Just Got My Bumblebees

[ac106]

After lots of drama, i finally finished my fishless cycle on a 10USgal tank

Last night i added 4 BBGs. I fed them some live blackworms and they ate them up without a problem. ALthough i have been told they can be taught to take frozen and the wife doesnt like the idea of having live worms in the fridge, i am going to continue with the live worms.

Anyway, acouple questions:

The worms are about as long as the BBGs themselves. How much/often should i feed them?

Do BBG keepers try to feed each one ie dropping a worm into the area of the fish or just drop a bunch in the tank and let them go after them. I tried both and the gobies didnt always see the worms and they crawled into the subtrate or hid not to be seen again.

They are not very yellow. they have dark bars but they are very pale yellow/gray. Will they get more colorfull in time? I assumed this was due to stress of moving tanks.

How many can i keep in the tank? The onwer of the LFS which is not a chain store says i could keep about 10. I have seemed to confirm this online.

I have also read people have had success mixing F8 puffers and BBGs but i would think the puffer would eat them. Any thoughts? If i was going to do this what is the tank min to use?

Thanks!

 

[nmonks]

Congratulations on your new fish! Bumblebee gobies are very nice fish and should bring you years of entertainment. They aren't all that difficult to keep, but as you seem to be aware, the one major problem is feeding them. Generally speaking, they will adapt to frozen food quite readily, even though they prefer live food. It is a good idea to wean any fish onto frozen food -- besides being more convenient, frozen food can be relied upon year round (unlike live food) and it is much easier to have a neighbour dish out frozen food than live while you're on a vacation.

Anyway, to answer your specific questions:

(1) Most small predatory fish, gobies included, should be fed no more that they will eat in five minutes, twice per day. Overfeeding doesn't harm fish directly, it is the leftover food that spoils and cause water pollution that does the harm. With a bit of practice you'll figure out how much they need just by seeing what's left over after five minutes.

(2) There's no right way to feed a fish. Use whatever method works for you. Watch the fish, and see that each is getting a few mouthfuls. If they are, then the jobs done. With some slow moving fish, I find I need to switch the filter off for 5 or 10 minutes, particularly if I'm feeding live Daphnia. Otherwise the food gets sucked up right away. You really shouldn't have a filter switched off for more than 20 or 30 minutes though, as the bacteria will start to use up the oxygen in the filter and may die off. Never seen this happen myself, but in theory at least, it could be a problem.

(3) Bumblebees change colour for all sorts of reasons. Males will seemingly 'bleach out' when in spawning condition, turning pale yellow or cream. If the fish are stressed, they can indeed go pale. I'd wait for a few days and see what happens. Assuming that you have the right water conditions (hard, alkaline freshwater or slightly brackish water) the bumblebees should settle in quickly.

(4) 10 to a 10 US gallon tank should be fine, provided each has a cave to call home. They can be waspish towards one another if forced to fight for resting sites. Use lots of seashells, stones, or ornaments to create the required habitat. Apple snail shells are an ideal size, but if you do use shells, be sure and clean them first.

(5) I keep a South American puffer with gobies, largely, but not entirely, without incidident. It is in the nature of puffers to take nips from fish when they're hungry or bored. In a tank as small as 10 gallons, I wouldn't risk it, because the chances of a puffer nipping a goby are so much higher than in a medium or large sized aquarium.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Kopix Nation]

My bumblebee goby loves to eat frozen or freeze dried food.... Don't go for the pellet or flake....

claire

 

[Fella]

I find feeding my BBG's very difficult. They often ignore what is placed in front of them.

I feed brineshrimp, flake and frozen bloodworm, and there is no set order or pattern they choose, they eat whatever they fancy at the time, which varies.

 

[Kopix Nation]

My goby spits up his food most of the time!!! His mate starved to death cause she would not eat!!!! I felt so bad


claire