Crafting The Perfect Desert Goby Tank

[pica_nuttalli]

hello again! all this recent forum activity of mine has given me the fish bug again and I'm already dreaming up my next tank for when I move to New York... in four years I think I want a 20g long with DESERT GOBIES. I'm thinking pool filter sand, holey limestone, tiger nerites, <1.005 salinity... but what else? I need suggestions, people!

Tankmates

• should be super hardy
• should like very hard, slightly brackish water
• can be tropical or subtropical
• ideally would be from the same biotope (ok, so I'm dreaming on this one)

Plants!

• would love a floating plant of some sort
• am sick of java fern; that stuff does NOT stop reproducing
• don't care for java moss or its cousins
• anyone know if Marimo balls would stand hard water?

 

[dizzied]

I also happen to be in New York, and had Desert Gobies in a 20g long. Go, coincidence, go! I had them in freshwater though.

 

[nmonks]

By desert gobies do you mean Chlamydogobius eremius, from Australia?

Very cool little fish. Keep 'em however you want. They're fine from (hard) freshwater through to water more salty than the sea. Slightly brackish does seem to be a good balance between expense and success. Temperature from just above freezing to over 30 Celsius. Eat anything, even flake, but mostly algae and small invertebrates in the wild. The only warnings I'd give are that the males are fairly territorial, and also that they're good at jumping out of uncovered tanks.

I'd certainly concur with your use of sand and rocks. These are frenetic burrowers, and should breed readily given good conditions. Since they're fairly short lived, rearing at least a few offspring will be worthwhile. Unlike most gobies, the fry are large and easily reared. In a mature tank with lots of algae, they'll probably find enough micro organisms to complement whatever liquid/powdered fry foods you choose to use.

Cheers, Neale

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Since they're fairly short lived, rearing at least a few offspring will be worthwhile. Unlike most gobies, the fry are large and easily reared. In a mature tank with lots of algae, they'll probably find enough micro organisms to complement whatever liquid/powdered fry foods you choose to use.

Cheers, Neale

so it sounds like you recommend a species tank set up as a breeding colony, mm? would i need to separate out the fry or it is reasonable to expect some to make it past "natural selection" without assistance?

one last question for you, neale: are there any other fish that would be from their biosystem? it sounds like its pretty much just the desert gobies and inverts living together in the wild.

oo, and would i be correct in assuming that these guys like very little current? i'll need to figure out if i need just one or two filters on this tank!

 

[nmonks]

As I understand it, these gobies are a bit like the pupfish you get in the American Southwest: they're pretty much the only fish that tolerate these extreme conditions. So they live in habitats where it's just these gobies, algae, and whatever insects fly into the pool to breed or feed. Here's a good place to start:

http/www.desertfishes.org/australia/

That said, I'm told they mix well. Richard Mleczko keeps them with mudskippers of similar size (in brackish water, of course). I've not bred these fish personally, but what I'm told is they're short lived but pretty easy to spawn. (Again, much like pupfish.) Bruce Hansen describes them as being practically annual fish, only rarely getting past two years of age. I'd recommend pulling at least some of the fry and rearing in a breeding net, just to be on the safe side.

Water current isn't important, but I'd provide at least some movement. While they tolerate a range of conditions in the wild, it's often the case that under aquarium conditions, you want to optimise things as far as possible.

Cheers, Neale

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Neale, have I called you a wealth of knowledge lately? Because you are Thanks for the link; its just the fodder I needed for my Fantasy Fish League.

 

[Gina17]

Does anyone know any other fis that like slightly brackish water ?? and does anyone know how to stop them breeding as some times its hard to get two of the same sex