Gobies For A Fish Only Marine Tank

[mlawson]

I have a spare 70 litre tank and was wondering what would be some interesting gobies I could keep on their own with no live rock corals etc. I've never kept Marine before but I guess I wouldn't need strong lighting. What would be the cheapest, easiest way to keep Gobies in a tank like this. I also want quite hardy and adaptable species if possible. I might also consider other tank mates if possible.

Would I need RO water or a skimmer? Basically I need to know what an ideal tank would be for them without having a reef tank.

If this plan fails I might have a go at keeping brackish water fish.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[dixaisy930]

You could definately keep clown gobies and neon gobies. You might even be able to keep some of the bigger ones, like yellow jawfish (not sure if that is the exact name for it).

Personally, I think LR is the best form of filtration for saltwater. It's really worth the money, which isn't really much more than buying a filter when you think about it. Lr and a powerhead is a good option for your size tank.

Normal lighting is ok, since you won't have corals.

Skimmer is probably not necessary, but RO water is a must.

I would also suggest you read the pinned topics in the saltwater sections.

 

[mlawson]

You could definately keep clown gobies and neon gobies. You might even be able to keep some of the bigger ones, like yellow jawfish (not sure if that is the exact name for it).

Personally, I think LR is the best form of filtration for saltwater. It's really worth the money, which isn't really much more than buying a filter when you think about it. Lr and a powerhead is a good option for your size tank.

Normal lighting is ok, since you won't have corals.

Skimmer is probably not necessary, but RO water is a must.

I would also suggest you read the pinned topics in the saltwater sections.

Thanks,
I should be able to obtain live rock and RO water. If there are some hardy corals I could keep in a tank with low lighting then I might also try. Yellow jawfish sound cool.

I'll take your advice and do some research, I was just seeing others views on this.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[dixaisy930]

Mushrooms!

They come is all sorts of different colors, and I believe can do ok with average lighting.

 

[Lynden]

Engineer gobies

 

[andywg]

You could definately keep clown gobies and neon gobies. You might even be able to keep some of the bigger ones, like yellow jawfish (not sure if that is the exact name for it).

except jawfish aren't gobies

Personally, I think LR is the best form of filtration for saltwater. It's really worth the money, which isn't really much more than buying a filter when you think about it. Lr and a powerhead is a good option for your size tank.

It depends. In a fish only one will often go for a higher bioload than LR alone can handle, whereupon other filters such as wet/dry come into their own. You just have to remember to maintain the filter regularly (at least once a week if possible).

Skimmer is probably not necessary, but RO water is a must.

In a fish only system a skimmer is more important than RO. RO water is used to control all the factors that affect inverts. Fish are far more tolerant of phosphate and nitrates than inverts. The skimmer will help remove nitrogenous waste before it can start to break down.

Most people stock a FO heavier than a reef tank but then throw a skimmer rated for 2-3x the tank's volume onto the tank to help process the waste.

 

[eschaton]

Personally, if you want a tank of that size with a goby as the focus, I'd get a watchman/shrimp goby, along with a pistol shrimp to make a formal pair. They're symbiotic - the shrimp is blind, but digs a tunnel for the goby to live in, and the goby warns the shrimp when danger is coming. You'll need a semi-special setup (coarse gravel more than 5 cm deep with "live rock rubble) in order to make sure the shrimp has room to dig around, but in a lot of ways they're better set up for the tank you want than a formal reef tank.

 

[mlawson]

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I will think about your advice.

except jawfish aren't gobies

I always thought Jawfish were gobies too.

It depends. In a fish only one will often go for a higher bioload than LR alone can handle, whereupon other filters such as wet/dry come into their own. You just have to remember to maintain the filter regularly (at least once a week if possible).

So, what would you recommend? I would probably want to have a higher stocking than normal, so perhaps a filter would be more suitable. What would you personally do in this situation?

In a fish only system a skimmer is more important than RO. RO water is used to control all the factors that affect inverts. Fish are far more tolerant of phosphate and nitrates than inverts. The skimmer will help remove nitrogenous waste before it can start to break down.

Most people stock a FO heavier than a reef tank but then throw a skimmer rated for 2-3x the tank's volume onto the tank to help process the waste.

So RO would not be a must, I could have a skimmer without RO?
Thanks andywg

Personally, if you want a tank of that size with a goby as the focus, I'd get a watchman/shrimp goby, along with a pistol shrimp to make a formal pair. They're symbiotic - the shrimp is blind, but digs a tunnel for the goby to live in, and the goby warns the shrimp when danger is coming. You'll need a semi-special setup (coarse gravel more than 5 cm deep with "live rock rubble) in order to make sure the shrimp has room to dig around, but in a lot of ways they're better set up for the tank you want than a formal reef tank

That sounds exactly like the type of thing I'm looking for. Something interesting and different. No doubt I'll take your advice into account and do some research.
Thanks eschaton

 

[andywg]

If you want the shrimp/goby combo then I would recommend considering RO to keep the nitrates lower. Inverts to have a lower tolerance to nitrates than fish.

Filtration is a personal choice. A decent cannister filter should handle a tank nicely, it's just you want to prevent any detritus getting settled in there and breaking down to create a nitrate factory.

 

[mlawson]

If you want the shrimp/goby combo then I would recommend considering RO to keep the nitrates lower. Inverts to have a lower tolerance to nitrates than fish.

Could I use Nitragon? The rechargeable water purifier that takes the majority of Nitrogen present in tapwater. I'm just looking for a cheaper option, but if RO would be strongly recommended then that is what I'd use.

Filtration is a personal choice. A decent cannister filter should handle a tank nicely, it's just you want to prevent any detritus getting settled in there and breaking down to create a nitrate factory.

I would probably use an Ehiem external of some type if that would be suitable, would cleaning any detritus weekly be enough? I can easily offer regular maintenance.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[mlawson]

I think I've changed my mind, no longer keeping gobies.