Gobbies
- Thread starter viper911
- Start date
yellowtail
Active Member
depends what type of goby.
E
essop3
Guest
Jawfish need more than most other fish. About 4-6 inches. They bury themselves in a burrow.
dskidmore
Active Member
Do you want them to breed? If so an extremely deep sand bed (10") would be good for them. They'll probably be comfortable in normal circumstances with 4-6". I had someone try to convince me I could keep a jawfish in 2-3", but I didn't believe it after reading that they dig hugely deep tunnels for breeding.
duke13
Member
I have a Pearly Jaw in my tank and I only have 3 inches of sand. He does just fine and has never dug another hole since his first (I've had him for 6 months now). Now I can't say all Jawfish would be happy in 3 inches, I guess it just depends on the individual fish. BTW, I'm not breeding Jawfish....
dskidmore
Active Member
Thanks for the testomony! I may yet reconsider. I'm torn between a Yellowhead Jawfish and a Neon Blue Goby. The goby has the advantage of being a cleaner and not growing as large. The Jawfish however seems to have the most personality. The recomended 5-7" sand bed made the decision for me, that's not practical in a 50 gallon tank. If I could keep him happliy in 3", I'll have to re-think the decision.
dskidmore
Active Member
Yeah, but there's also the size factor.
50 Gallon tank
by rule of thumb, that's 10" of fish.
1 Black Cap Basslet 4" +
2 Neon Gobies 2" each
=8"
That gives me room leftover for another tiny, (yet undecided) fish to add at a later date.
1 Black Cap Basslet 4"
2 Yellowhead Jawfish 4" each
=12"
That pushes the bioload over the rule of thumb limit. Probably manageable, but I'd rather go underloaded.
I could just go with one jawfish, and be back at the 8" bioload, but then you miss out on the fish interaction. I love watching fish of the same species interact. If I had a huge tank, I'd fill it with a fleet of small schooling fish.
50 Gallon tank
by rule of thumb, that's 10" of fish.
1 Black Cap Basslet 4" +
2 Neon Gobies 2" each
=8"
That gives me room leftover for another tiny, (yet undecided) fish to add at a later date.
1 Black Cap Basslet 4"
2 Yellowhead Jawfish 4" each
=12"
That pushes the bioload over the rule of thumb limit. Probably manageable, but I'd rather go underloaded.
I could just go with one jawfish, and be back at the 8" bioload, but then you miss out on the fish interaction. I love watching fish of the same species interact. If I had a huge tank, I'd fill it with a fleet of small schooling fish.
duke13
Member
Not sure how you derive your rule of thumb. Here's mine: Take your tank size and divide by 2, that number equals the suggested inches of adult fish you can have in your tank.
So in your case, you can have 25 inches of adult fish. Now I wouldn't rely on this equation exclusively. I also take into effect of what I call the "poop-o-meter". Essentially you rate how much poo -load your fish are going to excrete.
I don't see a problem with you having your Basslet, 2 Clown Gobies, and the Pearly Jawfish.
So in your case, you can have 25 inches of adult fish. Now I wouldn't rely on this equation exclusively. I also take into effect of what I call the "poop-o-meter". Essentially you rate how much poo -load your fish are going to excrete.
I don't see a problem with you having your Basslet, 2 Clown Gobies, and the Pearly Jawfish.
reefer44
Member
just curious have you seen a neon goby.....they are definetly not show fish...so tiny u hardly every see them in your tank.....also most often tehy don't clean other fish inles you have some BIG fish in there......but jaw fish will keep your substrate pretty clean and you can easily have on with 1-3" sandbed causae they will just move it into a corner for a little spot to live in.....
Brad
Brad
dskidmore
Active Member
I don't mind small fish. My 20 gallon freshwater tank is full of guppies, and my snails are the little 1/4" ones.
My equasion is one inch of fish per 5 gallons of water, or tank size divided by 5. I've heard this one applied to saltwater as often as the 1 inch per gallon is for fresh.
I still have alot of time to think about this while I save up my money.
I've considered the possiblity of a retaining wall with deep sand behind it for the jawfish, so he can burrow as deep as he likes.
My equasion is one inch of fish per 5 gallons of water, or tank size divided by 5. I've heard this one applied to saltwater as often as the 1 inch per gallon is for fresh.
I still have alot of time to think about this while I save up my money.
I've considered the possiblity of a retaining wall with deep sand behind it for the jawfish, so he can burrow as deep as he likes.