Just got a diamond watchman Goby......is he a problem?

[severelysalty]

I have been reading a lot of posts on here about this type of Goby being bad for my ecosystem due to over-sifting the sand, how they are hard to keep alive because of feeding and just wanted some advice for anyone who's had one or knows more about the species. My tank is 55 gallon, has been up about 18 months and has a well-established ecosystem of liverocks with tons of algae and bristleworms, everything else in the tank seems to be healthy (1 coral beauty angel, 1 tomato clown, 2 hermit crabs and 2 scissor tail gobies). They have all been alive over a year with the exception of the scissor tail gobies I got about a month ago. What types of problems can I look for with over sifting the sand? I have a 1-2" bed of live sand, and other than two small hermit crabs nothing cleans it. As for the watchman goby not getting enough food, I feed frozen brine shrimp and also flake food.....today when I put him in the tank he did seem freaked out, understandably, but he still ate the flake food I added. Any suggestions on keeping him healthy?

 

[jay0705]

If hes eating flake your fine. I have a golden sleeper goby that are sup to be hard to keep alive. He eats anything frozen I put in my tank. The over sifting is they dont care where they scatter it. On your rock, coral, ect thats the issue people have w um

 

[severelysalty]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jay0705 http:///t/397441/just-got-a-diamond-watchman-goby-is-he-a-problem#post_3542278
If hes eating flake your fine. I have a golden sleeper goby that are sup to be hard to keep alive. He eats anything frozen I put in my tank. The over sifting is they dont care where they scatter it. On your rock, coral, ect thats the issue people have w um
Yes so in the 24 hours he has been in the tank he has settled into the area of live rock I created for him, he isn't being harassed by my bitchy tomato clown anymore and he is sifting like a madman......half of my 55 gallon tank looks beautiful and brand new and I never kept the sand even anyway because both the angel and the clown dig around and I want it to look like the ocean, not some overly groomed OCD project......I wish I had real corals but I think overall I feel like I'm snorkeling when I sit and look at it from the side especially so I'm fine with him throwing sand all over everything, just don't want him to starve. Today I gave them bottom sinking pellets, flake and frozen brine shrimp (I am totally aware of over feeding and I only have the two small hermit crabs) but since my new goby sifted so much I wasn't sure if he's looking for food or just messing around with the sand and making himself comfy.........and yes all of that food was eaten by the fish within 10 minutes so I hope he got some, kinda hard to tell with the brine shrimp bc they're hard to see....I just keep reading about people having them for a month then they die and I want to know how to tell if he's starving or not.....yesterday he was freaking out and on the surface bc the clown was bothering him so I saw him eat the flake, tonight I'm not sure what he ate or if he was full from cleaning my 18 month old sand

 

[jay0705]

Mine eats daily when I feed, but . Still sifts. So the sifting is normal. Get a few more hermits they will help w extra food

 

[severelysalty]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jay0705 http:///t/397441/just-got-a-diamond-watchman-goby-is-he-a-problem#post_3542355
Mine eats daily when I feed, but . Still sifts. So the sifting is normal. Get a few more hermits they will help w extra food
Oh I think I'm going to wait on the hermits.....I have renamed my Goby "Sifty" as he is literally crashing all the caves I had built up with live rock, clearly feels very comfortable establishing a personal habitat in every area of the tank and he's cleaning up more than I have to clean, I will keep a close watch on the water tests but I don't suspect overfeeding is an issue at the moment, he is very actively remodeling my tank lol.

 

[flower]

Hi,

Your rocks should not be so unstable that the fish can topple them...you can't build on shifting sand, the rocks need to be on the very bottom of the tank. A rock slide could crush the critters or break the tank. The fish sifts all the time, if it ever stops sifting, it's sick. They are cleaning all of the fauna from the sand and feeding on it. If the fish is eating other food he should live a long and healthy life. Most times, once the fauna is depleted they starve to death. The constant sifting and moving the sand is what makes it look so clean, since nothing can settle on it.

Frozen brine shrimp is fish candy, and not good for a regular diet...try Mysis shrimp instead...it costs the same, but is much better for the fish. I always found flake food pollutes the tank worse then all other food choices, and I personally wouldn't use it.

 

[jay0705]

A good cuc is never a bad idea. Hermits, shrimp, snails. All help keep a balanced tank

 

[severelysalty]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/397441/just-got-a-diamond-watchman-goby-is-he-a-problem#post_3542569
Hi,

Your rocks should not be so unstable that the fish can topple them...you can't build on shifting sand, the rocks need to be on the very bottom of the tank. A rock slide could crush the critters or break the tank. The fish sifts all the time, if it ever stops sifting, it's sick. They are cleaning all of the fauna from the sand and feeding on it. If the fish is eating other food he should live a long and healthy life. Most times, once the fauna is depleted they starve to death. The constant sifting and moving the sand is what makes it look so clean, since nothing can settle on it.

