OP
OP
Tigger gets a friend!!
haha, now for a little update. I didn't want to post anything until I saw that it had actually not jumped and that it was eating.
As you know, I originally wanted a goby/pistol shrimp pair for this tank. I originally tried a Yasha haze/tiger pistol shrimp. Great choice for a pico, right?!! You'd THINK! I lost 2 Yashas, however, to jumping (this is with a lid, guys). This left my pistol shrimp alone since mid November. I saw him once as he was getting food, and I always heard him clicking so I knew he was ok, but very scared. NOT a life for a pistol shrimp and not what I wanted for him. I almost gave up on a goby, but I did a little research and determined that I needed a goby with the following attributes...
1. a fatter head (I'm being completely serious0
2. different swimming habits, the Yasha is more streamlined and hovers, I need something that just kind of sits, actually behavior similar to my panda goby was great. My panda goby scoots along the rock work in my 4g, but doesn't actually do much swimming in the water column and he's got his little burrow. Yashas, on the other hand, hover over their burrows and swim in the water column.
3. Price. Yashas are expensive. I really wanted a cheaper fish. I don't need to keep the rarest things, I just want a nice, hardy thing that'll do well and look pretty in my tank.
The problem was finding a goby that would be ok in a pico, granted a rather large pico, but a pico nevertheless. I ended up with a yellow watchman goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus). This fish has fused ventral fins into a cup shape, which means he's a hopper and a sitter, not as much of a swimmer.
I got him Thursday and then didn't see him. Haha, spent 3 days looking at the darn floor and my dog bed (yes, I actually found one of the yashas in my dog's bed, she didn't eat it, but was playing with it), as if a goby can jump through glass, but you never know.
Then, late Saturday, on the side of my tank, I found this little face...
SIGH of RELIEF!!!
A little video. He/she has a very nice color. From the same store where I got my jawfish. He eats mysis very happily.
Tigger found him and they are both in the same hole. Tigger does the digging and the watchman brings him food. I know, it's probably a bit too big for this 8g, but I really didn't want to have the pistol by himself anymore. It wasn't fair. There's a reason why there's a disclaimer in the beginning of this journal. If you can get a Yasha or a hi-fin banded goby, get one, but it didn't work for me. I was getting tired of watching a $45 fish jump. I think the watchman was a third the price. They still jump, but when I was researching, they don't jump as much. "As much" being the operative words. Not taking out the lid. But eventually as the watchman grows, I can see myself removing the cling wrap I currently have sealing all sides and corners of the aquarium, as the gap is significantly smaller than his/her head.
I've also now upped my water changes to 2x a week. Nothing's wrong with the tank, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd like to get some stats up soon for you to see, but lying in bed with a cold isn't helping. I've got the energy to feed the fish and do the water changes, not play chemist right now.
L
haha, now for a little update. I didn't want to post anything until I saw that it had actually not jumped and that it was eating.
As you know, I originally wanted a goby/pistol shrimp pair for this tank. I originally tried a Yasha haze/tiger pistol shrimp. Great choice for a pico, right?!! You'd THINK! I lost 2 Yashas, however, to jumping (this is with a lid, guys). This left my pistol shrimp alone since mid November. I saw him once as he was getting food, and I always heard him clicking so I knew he was ok, but very scared. NOT a life for a pistol shrimp and not what I wanted for him. I almost gave up on a goby, but I did a little research and determined that I needed a goby with the following attributes...
1. a fatter head (I'm being completely serious0
2. different swimming habits, the Yasha is more streamlined and hovers, I need something that just kind of sits, actually behavior similar to my panda goby was great. My panda goby scoots along the rock work in my 4g, but doesn't actually do much swimming in the water column and he's got his little burrow. Yashas, on the other hand, hover over their burrows and swim in the water column.
3. Price. Yashas are expensive. I really wanted a cheaper fish. I don't need to keep the rarest things, I just want a nice, hardy thing that'll do well and look pretty in my tank.
The problem was finding a goby that would be ok in a pico, granted a rather large pico, but a pico nevertheless. I ended up with a yellow watchman goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus). This fish has fused ventral fins into a cup shape, which means he's a hopper and a sitter, not as much of a swimmer.
I got him Thursday and then didn't see him. Haha, spent 3 days looking at the darn floor and my dog bed (yes, I actually found one of the yashas in my dog's bed, she didn't eat it, but was playing with it), as if a goby can jump through glass, but you never know.
Then, late Saturday, on the side of my tank, I found this little face...
SIGH of RELIEF!!!
A little video. He/she has a very nice color. From the same store where I got my jawfish. He eats mysis very happily.
Tigger found him and they are both in the same hole. Tigger does the digging and the watchman brings him food. I know, it's probably a bit too big for this 8g, but I really didn't want to have the pistol by himself anymore. It wasn't fair. There's a reason why there's a disclaimer in the beginning of this journal. If you can get a Yasha or a hi-fin banded goby, get one, but it didn't work for me. I was getting tired of watching a $45 fish jump. I think the watchman was a third the price. They still jump, but when I was researching, they don't jump as much. "As much" being the operative words. Not taking out the lid. But eventually as the watchman grows, I can see myself removing the cling wrap I currently have sealing all sides and corners of the aquarium, as the gap is significantly smaller than his/her head.
I've also now upped my water changes to 2x a week. Nothing's wrong with the tank, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd like to get some stats up soon for you to see, but lying in bed with a cold isn't helping. I've got the energy to feed the fish and do the water changes, not play chemist right now.
L
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