Peacock Goby

[simplyfish]

Just after some advice on these fish.
 
Situation:
50l tank
6 x Cardinals and a small (1 1/2") BN plec.
est over 2 years
water params stable, ph approx. 6.0
Water is hard in area, no other info on that.
 
I was in the LFS and saw some of these, thought they looked lovely but when I asked the adviser at the store, he thought they may be a bit nippy and bully the cardinals and possibly the plec.
 
I'd like to get one to go in there to add a bit of variety and everything I've read online suggests a peaceful community fish. Just wondering if anybody has first hand experience with them?

 

[DreamertK]

Probably not enough room in that small of a tank, especially with that monster pleco.
 
The male gets nippy around his cave. It is nice to have some black tubes or some way of creating an artificial cave for them. The males might also get nippy around other males, but a 1:3 ratio is pretty good for him. The males might nip at the females to get them into his cave. They will eat baby shrimps, I have seen it happen with my own eyes. They don't really mind any other fish unless they're swimming around the cave. Although my male will gladly share his cave with a loach.

 

[simplyfish]

You think, most of the sites were saying 40l would be enough.
 
My 'Monster' plec is hardly bigger than the cardinals, I doubt the goby would be scared of him.
 
There is just enough space to set up 2 separate caves in there, and it is planted too, think this would help?

 

[DreamertK]

40L for a pair alone. Not with 6 tetras and 1 monster pleco. He'll grow to become a monster in time.
 
Yeah, but I would still say your tank is overstocked. 50L = 13G = 13 inches of fish, and you already have 12 inches of fish in there. These gobys would add an extra 6 inches. So sure, a 40L tank is sufficient, for a pair alone.

 

[dougie]

Hi Simplyfish. Your BN will get to about five inches, pretty big for a 50l tank. Due to the huge amount of waste it'll produce, I'd consider taking him back to your LFS. Perhaps replacing him with a few Otos?

Should add that better if you get three minimum.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

lol @ monster plec..gimme a break. What are the dimensions of the tank please? 
 
As long as you are good with tank maintenance and have adequate filtration the BN won't be a problem for you. However if this tank is a cube rather than long I would probably change my mind...I only say this because plecs aren't very active fish and don't need a massive amount of swimming space, much preferring to hold a territory IME. 
 
The inch per gallon rule is outdated and inaccurate. Now as far as the gobies go - I don't have any experience with them but seeing as they tend to be bottom dwelling fish and you've already got a BN plec down there who is going to need all of that space, I don't think it's a very good idea. What about a dwarf or honey gourami or a betta?
 
What filter do you have on the tank?

 

[DreamertK]

Its pretty good for standard tank care for once a week WC's. Sure you could overstock the tank, but you would have to do multiple WC's a week, which is more care than the average hobbyist is willing to dedicate to doing.

 

[simplyfish]

It is certainly no monster! I have kept bn before and pretty confident he is fine in that tank. In the event I feel he is too big I have another larger tank to move him too..

Not sure of the dimensions but it is a long as opposed to a cube. The filtration is an ellite 15 a good serviceable unit perfect for a small tank. My water regime is good he may be a small plec but he is a poop machine so I vacuum regularly. Im also confident one small addition to the tank is well within its bio load limit.

Quite happy to take on board the comments about the gobys requirements, its not a fish I have any experience with and looking for others experience. Wasn't considering a pair just a single.

Cooling on the goby I think he may be too nippy. Thinking of an appisto instead, I'm more familiar with cichlids and I think a small male would fit in their nicely. Any thoughts on that?