Frozen brine shrimp is fish candy, and not good for a regular diet...try Mysis shrimp instead...it costs the same, but is much better for the fish. I always found flake food pollutes the tank worse then all other food choices, and I personally wouldn't use it.
Thank you for your reply.....so I did expect all my fish to dig out some of their habitat but gave them plenty of rock and space and no one is being crushed, these hermits are resilient beyond belief as I'm sure you know......Goby is quite destructive and I'm fine with him throwing all my rock around, he literally dug to the bottom on my 2 inch base of sand, crushed two "artistically arranged areas" which is fine as long as my other fish deal with it.....I love his sifting, Ive never tried to even out the sand or let it be anything but what the fish made it. It's an ocean in a box and I won't interfere but I do have concerns of him starving since I read about it.........he has been sifting through really dirty 18 month old sand and hopefully eating the over feeding diet of brine shrimp, drop pellets and flake I'd been adding after learning he could starve......so what is the deal with Mysis......is that the live shrimp? How do I know he will eat it vs my other fish? No food has polluted my tank, everyone is hungry, I had crabs and shrimp and my fish are binge eating so how do I help my sifter stay alive?

 

[severelysalty]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jay0705 http:///t/397441/just-got-a-diamond-watchman-goby-is-he-a-problem#post_3542572
A good cuc is never a bad idea. Hermits, shrimp, snails. All help keep a balanced tank
Like I mentioned before, my hermits are a stable reliable source, but my shrimp and sally light foot crab appeared to get eaten when I got my angel fish.....

 

[jay0705]

Mysis is a frozen food, sold like frozen brine

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SeverelySalty http:///t/397441/just-got-a-diamond-watchman-goby-is-he-a-problem#post_3542683
Thank you for your reply.....so I did expect all my fish to dig out some of their habitat but gave them plenty of rock and space and no one is being crushed, these hermits are resilient beyond belief as I'm sure you know......Goby is quite destructive and I'm fine with him throwing all my rock around, he literally dug to the bottom on my 2 inch base of sand, crushed two "artistically arranged areas" which is fine as long as my other fish deal with it.....I love his sifting, Ive never tried to even out the sand or let it be anything but what the fish made it. It's an ocean in a box and I won't interfere but I do have concerns of him starving since I read about it.........he has been sifting through really dirty 18 month old sand and hopefully eating the over feeding diet of brine shrimp, drop pellets and flake I'd been adding after learning he could starve......so what is the deal with Mysis......is that the live shrimp? How do I know he will eat it vs my other fish? No food has polluted my tank, everyone is hungry, I had crabs and shrimp and my fish are binge eating so how do I help my sifter stay alive?

Hi,

Mysis shrimp is frozen food as well, and found in the same place at the pet store. It's just more nutritious then brine shrimp for your finned buddies. The pollution I'm talking about are phosphates, (think of it as an invisible killer, it feeds algae big time) all fish food contains it, but flake food and pellets are the worst. Frozen foods should be rinsed to try and keep as much as possible from entering the tank. I just put the cube in a net and hold it under running water for a moment until it melts, then invert the net to release the food into the tank.

My sand sifter Goby was my favorite fish back when I kept a reef tank. I never bothered it's re-arrangements either, I figured it's their world to live in, I just visit.

My 1st sand sifter began eating the frozen Mysis that floated to the bottom of the tank...he began eating it on his own, so when the fauna was depleted he stayed alive and well...I gave him away... I don't really remember the circumstances now. However I did lose a sifter to starvation once.... I had no idea why it starved, that's when I found out about the fauna. If your sifter is already feeding on food the other fish eat, you shouldn't have a problem. The sifter will sift whether there is fauna or not...if it ever stops, it is sick and going to die.

You should not have space under the sand between the rock... so far so good nothing has been crushed and the tank not broken. I really recommend that you push the rocks deeper until they touch the bottom of the tank. The sifter will re-arrange the sand around the rocks instead of under them....that's much safer.

 

[jay0705]

Generally dwarf angels wont hurt shrimp, crabs and such. Maybe nip at clam mantels but thats it. However they are more sensitive to water chemistry then fish. So if u have elevated nitrates or nitrites that could do it or fluctuating salinity. Inverts do like it a big higher. 1.023-1.026 range.

 

[severelysalty]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/397441/just-got-a-diamond-watchman-goby-is-he-a-problem#post_3542734

Hi,

Mysis shrimp is frozen food as well, and found in the same place at the pet store. It's just more nutritious then brine shrimp for your finned buddies. The pollution I'm talking about are phosphates, (think of it as an invisible killer, it feeds algae big time) all fish food contains it, but flake food and pellets are the worst. Frozen foods should be rinsed to try and keep as much as possible from entering the tank. I just put the cube in a net and hold it under running water for a moment until it melts, then invert the net to release the food into the tank.

My sand sifter Goby was my favorite fish back when I kept a reef tank. I never bothered it's re-arrangements either, I figured it's their world to live in, I just visit.

My 1st sand sifter began eating the frozen Mysis that floated to the bottom of the tank...he began eating it on his own, so when the fauna was depleted he stayed alive and well...I gave him away... I don't really remember the circumstances now. However I did lose a sifter to starvation once.... I had no idea why it starved, that's when I found out about the fauna. If your sifter is already feeding on food the other fish eat, you shouldn't have a problem. The sifter will sift whether there is fauna or not...if it ever stops, it is sick and going to die.

You should not have space under the sand between the rock... so far so good nothing has been crushed and the tank not broken. I really recommend that you push the rocks deeper until they touch the bottom of the tank. The sifter will re-arrange the sand around the rocks instead of under them....that's much safer.
Yes this is all good advice....Goby only sifts when he's eating, he eats the food and he does have a pension for spitting sand around and I have tried to anchor the rocks closer to the bottom glass so he won't kill anyone.....and honestly it was a mess at first but he's made the tank look very natural now....I've been snorkeling, it's not all perfect down there and I like what he's done with the tank.