goby question

tripleup05

tripleup05

Member
Its been really hard for me to get a straight answer on this...I really like the way that shrimp gobies hang out with certain shrimp species. its just really cool to watch in my opinion. but i've heard from some people that was the goby digs into your sandbed, it destroys the critters and bacteria that make it live in the first place, which hurts part of your biological filter (plus i paid a crapload for live sand and dont want it destroyed!) and ofcourse some people say that they dont harm anything. i cant tell what to believe. but are they any gobies and shrimp that will form a relationship w/o messin with the sandbed too bad? i'm really interested in gettin a pair of these guys, but dont want to mess anything up either. thanks!
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Yes they do dig into the sand bed, but they don't destroy any bacteria. They don't destroy to much of anything...'cept each other if you get 2 that are not a male/female pair.
The shrimp and goby are fine to add...
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
Generally the shrimp gobies dont dig very much. They are not really good at it and depend on the shrimp to dig and mantain the burrow. The sleeper gobies on the other hand are very very very good at digging. I have two Tiger sleepers that have dug under nearly every thing in my tank. In only a month.
 
rickster

rickster

Member
Im trying to grow copepods in my sandbed. I think anything that stirs the sand and doesnt eat copepods is good. But what the hell do I know ...Im on a new tank adventure. The health of a sandbed in an enclosed environment is relative to your purpose. What do you want the sand bed to do for you? If you are only worried about its filtration purposes, then I would say...let nature take its course.....and you deal with the final nitrogen load. You always want bacteria to make nitrogen gas bubbles in your sand...when your sand stops doing that...the sandbed has stopped being a filter.
Live sand should always "breathe". That is to say you can visually see bubbles rising out of it. In a healthy tank these bubbles are nitrogen gas...which is the bottom of the nitrogen cycle. The bacteria that creates these bubbles are converting nitrites and nitrates into nitrogen gas and releasing them from the tank (I expect chemistry experts to chime in here).
As far as fish that bury into the sand....like gobies....geez.....they dont eat bacteria.
 
jonny bolt

jonny bolt

Member
I have an Orange Spotted Goby, and he doesnt dig tunnels or anything in the sand. He does hang out on the bottom though, and likes to perch on things.
 
Y

yeffre kix

Guest
Originally Posted by Rickster
oh yeah...one more thing. Im not sure those

[hr]
gobies dont eat my pods.
Actually they do eat the pods. Thats one of the things they are looking for when they sift the sand through their mouths. Lots of different fish eat pods naturally. I'ts surprising how little creatures can be fed apon by larger fish. If you want to grow pods you would have better luck with a refugium so preditors can't eat your pods.
 
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