Jade Goby

[colleen0309]

A few weeks ago I did a stupid thing and bought a fish I knew nothing about and the guy at the shop didn't know much either. All he said is "He's cool". I check the conditions he was in and replacated them as much as possible. Then I did research and found I have a jade goby. I did some more research and found that this is a brackish water fish. I didn't have a brackish water tank. Long story short, I slowly aclimated the goby to slightly brackish conditions and tried to get him into the proper tank, but after 3 days, he was looking very poor and wouldn't eat. All I could think to do is get him back into a freshwater tank. So I slowly aclimated him back to freshwater and he is doing so much better. Last night he ate like a little pig. Since I have never had brackish fish, I may be doing something wrong. Can someone tell me how to acclimate this fish so he has a better, longer life? Right now he is in a 54gallon, freshwater tank. pH 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, kH 12, temp 76F. I can't find much info on this fish, so a little help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[nmonks]

Dormitator maculatus is a lovely fish. Doesn't need strongly brackish conditions; SG 1.005 is fine. If he's happy in freshwater, you can keep him like that for now, but as he grows up, you may find adding a little salt to the water perks him up (SG 1.002 maybe) and ensures he doesn't get fungal infections or finrot.

Do check that you really do have Dormitator maculatus. That's the usual Jade Goby, but there are other species that look similar.

Cheers, Neale

A few weeks ago I did a stupid thing and bought a fish I knew nothing about and the guy at the shop didn't know much either. All he said is "He's cool". I check the conditions he was in and replacated them as much as possible. Then I did research and found I have a jade goby. I did some more research and found that this is a brackish water fish. I didn't have a brackish water tank. Long story short, I slowly aclimated the goby to slightly brackish conditions and tried to get him into the proper tank, but after 3 days, he was looking very poor and wouldn't eat. All I could think to do is get him back into a freshwater tank. So I slowly aclimated him back to freshwater and he is doing so much better. Last night he ate like a little pig. Since I have never had brackish fish, I may be doing something wrong. Can someone tell me how to acclimate this fish so he has a better, longer life? Right now he is in a 54gallon, freshwater tank. pH 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, kH 12, temp 76F. I can't find much info on this fish, so a little help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[colleen0309]

I'm fairly confident that the fish I have is Dormitator maculatus. And ,yes, he is a lovely fish. Since moving him back to the freshwater tank, he has started eating out of my fingers again. Great personality! In the lfs he was in a tank with platies and panda cories. At home, I put him in with my 12 year old angel, a few tetras and an opaline gourami. When I tried to set him up in a brackish tank, he was all alone. Could this be the reason he was doing so poorly? Could he be lonely? What brackish water fish could I try keeping him with eventually? I really know next to nothing about brackish water fish. I have been keeping freshwater fish for 40+ years, but never ventured into brackish or salt water. I've ordered a copy of your book from Amazon this morning. Looks like something I should now start researching. Thanks for your help!

Dormitator maculatus is a lovely fish. Doesn't need strongly brackish conditions; SG 1.005 is fine. If he's happy in freshwater, you can keep him like that for now, but as he grows up, you may find adding a little salt to the water perks him up (SG 1.002 maybe) and ensures he doesn't get fungal infections or finrot.

Do check that you really do have Dormitator maculatus. That's the usual Jade Goby, but there are other species that look similar.

Cheers, Neale

A few weeks ago I did a stupid thing and bought a fish I knew nothing about and the guy at the shop didn't know much either. All he said is "He's cool". I check the conditions he was in and replacated them as much as possible. Then I did research and found I have a jade goby. I did some more research and found that this is a brackish water fish. I didn't have a brackish water tank. Long story short, I slowly aclimated the goby to slightly brackish conditions and tried to get him into the proper tank, but after 3 days, he was looking very poor and wouldn't eat. All I could think to do is get him back into a freshwater tank. So I slowly aclimated him back to freshwater and he is doing so much better. Last night he ate like a little pig. Since I have never had brackish fish, I may be doing something wrong. Can someone tell me how to acclimate this fish so he has a better, longer life? Right now he is in a 54gallon, freshwater tank. pH 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, kH 12, temp 76F. I can't find much info on this fish, so a little help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[nmonks]

I'm not sure they need "friends" as such, but many fish are more outgoing if kept with peaceful tankmates of appropriate size. Pretty much anything of similar size that isn't aggressive will work with Dormitator maculatus.

Giant Sailfin Mollies would be the obvious choices: they need the same environment, come from the same part of the world, and they'll turn flake food into live food (fry) that the goby will eat. Like the Sleeper Goby, the Mollies can do well in both hard freshwater and slightly brackish water, and if you did decide to add a little salt (which I think you will need to eventually) the Mollies will thoroughly appreciate that as well.

In brackish water conditions you could also try Violet Gobies, which also come from Atlantic coast of the Americas. There are some other things from this part of the world you see less often but could look out for, like Pike Livebearers or Florida Gar, but those fish at least are quite challenging.

I'm thinking a "bayou" type theme might be the way to go. Plant with Vallisneria, add the Mollies for dither fish, a few sunken logs for the gobies… a little bit of Louisiana in the living room!

Cheers, Neale

I'm fairly confident that the fish I have is Dormitator maculatus. And ,yes, he is a lovely fish. Since moving him back to the freshwater tank, he has started eating out of my fingers again. Great personality! In the lfs he was in a tank with platies and panda cories. At home, I put him in with my 12 year old angel, a few tetras and an opaline gourami. When I tried to set him up in a brackish tank, he was all alone. Could this be the reason he was doing so poorly? Could he be lonely? What brackish water fish could I try keeping him with eventually? I really know next to nothing about brackish water fish. I have been keeping freshwater fish for 40+ years, but never ventured into brackish or salt water. I've ordered a copy of your book from Amazon this morning. Looks like something I should now start researching. Thanks for your help!