The down low on a diamond goby

[myckei]

So, everyone says they are one of the best sand sifters for the tank. Well great I want one! But then I read from another post on SWF that they kill off your LS over time.
My tank is still young ( less than 6 months ). Is there anything that I can seed my tank with other than copepods? Is there bacteria to add for the tank if needed to keep it alive if this fish is going to ravish my sand bed? And one last thing ( sorry for all the ?'s but ), how long can it be in the tank befor it wipes out the live sand of everything good a healthy tank needs?

 

[desertdawg]

I'm kind of interested in this too, I ordered a Golden Headed Sleeper Goby that should be here this week so any info would be cool!

 

[myckei]

Have you heard anything like this about this fish?

 

[desertdawg]

I probably read the same thread you did about the sand sifters cleaning out all the good stuff from the sand.
I ordered the Golden Headed because I couldn't find anywhere that said it was a jumper like the Diamond Headed ones are.
I want to have a clean sand bed so I hope he does the trick, but at the same time I curious as to what will happen if he does too good of a job.
What will be the consequences of a sand bed thats too clean?

 

[myckei]

It's like you read all the information you can to make an educated and thought out purchase then " wham" two steps back and back to the drawing board!

 

[big]

Here is my "Canned" post about these little guys.......... I have had the same monster for about three years now, even without a cover on the tank He is now about 7 inches..............
The one fish to have if you want a spotless substrate is this guy. Diamond Goby (aka) Rotor-tiller fish). Many folks use this guy. But they have many downfalls too.
The issues with them are number one, they tend to be jumpers ( no issues with mine) quiet home no kids anymore to startle him with noise. Also a nearly 50 gallon fuge feeding the little pod eater. I have seen where they are tide poll skippers. As long as they have food in this "little tide pool" I think they do not tend to try to leave the pool (jump out of your tank) But it your tank runs out of pods etc , carpet surfing 101 seems to be their next class in school.
The do eat just about anything in the substrate (pods included) leaving the substrate barren of critters. Next, they will rearrange the landscaping of your substrate regularly!! If you have a "DSB" he will make mountains out of it in places. One other big issue is hiding any Frags left within his reach, they will magically vanish. Other than the above issues, they are just about unbeatable at keeping the substrate clean, but you pay the cost of living with these issues forever more. Plus they really are a neat fish to watch work.........
As a post mark to the above old post. I find today after several years in the tank, the moving of sand is far less of an issue. These days, he seems to spend a great deal of time in one of his caves just peering out looking for a handout.
Here is a shot of mine going for another scoop.....

Good Luck.... Warren

 

[flower]

The Sand sifters do eat the critters out of the sand...I do not clean my back glass and there is plenty of algae for the fish to graze on and it keeps the tank healthy just like critters in the sand do, as well as plenty of live rock.
A refugium is what will help to reseed the tank, there are hang on the back types. It is not something you have to purchase right away.
Depending on the size tank...the microfauna grows so fast the sand sifter can't eat it up that fast. I have had a sand sifting goby in my tank for 4 years and my tank is doing great. I did have to replace my goby, my sister only fed the fish algae cubes for a month I was not home and my goby sarved. I reseeded the tank with pods, waited a few months and bought another.
I have never had one jump, and mine eats brine shrimp as well as sifting sand...it won't starve.

 

[desertdawg]

Any info on the Golden Headed Sleeper, or should I expect about the same behavior?
Thanks for the info, sometimes it's personal experience thats provides the most!

 

[big]

Originally Posted by Desertdawg
http:///forum/post/3140513
Any info on the Golden Headed Sleeper, or should I expect about the same behavior?
Thanks for the info, sometimes it's personal experience thats provides the most!
Similar in what they do, a friend has a pair in her tank..... I have read they do better in pairs... No so for the Diamond..........

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by big
http:///forum/post/3140518
Similar in what they do, a friend has a pair in her tank..... I have read they do better in pairs... No so for the Diamond..........

I have had both types over the years.
Sleeper gobies get bigger than diamonds, I always read you can only keep 1 in a tank. Unless it is a really big tank. Oh and sleepers travel with the sand ..a diamond will stay on the bottom of the tank. A sleeper will get a mouth full of sand and swim with it...dropping sand on corals and rock as it travels about half way up the tank..very annoying. Personally I think the sleeper is a better looking fish...I love the yellow head.
P.S.
Diamonds can do the same just not as a rule, diamonds like to make little piles of sand and bury corals on the bottom of the tank.

 

[desertdawg]

Thanks, my sleeper gobie was added to my order already this morning, hopefully they ship everything out this afternoon

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Desertdawg
http:///forum/post/3140598
Thanks, my sleeper gobie was added to my order already this morning, hopefully they ship everything out this afternoon

Congratulations! Keep us posted. Make sure your corals are up high and those you have low, like mushrooms...turn them on thier sides so sand can fall off.

 

[myckei]

Can you seed your tank with other live critters besides pods? And if so what? Thanks all great fish minds

!

 

[big]

Originally Posted by Myckei
http:///forum/post/3140899
Can you seed your tank with other live critters besides pods? And if so what? Thanks all great fish minds

!
Other foods are not the issue with them. It is just if you get one they will deplete your pod population period. I have a really big well stocked fuge (1000's of pods)on my systems. Their is never a pod to be seen in my DT

It is just are sand sifters plus endless eating machines........ They will eat just about anything that fits in their mouth and somethings that don't........Once mine decided to chomp down a whole Algae tab I was feeding to an Emerald Crab. He got the whole thing in his mouth. It seems like forever as I watched him try to swallow something that did not fit........I was afraid the little idiot was going to choke to death till the darn thing finally dissolved enough for him to swallow it..... Good Luck with your little beast....Here are a couple more shots of him showing that mouth and in the one that typically sand flying issue

...........

 

[big]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3140586

I have had both types over the years.
Sleeper gobies get bigger than diamonds, I always read you can only keep 1 in a tank. Unless it is a really big tank. Oh and sleepers travel with the sand ..a diamond will stay on the bottom of the tank. A sleeper will get a mouth full of sand and swim with it...dropping sand on corals and rock as it travels about half way up the tank..very annoying. Personally I think the sleeper is a better looking fish...I love the yellow head.
P.S.
Diamonds can do the same just not as a rule, diamonds like to make little piles of sand and bury corals on the bottom of the tank.

Hey Flower here is where I was reading about pairs working well,, Sorry mods for the .com
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/mari...dedSleeper.php

 

[bama man]

I too have a sleeper. He's been in the DT for 3-4 months now and is a lot of fun to watch. Initially he stayed hidden in the caves peering out at us, but now he's out in the open a lot. As stated in a previous reply, they do rearrange the sand bed quite often. Ours leave little mountains all over the place but that's no big deal. I did have to relocate some GSP that I had on the bottom of the DT. I lost one bunch of it because the sleeper had completely buried it, so beware. I hope you enjoy watching yours.

 

[desertdawg]

Originally Posted by Desertdawg
http:///forum/post/3140598
Thanks, my sleeper gobie was added to my order already this morning, hopefully they ship everything out this afternoon
Well this was the one fish that didn't arrive alive, I'm going to check a LFS on friday for one.