Bumble Bee Goby

[dnn3]

i read conflicting answers as to wether i could put one in a frehwater tank.can anyone help?

 

[nmonks]

Wild BBGs are found in both fresh and brackish water. At least some species occur in "blackwater" streams where the water is soft and acidic, but since hobbyists can't identify them to species level, there's no way to make sure you have species suitable for a softwater aquarium. On the other hand, all BBGs will do well in either moderately hard, neutral to basic freshwater or brackish water. Choose whichever suits the other fish in your tank. They may well be *easier* to keep in brackish water insofar as adapting new stock goes, and avoiding problems with acidification and pH changes, but a (moderately) expert fishkeeper will be able to keep them just fine in a freshwater tank.

Most BBGs die not because of water chemistry issues but because of lack of food. They are notoriously tricky to feed. Frank Schaefer argues that the advantage of brackish water is you can keep them surrounded with live brine shrimp, allowing them to eat as often as they want. Once tamed though, you can usually get them to stuff themselves on frozen bloodworms and chopped shrimp and so on.

Cheers, Neale

 

[dnn3]

wow,i put this up on trop discussion and somebody pulled up a thread where you talked about this subject.i wasn't expecting you to be my first response.i am honoured.i have a good current in my tank and i feed my fish frozen daphnia,frozen bloodworms,and frozen brine shrimp.could those foods work?

 

[nmonks]

You should be fine with these, though I find few animals really go for frozen daphnia. Frozen bloodworms are always popular, but their nutritional value isn't especially high when used alone, so try and augment with other foods. BBGs (in my experience) are often willing to take small chunks of seafood such as mussels, squid and prawns. Very small earthworms will be taken too, and these are especally nutritious. They also eat livebearer fry and juvenile cherry shrimps, so combining with adult animals of that type will assure them a steady supply of additional food items.

Cheers, Neale

i have a good current in my tank and i feed my fish frozen daphnia, frozen bloodworms, and frozen brine shrimp. could those foods work?

 

[dnn3]

they would be going in a tank with 2 livebearers,swordtails and mollies.would they eat ghost shrimp as i can get them relatively cheap.

 

[nmonks]

They'll eat anything they can swallow, but since their mouths only open a couple of millimetres, ghost shrimp are probably not likely to be taken. You're looking for live or frozen foods 1-2 mm long. Daphnia, brine shrimps, bloodworms, etc.

Cheers, Neale

 

[dnn3]

thanks for your responses neale.it's a holiday here in the states today so i will go to my lfs tomorrow and see what they have.i haven't commited to bbg yet and i wont until i'm sure i can properly feed them.again,thanks.

doug

 

[starrynightxxi]

Doug, I hope you don't mind if I hijack your thread for a moment...

Neale, as long as you're checking in, I've been looking at these guys as additions to my dwarf puffer tank sometime down the road. Some folks have had success with this mix, what do you think? The set-up right now is a 5.5 gallon tank with a 10 gallon filter on it. If it's doable, how many would be comfortable in that size tank? I can upgrade to a ten gallon fairly simply, if necessary.

Thanks!
- Miriam

 

[dnn3]

miriam i don't mind you stealing my thread at all.until yesterday i didn't know their was a fresh water goby so i'm just trying to learn just like you.

 

[nmonks]

I wouldn't do it. No personal experience of dwarf puffers though. Just feel the slow moving gobies would be a sitting target.

Cheers, Neale

Some folks have had success with this mix, what do you think? The set-up right now is a 5.5 gallon tank with a 10 gallon filter on it.

 

[starrynightxxi]

Ah, not the response I was hoping for, but thanks just the same

 

[Fella]

To offer a different view, I successfully kept them together for a couple of years. I reckon the black and yellow stripes warded off the baddies...

 

[nmonks]

Hi Fella --

Something like 15-20 years ago, I remember going to Wholesale Tropicals and a chap there was utterly convinced one his Oscars had died because it had eaten a bumblebee goby. (Quite what they were doing in the same tank is an issue that never became clear to me.) Anyway, he believed these gobies were poisonous, hence the colours. Can't comment either way as to the validity of that statement, but perhaps if other fish think they're poisonous, it doesn't really matter whether they are or not.

Cheers, Neale

To offer a different view, I successfully kept them together for a couple of years. I reckon the black and yellow stripes warded off the baddies...

 

[starrynightxxi]

y'know, I've read that elsewhere, people thinking that the yellow and black warned off the other fish. I wonder if there's any actual truth behind it.

 

[eschaton]

I had a bumblebee goby in a tank with two dwarf puffers for a year with no ill effects upon the goby.

I lurk on the dwarf puffer forum as well, and while otos are the only fish there is univeral consensus work well with dwarf puffers, most people seem to do okay with bumblebee gobies and kuhli loaches as well.