New mature reef aquarium - advice please
- Thread starter Chimpro
- Start date
I had a royal gramma back in the day - loved that fish!
You should look into a mandarin goby/mandarinfish. When I kept saltwater, they were really difficult to keep. It seems the trick now is to keep them in large systems with many lbs of live rock to pick copepods off all day. Sounds like one could work in your system. Guys if this info is wrong, let the OP know. I'm rusty on my saltwater knowledge.
You should look into a mandarin goby/mandarinfish. When I kept saltwater, they were really difficult to keep. It seems the trick now is to keep them in large systems with many lbs of live rock to pick copepods off all day. Sounds like one could work in your system. Guys if this info is wrong, let the OP know. I'm rusty on my saltwater knowledge.
Thank's for that input. The shop owner is very knowledgeable so I will definitely get his input on that. I saw the diamond goby sifting sand through his gill plate, it was pretty cool to watch. Someone in the shop said that the diamond goby is unable to keep up with the tank alone, so maybe he needs help? If they're territorial it may cause problems though. Maybe I should introduce the new one immediately after the move so they will both feel "new" to the setting and maybe they'll work it out. Do you know offhand how to tell their sex? A mated pair would be cool. Would they pair if they're two different types of gobys? Any suggestions on other creatures that mix and clean sand like gobys, and would get along with others?While I can't offer a whole lot of advice on the entire setup in general (as my biggest Saltwater setup is 60-Gallon, and I have little experience with corals) and can say to be careful when mixing Gobies.
Diamond Gobies are BEYOND amazing when it comes to mixing sand. They spend the day going around the tank in search of food, which in return sifts the sand for you. I always recommended this species for this specific job whenever I would have people come into the pet shop I used to help manage with left over nutrients sitting on or below their sand, and either rotting or growing algae.
Because they are a species that goes through the entire tank, they pretty much claim the space as their own. I've tried smaller Gobies, and I've tried larger Gobies, but no matter what they would always end up getting injured by the Diamond. What I would do is find a male/female (depending on the sex for the one you have currently) Diamond Goby to pair up with yours. They patrol the tank together, and will even dig a burrow where they will stay together during the night. Very cool to see and observe, but they can stir up when heck of a mess if your sand isn't very clean! But that will subside within time as the sand becomes more clean.
That's about all I can bring to the table, lol, post pics as soon as you get the chance! Definitely helps to understand the setup better, and I just wouldn't mind seeing this big reef in general.
The best thing about this set up is that I got it for $9999.99 delivered and set up. It was custom build and set up in his shop in Jan '12. the tank is a custom size 225 that is 60x30x30. I priced out a 210 at another shop new and it would have been over $6500 new without the livestock. Pictures to come.
Thank you all for your input.
Thank you all for your input.
A good sized Diamond (About 5") can sift through a 300 Gallon in just a couple days - true story from a buddy of mine! If you add another, I would recommend doing it immediately after the move as well to lower the risk of having territories claimed by the original Diamond. However, males will not get along at all. You will need to be sure that you have a pair - males will have a much higher/longer dorsal "spike" than the females. If you post pictures I could try my best to help out.
It would have to be another sand sifting species or "sleeper goby" species if you were to try and pair up with another - but this is a very small possibility of it working out. Diamonds are very different than the others in their family, being primarily on the bottom of the tank - where other sleepers such as the Gold Head Sleeper Goby stay at the bottom for cover, but are usually seen swimming away from the bottom of the tank; more of a mid-tank species.
My recommendation? Stick with one species of goby per setup, unless you know for sure it will work with another; smaller shrimp gobies have been known to get along with one another, but that is also completely different than a Diamond - they'd probably end up as food for the Diamond as well. I've kept many species of Gobies, and rarely has it worked out where two different species have co-existed.
Other sand sifters - Sand Sifting Starfish, Nassarius Snails, Cerith Snails, and Fighting Conch are all good options that shouldn't cause you any trouble.
