Golden headed sleeper goby

[watertight]

I was thinking about getting one or 2 of these for my 40 gal tank, as a clean-up crew that's good to watch as well. Any probs with compatibility, tank size, etc? ATM I have a bta and 2 blue/green reef chromis, and I also plan on getting a pair of Occelaris clowns. I would also like to add a royal gramma, space permitting. Would this be a reasonable list of compatible fish, and how would I go for stocking? I am running a small HOB, 2 p/heads, a skimmer and about 30 lbs of liverock atm, and am slowly adding more l/r.
Also, would one of these gobies be ok with a pistol shrimp in the tank? I suspect I have one, (tried everything to find it, but can't), andI don't want to add a fish that's going to be eaten!
Thanks in advance....

 

[schadiest1]

You are thinking about adding up to 7 fish in a 40 gallon tank? That is too many IMO.
I don't believe the pistol shrimp would harm any fish.

 

[dogstar]

You only have a BTA and two chromis now.
So, if you add a GHS goby will give you three. The Goby is a sand sifter and in a small tank can cause the water to look clowdy from stiring up debris as well as depleat the sand of benifical organisums and possibly slowly starve. IMO they need large healthy amounts of LIVE SAND. Two should be a maited pair only or they may fight. A risk of the anemone getting them also if they get startled and swim into it. Also they are jumpers.
Adding two clowns may be your best choice but with two damsels all ready in the tank you could have territorial problems because theres not much territory in a 40g.
The Grama is VERY territorial so IMO bad choice.
Slowly add livestock of your choice ( after research ) and test to see if your filtration can keep up with bioload.

 

[watertight]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
.
Adding two clowns may be your best choice but with two damsels all ready in the tank you could have territorial problems because theres not much territory in a 40g.
OK, bad idea - that's what these boards are for I guess - to stop newbies from me from having catastrophic failures! lol
The Chromis I bought because they were rated as peaceful. I did have a blue Damsel in there but replaced him with these because everything I read about them said they were peaceful and tolerant of other fish. I do realise they are of the same family as damsels, but are they just as aggressive?
As for the Goby, I was just looking for something to help with the sand clean-up - I don't particularly like Hermit crabs (Had 1 die under a bit of l/r in my nano tank and didn't find out till it crashed the whole tank), any ideas what I can use without having probs?

 

[jdragunas]

i agree.. i have 7 fish in my 55, but i have a 75 gallon filter. That's too many fish for a 40 gallon tank. i would suggest maybe only 4 fish. with your filter only being a HOB, and with only 30 lbs of LR, 4 fish may be pushing it too. As far as having clownfish and the blue/green damsels, these are the two least aggresssive type of damsel, so IMO, you'd be ok, but it's not guaranteed that your clowns will mate, and if they don't, it'll be a fight to the death...

 

[jdragunas]

oh yeah, as far as a cleanup crew, if you have enough water flow over the sandbed it shouldn't get dirty. Then you can have a bunch of snails. a handful of turbos, astreas, and about 10-15 nassarius snails. As far as hermits go, i understand your hesitation, but really, if anything dies in your nano, it's bye bye. In a 40 gallon tank, a dead hermit crab won't crash your system... it might not even effect it at all. Don't allow that bad experience in your nano deter you from hermits. They are actually a really good addition to any clean-up crew.

 

[fishmamma]

Originally Posted by watertight
OK, bad idea - that's what these boards are for I guess - to stop newbies from me from having catastrophic failures! lol
The Chromis I bought because they were rated as peaceful. I did have a blue Damsel in there but replaced him with these because everything I read about them said they were peaceful and tolerant of other fish. I do realise they are of the same family as damsels, but are they just as aggressive?
As for the Goby, I was just looking for something to help with the sand clean-up - I don't particularly like Hermit crabs (Had 1 die under a bit of l/r in my nano tank and didn't find out till it crashed the whole tank), any ideas what I can use without having probs?
You MAY have problems with the chromis and a pair of clowns but I would say that things will most likely be fine. Since the clowns will be a pair they should mind their own business for the most part and will hopefully on be territorial over their 'spot' once they pick it. I think a royal gramma would be a great addition, they are wonderful tank mates for most fish, clowns and gobies especially. edit: go for ocellaris clowns if possible, the least aggressive of the species.
Do you have a ton of sand sifting snails? Try adding lots of cerith and/or nassarius to keep the sand bed stirred up. JDrag is right though, a dead hermit will not crash your tank.

 

[watertight]

Thanks for the replies. I think I've decided (Based on your advice) that I'll get a pair of Occelaris clowns a bit further down the track, but until then I'll add a bit more liverock, some more snails and MAYBE a hermit or 2 (Once bitten twice shy lol). My wife wanted a false gamma, I thought a royal gramma seemed like a better option, I think I'll go for neither. 4 fish would be plenty in that tank, what was I thinking?? lol

 

[fishmamma]

The false gramma is not nearly as laid back as the royal.

I also think if you stock slowly those 5 fish would be OK if you keep up with your weekly/bi-weekly water changes, but maybe I am wrong here. Plan on adding a protein skimmer down the road by any chance?

 

[jdragunas]

you could be ok with five fish, as long as you have enough filtration. With the filter you have now, and the amount of LR, you won't have enough filtration (IMO) to keep 5 fish. However, if you add a protein skimmer, and maybe double the amount of LR in your tank, it may be possible. You should wait a while before you add the oscellaris clowns, and wait a long time after you add them to add another fish. Adding two fish at once could cause a spike in ammonia, so you have to keep your eye on that... also, it'll take a longer time for your system to catch up to two additional fish, which is why you should wait a while before adding fish after your clowns (if you even decide to do so.)

 

[watertight]

I am running a skimmer - it's an old submerged/air operated one, but it does fill it's cup with dirty water on a regular basis. So which would be the better option, false gramma or royal gramma? Still not sure if I'll get either yet, at least not for a while, anyway...

 

[oceanists]

i was going to get a gold head sleeper but i have zoos and the LFS said that if i have zoos the goby will irritate them by dropping sand on them all the time , so i made the smart desicion and didnt get one , theyre awesome thoguh

 

[fishmamma]

Originally Posted by watertight
I am running a skimmer - it's an old submerged/air operated one, but it does fill it's cup with dirty water on a regular basis. So which would be the better option, false gramma or royal gramma? Still not sure if I'll get either yet, at least not for a while, anyway...
Royal for sure, much better tank mate.