Which Gobies?

[Ben M]

hi, a while ago i was looking into goby keeping, (as i'm sure some of you know). and i had thought it was going to be too hard to keep them, but a couple of weeks ago when in an LFS, i saw some Stiphodon gobies. i don't know what species they were, as i was in a bit of a hurry, but they looked really cool sticking onto the glass with their "sucker things". and i got the latest PFK mag yesterday, and there is a section about Stiphodon gobies.

anyway, what i was wondering was, could i keep any in my 216l 4ft community, and if so how many. the thing i'm worried about is would my kribs attack them? and also, what male/female ratio would i need, and how do you sex them? and am i right in thinking that they will live on algae wafers, veggies, flake, pellets and algae?

i'm going back to the shop today, so quick answers would be much appreciated.

cheers

 

[nmonks]

I haven't see the latest PFK, so can't comment on what's said in that article. But from conversations over on the Yahoo Goby Group (a mix of scientists, importers and a few hobbyists) the needs of Stiphodon seem to be quite specific.

They aren't scavengers or pure algae-eaters, but rather feed on aufwuchs, which is the combination of green algae and small invertebrates that cover rocks. So their diet needs to be of quite high quality, comparable to what you've give fish like Tropheus or hillstream loaches. Finely chopped cooked peas and prawns appear to be taken readily, and could form part of their diet, alongside live foods of course.

They also come from fast-flowing streams, so water temperature needs to be fairly low and water current very high. You wouldn't keep them in a tank with standard community fish, but one set up for hillstream loaches, Barilius and so on might work well.

On the whole they do not have a good track record in captivity, and aren't going to do well in tanks with poor current, high temperatures, and strong competition for food.

Cheers, Neale