Bumble Bee Goby

[dnn3]

just went to the lfs and and saw a bumble bee goby in a freshwater tank and i did some research and found conflicting answers.could i add 2 to my community tank?

 

[dnn3]

anybody out there?

 

[emzyp]

anybody out there?

bubmblebee gobies are brackish fish,they need salt in the tank, therefore wouldnt be suitable for a community tank

 

[rocknurworld2006]

anybody out there?

bubmblebee gobies are brackish fish,they need salt in the tank, therefore wouldnt be suitable for a community tank

yep agreed are not for freshwater set ups so no u cant add them to a community set up

 

[dnn3]

the reason i asked this because like i said,i read conflicting answers.i read that their are 2 types and one can live comfortably in fresh water.

 

[Corleone]

From nmonks posts, the purely freshwater species is so rare that many museum collections don't have preserved specimens. However, he also says that brackish water isn't essential for them. Other factors, like difficulty feeding, might affect wether they'd be suitable for your tank, though.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...st&p=926099

 

[dnn3]

even more conflicting answers.

 

[Corleone]

Well, nmonks wrote a book on brackish fish, and is citing another book on the matter. I tend to trust him when his advice is in conflict with other sources.

 

[dnn3]

so by what he said it could be done.but others on that thread said no.i've seen his posts before and he is obviously very knowledgeable.so should i?

 

[Corleone]

I'd ask in the oddballs section, possibly some better answers there - I've read they can be hard to feed, and are slow feeders that get easily outcompeted. Just going by nmonks post there, feeding considerations would be a bigger worry than water conditions, since I don't think any of the fish listed in your 30 gallon would eat them.

 

[dnn3]

i was a little concerned about the rams and the one at the fish store was very small.my tank has a decent current and i'm sure he would get food.still unsure about it though.

 

[andywg]

I have successfully kept BBG in FW communities. Naomi Deventhal (a gobiologist who wrote the goby section for nmonks's book) keeps BBG in FW. Identifying a BBG to a species level requires scale counting under microscopes however most of those imported do appear to be Brachygobius doriae which in the wild are found in brackish water and even acidic freshwater.

As noted above, issues with getting the fish to feed is probably a bigger killer than whether the water is brackish or not. They tend to shun flake or pellet food and sometimes require live foods (daphnia or bloodworm) to get them feeding. Taking the time to truly check whether an individual fish is eating and offering alternatives is more common amongst those who go to the lengths to set up brackish tanks and as such this area is likely to have a better success rate in keeping these fish.

So, it is perfectly possible to keep BBG in FW, though they will require a little more care and observation than many other community fish.

 

[dnn3]

thank you and i'm pretty observant on both my tanks.i would'nt be doing it right away as they only had a very small one.i would like to start with 2.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

thank you and i'm pretty observant on both my tanks.i would'nt be doing it right away as they only had a very small one.i would like to start with 2.

wat u putting it in with?

 

[dnn3]

a pair of german rams,2 angelic botia loaches,2 rubber lip plecs,1 clown plec,a pair of swordtails,3 mollies,and a fire belly newt.still not sure if i'm going to do it.i got a post in the oddballs section from nmonks saying his main concern would be feeding them.