View Full Version : Knight Goby
My Knight Goby, Mack the Knight :), is a very picky eater. I feed Blood worms and dried shrimp. I alternate them ever other day. He doesn't like the flake that I feed to others, so i need some suggestions. Here is his picture...86011
evelyn80
03-23-2009, 8:29 PM
is he in brackish water? hes very cool looking!
Hooked Newbie
03-23-2009, 8:37 PM
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brackishsubwebindex/knightgobyfaqs.htm
Awesome fish. He needs brackish water, in case you're not keeping him in that environment!
I'm surprised that he's not taking the frozen bloodworms. I would try frozen brine shrimp. Flake food will not work, nor will the dried shrimp I don't think.
I am slowly adding the salt in after every water change. I noticed immediate change in him after I put the salt in. I had never seen this fish before on this site and I was wondering if anyone has had them and what they are feeding.
Hooked Newbie
03-23-2009, 8:42 PM
I am slowly adding the salt in after every water change. I noticed immediate change in him after I put the salt in. I had never seen this fish before on this site and I was wondering if anyone has had them and what they are feeding.
Are you testing your salinity?
Here is a picture of him with the Dried shrimp in his mouth. Sorry for the misunderstanding but he does love the frozen blood worms. I feed them into the tank in a shot glass. I have actually had him swim into the glass and eat until his belly was very plump.86026
86027
I put the salt in a glass and swish it a little then I let the rest seep into the water slowly. It normally takes about 3 days.
severum mama
03-23-2009, 8:57 PM
I assume you're talking about adding marine salt? Aquarium salt will do nothing to make brackish water. If you are in fact adding marine salt, I hope you are testing the salinity of the water.
Are the fish in your sig all in the same tank (where the number 1 is)? If so, you have a stock list that is incompatible... your only brackish fish in that list is the knight goby.
Hooked Newbie
03-23-2009, 9:02 PM
I put the salt in a glass and swish it a little then I let the rest seep into the water slowly. It normally takes about 3 days.
Mabel,
Are you testing the salinity with a hydrometer or refractometer? Water evaporates, salt doesn't. The other fish you have will be killed with salt. You have fish that require VERY different water conditions in the same tank. I hate to be a wet blanket, but I'd hate to see such a striking fish come to harm.
Yes, I know. I am a brackish fish lover with a fresh water tank. I really need to find another tank spot and put the other tank up that I have. I keep saying that and DIY projects at my house keep coming up. Problem is I LOVE having my tank in the same area as my chair is and I don't have another spot where I can Sit, and view my tank while I am watching TV or just in the room reading or on the computer. I need a bigger house; HAHAHA! Like that is going to help.
PS: I have had the Mac for about 3 to 4 months.
Mabel,
Are you testing the salinity with a hydrometer or refractometer? Water evaporates, salt doesn't. The other fish you have will be killed with salt. You have fish that require VERY different water conditions in the same tank. I hate to be a wet blanket, but I'd hate to see such a striking fish come to harm.
Sorry, I don't know what a hydrometer or a refractometer is. So, the answer is no, I am not testing the water. I go more by his actions and how active he is. Before I started reading about him I defiantly noticed that he wasn't as active as he is now, that I have been adding the Salt. The other fish look good.
severum mama
03-23-2009, 9:19 PM
A hydrometer (less accurate) or a refractometer (more accurate) allow you to test the salinity of the water. You'll need to know this to have a successful brackish tank... and you'll need to find new homes for the fish that are FW fish.
Again, are you using aquarium salt or marine salt? Marine salt is necessary for a brackish tank.
I am not sure. I got it in a plastic bag from my LFS. What is the difference between Marine and Aquarium?
severum mama
03-23-2009, 9:32 PM
Aquarium salt is salt.
Marine salt includes trace elements that are necessary to run a successful marine or brackish tank.
What does the bag say?
Nothing, it was a ziper sandwich bag. She took some out of a bigger bag that I don't know if it said anything. I bought the fish from my LFS that gave me the salt and she had the fish a while before I bought him. In reading the above link it sounds like my water will be okay and he is in similar water that he came from, so for now = I am good.
Do you have a suggestion of feeding him something other than Blood worms or Shrimp?
Twistersmom
03-23-2009, 10:00 PM
I have seen my night gobies nibble on algea wafers, you may want to try that.
Hooked Newbie
03-23-2009, 10:31 PM
Yes, I know. I am a brackish fish lover with a fresh water tank. I really need to find another tank spot and put the other tank up that I have. I keep saying that and DIY projects at my house keep coming up. Problem is I LOVE having my tank in the same area as my chair is and I don't have another spot where I can Sit, and view my tank while I am watching TV or just in the room reading or on the computer. I need a bigger house; HAHAHA! Like that is going to help.
Sorry, I don't know what a hydrometer or a refractometer is. So, the answer is no, I am not testing the water. I go more by his actions and how active he is. Before I started reading about him I defiantly noticed that he wasn't as active as he is now, that I have been adding the Salt. The other fish look good.
Nothing, it was a ziper sandwich bag. She took some out of a bigger bag that I don't know if it said anything. I bought the fish from my LFS that gave me the salt and she had the fish a while before I bought him. In reading the above link it sounds like my water will be okay and he is in similar water that he came from, so for now = I am good.
