... but literally, it's like one is a mirror image of the other. They always either face the same way or the opposite way, they're always right next to each other, and if one does something, the other watches and then does it. They're trying to "dig", I guess, and they'll just go back and forth slamming into the ground.
But they sure as heck aren't DOING anything! Is my sand packed down too tight or something? They are accomplishing absolutely nothing at all, and it looks pretty silly (and painful!). One goes down, flips sideways, hits the ground... then they both look at me outside the tank... then the other does it... then they both look at me... this can repeat for half an hour!
I'm about to get some more fish as well, since my lobster ate pretty much my whole friggin' tank setup ("No, he won't eat any of your fish! He'll eat the shrimp! He won't attack the fish!" ... except for the Clownfish... and the Royal Gramma... and the Mandarin... grr). I want more playful fish like this, that are always out in the open and moving around! Any suggestions??

 

[chandler04]

That sounds pretty cool, those engineer gobies. You think that they should go in pairs though. All right, really though, on a scale of 1-10, wat is the coolness of these fish?

 

[zeromus-x]

Well, the first week or two, they pretty much hid in the back corner of the tank and never came out except to eat. After that, though, they're constantly in the front of the tank (it's got a curved glass front), and constantly watching me here on the chair. They both remain no more than an inch away from each other at any point in time. They seem to get along with my yellowtail damsel pretty well, and the lobster didn't eat them, which is a major plus.
They eat a lot, and if you have any fish that take their time getting to the food, you're going to not want them. If I put a piece of frozen brine shrimp in the top of the tank, they'll eat the majority of it before it gets halfway down. And as weird as this is going to sound, they have the largest crap of any fish I've ever seen. Seriously! It's massive and just sits at the bottom of the tank.
I haven't been doing the fish thing for very long so I don't know if I could really give them a rating... but they're definitely worth the money. I don't know how one would act, but a small group seems ideal to me.
Addendum: Your new Lionfish would slurp them up like spaghetti noodles... they're skinny and long, like an eel.

 

[jscarb2]

they also get very big! i had 4 that where an 1 inch long a year ago (in my 180) they are close to 10 inchs now.i gave 2 of them to my brother.they also go through a color pattern change

 

[rdmoore2]

I got a little engineer myself. When I first got him he was swimming right next to the glass but for the last week I just don't see the thing except when he eats. I sure hope he starts swimming in the open. You said it takes about 1 year for them to get big???? I was hoping it was alot longer than that. I only have a 20 long so a 12" fish isn't going to be all that happy. I had planned to trade/get rid of him once he hit the 6-7" mark. But yes they are a very nice species that is unlike any other fish I see in the LFS.

 

[jscarb2]

you will only see them when they are eating.sometimes you will see their head poking out from under the rocks.they are not really a fish to be seen much

 

[rdmoore2]

I was afraid of that. When I bought him/her at the fish store they were constantly swimming. Granted they had about 15-20 in less than 10 gallons. I thought they would do it in my aquarium as well but he went underground. How in the world did you manage to catch yours? I cant imagine catching this little thing unless I tear up all of the rocks.

 

[zeromus-x]

Mine stay out of the rocks all day now... weird.
As if they knew I made this thread, one of them has actually dug itself quite the little hole in one corner of my aquarium. Instead of just slamming himself against the ground, trying to get in there, he decided it'd work much better if he just started putting the sand in his mouth and move it somewhere else. Decent little trench now exists. Pretty cool to watch.

 

[jscarb2]

once they build all their tunnels that is when they are not seen as much.they will build them by moving the sand in their mouths.