dsoz Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I just saw a hector's goby (Amblygobius hectori) at the fish store. (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1876&articleid=2069) I first thought it was some sort of wrasse, but I was corrected by the employee. I like it! Does anyone have any experience with keeping it. It is supposed to have about the same habits as the Rainford's goby (Amblygobius rainfordi) (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1876&articleid=2064). Some sites say that it is easy to care for. Other sites say that Hector's goby is difficult to care for, and usually die within a year. Some say it eats hair algae, some say it only picks at the algae while looking for pods. Some sites state that it even eats flatworms (a bonus!) while others make no mention of it. Some state it is a candidate for carpet surfing, and others say it stays on the bottom of the aquarium. I am getting so much conflicting information that I don't know if I should get one or not. If I get one, it won't be until the beginning of August (payday), maybe later after I get a new tank and the CFM. Thanks for the help researching this little guy. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I would not buy one unless I saw it eat prepared foods at the store. My first rainford's died because I gambled on it starting to eat, and I'll never do that again. My current one was eating live brine at the store, and has since learned to eat all sorts of frozen food. From what I've seen, my Rainford'g goby eats a lot more pods than algae, and I agree that they seem to more pick small life out of the algae than actually eating the algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 I agree, I would not buy a fish unless I see it eat in the store. Then I would make sure to QT it for a couple of weeks in copper just to be sure it does not bring ick into my tank. I already went through 6 weeks of a fishless system because of ick. Not again. I think the best part is that they are in a store that does not specialize in SW, so not a lot of SW people go in there, and they got 6 in a shipment on Friday. They are scattered throughout the SW tanks. They should have them for several weeks at least. So there is no hurry to go get one the moment it shows up. That is why I am going to wait until after CFM, and I get a new tank in August. Thanks for the input. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I have seen alot of them pick at sift the sand in tank also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modularduck Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 i have no idea about care of these little guys but they are super cool looking. good luck D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I made the mistake of buying one based on the info I got from the liveaquaria website: "Care level: easy. Hector's Goby is easy to feed and its diet consists of most marine foods. It consumes large amounts of algae, worms, and prepared foods such as vitamin enriched mysis shrimp and brine shrimp." He picks at the live rock all day, which I believe has a decent pod population since nothing else in my tank eats the pods. I don't have any sand, but they are not true sand sifters. I also feed him live food, which he will eat. I have not tried frozen food yet, but I plan to slowly mix it in with the live stuff. I don't know if he will survive in my tank long term or not. At least he doesn't have any competition for food on the live rock though. Liveaquaria is supposed to be a pretty reputable company but I think they need to change the info on their site. He is a beautiful fish though and hovers around the rocks during the day (not too shy) and sleeps under the eggcrate at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 Thanks Uhuru, personal experience is always better than information that is found on a website that is trying to sell you something. I think I will get one in a couple of days (payday). I was in the pet store again yesterday looking at them. They have a couple, and one of them is a little fatter than the others. I will try to get that one because he seems to be eating more. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I hope mine will be okay. I fed him frozen cyclopleeze today and he was hesitant at first but then started going after it just fine. He doesn't seem too shy but I need to add more fish soon and I hope this doesn't dissuade him from going after the food in the water rather than only picking at the rocks. He's a really awesome fish. I have about 90x's turnover in the tank and he just hovers around like it's nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Hey I got my goby to eat flake food today (first try)! I soaked it in some selcon and garlic. The garlic works wonders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Great to hear! I'll have to give that Selcon a try some time. Would be nice to feed some "fast" food like flakes on occasion, instead of the frozen. All that defrosting, rinsing, soaking in garlic takes time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I think I will get one in a couple of days (payday). I was in the pet store again yesterday looking at them. They have a couple, and one of them is a little fatter than the others. I will try to get that one because he seems to be eating more. dsoz Hey dsoz, did you get your Hector's yet? I have had a couple of Rainsford's before and really liked them (which seem to be nearly identical to the Hector's except for the color pattern, someone correct me if I wrong). One eat frozen right away and was fine - the other didn't so, like everything else, seems like there is significant individual differences. I'm sure if you saw him eat in the store he will be fine. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 I got one last night in fact. Along with an orange spot goby. don't have a camera until my wife gets home this afternoon. The hector's was picking and eating off the rock in the tank that he was in, but he did not go for the flake food that was put in the tank. I figure that he is the only rock picker that I have in the tank, so he should be fine. My lawnmower blenny (Jaba) really did not like the new additions, especially the orange spot goby. I think the LM chased the new guy around the tank about 4 times before letting him rest. Also whenever the LM sees the goby, he will pick up the chase. I guess the body type is too similar. I hope that there is not a continuous problem. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I hope he works out for you. Beautiful fish isn't it? My neon is the same with the hector's if he gets too close to his corner. I'm glad I have such a huge skimmer for the tank size because I've been really feeding him a lot, in hopes of weaning him off the live food completely. Today I fed only cyclopleeze and frozen mysis and he continued to eat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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