Do you have a suggestion of feeding him something other than Blood worms or Shrimp?
I give. Feed it guppies.
rsanz
03-23-2009, 11:44 PM
Mabel,
You really can't just assume that "you're good." You need to find out if you got Marine salt or just salt. Your Knight will die in the end, meaning it doesn't matter WHAT you feed him in the meantime.
Thank you all for cementing in my mind that this sight is more condemning than helpful. I guess there is nothing other than Shrimp and Blood worms that he would like according you y'all! THANKS!
Hooked Newbie
03-24-2009, 9:19 AM
Thank you all for cementing in my mind that this sight is more condemning than helpful. I guess there is nothing other than Shrimp and Blood worms that he would like according you y'all! THANKS!
I don't see where you were condemned. People (including me) are concerned for your fish and varied food sources are the least of the concern.
Thank you all for cementing in my mind that this sight is more condemning than helpful. I guess there is nothing other than Shrimp and Blood worms that he would like according you y'all! THANKS!
You're asking a question that is meant to help your fish in the end, right? Well, we are trying to help you fix a more important problem facing your fish that his diet right now. But you seem to be brushing it off.
We ARE trying to help you.
bettabrat
03-25-2009, 11:26 AM
When I had my pair they ate everything from what you've already mention to sinking foods. Shrimp pellets were a favorite and they would nibble on algae wafers. I guess it's trial and error.
i have to knight gobies and they love sinking shrimp pellets and tropical fish food granules. wow when i got these guys i had no idea they were salt water and was told nothing about that at the pet shop. heres a list of what i got in a 30 and it seems pretty incompatible if these little guys need saltwater. 2 knight gobies, 3 zebra danio, 3 rosy red minnows, 2 baby red earred sliders:)
bettabrat
03-26-2009, 1:29 PM
i have to knight gobies and they love sinking shrimp pellets and tropical fish food granules. wow when i got these guys i had no idea they were salt water and was told nothing about that at the pet shop. heres a list of what i got in a 30 and it seems pretty incompatible if these little guys need saltwater. 2 knight gobies, 3 zebra danio, 3 rosy red minnows, 2 baby red earred sliders:)
They are not full salt just brackish. It's a mix of salt and fresh, there are a lot of gobies, as well as puffers that I think are brackish also.
Twistersmom
03-26-2009, 9:33 PM
Yes, mine are housed with orange chromides, mollies, flounder, and a dragon goby.
They are in light brackish, 3Tab marine salt per 10 gallons.
[quote=Twistersmom;1897774]Yes, mine are housed with orange chromides, mollies, flounder, and a dragon goby.
They are in light brackish, 3Tab marine salt per 10 gallons.[/quote
I have gotten rid of the CAE he is no longer in my tank. I gifted him to a tank that has 1 very small male guppie, 1 weird Feeder goldfish (it lost its color) and a small cory cat. It is only a 10 gallon tank and he will have plenty of algae to eat from the looks of the tank.
Anyway: if I put the 3T of MARINE salt (per 10 G) in my tank with my weather loach and my bristel nose pleco will they be affected? Because, currently I have NO issues with what I have been doing and he seems fine. He is very active, playful and just a couple of days ago, at a shrimp out of my hand. That was way cool. :headbang2:
severum mama
04-01-2009, 5:54 PM
Yes. They will be affected. The remainder of your fish are not brackish fish.
engineer
05-15-2009, 12:43 AM
Some fish can adapt to about anything and do fine. I have a clown loach who has been living alone with guppies in a 75-gallon tank with a little freshwater salt in the water and a crushed coral substrate for going on 7 years. He's happy and doing fine.
Oh teh noes!!! He needs slightly acidic, soft water and a soft substrate for his barbels plus other clowns to socialize with! Bah. He started out as one of three, but the other two died after two days in the QT tank (actually had soft water, slightly acidic, and a soft substrate of play sand), but PetSmart loaches seemed to all have parasites and die before I could cure them. I finally got his infection cured with anti-parasite food and got him slowly adjusted to the new pH. A pH of 7.8, rough surface, and water hard as nails haven't hurt him in all these years, and he's very happy. He cleaned out all my snails (good for him), regularly hangs out inside or on top of a giant fake stump in the middle of the tank, and clicks so happily when I feed him tubifex worm blocks that it sounds like the tank glass is breaking.
My knight gobies? I was actually relieved when they all eventually died of old age. They were the meanest fish I've ever had other than African cichlids. They fought amongst themselves, they ate mollies (one nearly choked to death on a half-grown silver molly fry, with the tail-end hanging out for a long time), and generally terrorized everything with fins in my brackish 75-gallon tank. If I didn't have places for them to hide, I think they would have fought it out survivor-series until death all at once. I don't like mean fish, and trying to give them diversionary cover like large ornaments, tons of fake plants, caves, and rock walls didn't do anything. Still mean. So, I can vouch personally that knight gobies love small fish. Even when you are chasing them with a net, trying to catch them to sock them in another brackish tank to save your precious mollies, they still have the nerve to eat the fry right in front of you. I kept my 75-gallon tank at a specific gravity of about 1.010 (roughly half saltwater), and they loved it. The mollies loved it too, all except for being nipped at constantly and having their babies eaten.