Ropefish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus) w/ BBG's?

[Madding]

Alright, my LFS just got a stock of these amazing fish in, and my girlfriend and I have always wanted one. I've done as much research as I can online about them, so please don't just direct me to the usual sites in answer to my questions.

I know that these fish can and will eat small fish, namely guppies, neons, etc. How do you think bumblebee gobies would fare with them? I've kept my school of bumblebees with large needlenose's in the past, who promptly ignored them, despite eating only live fish. Bumblebee's are notorious for their wasp-like pattern, which causes a lot of fish to stay away.

It's a 60g tank, heavily planted with plastic plants, a lot of real driftwood, and many caves (the tank used to hold a lot of loaches.) Sig is not currently up-to-date, so all those fish don't apply.

Would a Ropefish devour my Bumblebee Gobies? Please don't just yes because they eat small fish, tell me what you honestly think.

Thanks!

[Anoop]

My lfs has rope-fish with bumble-bee gobies, they seem fine.

[Madding]

Alright, well that's a good start. Thanks.

Anyone else have any advice or input? I really need to make my decision whether or not to try it this weekend, because these fish are guaranteed to get sold quickly. We never get them in this area.

[toddnbecka]

Bumblebee gobies prefer brackish water; aside from that, they should be fine together.

[Blueiz]

I have both of my ropefish, which are over a foot long now, in a tank with tetras, cories, etc and they have never bothered them. The only problem I have had with them is I put a betta in the tank temporarily while I was setting up a perm home for it and they got it. So, my suggestion is, they are fine with fish given enough space, but they will get and eat slow moving. With that being said they, they have never messed with my cories.

Im not familiar with bbg gobies, so I would look into the type of water conditions they should be kept in.

What size tank will it be going in?

[beblondie]

''Would a Ropefish devour my Bumblebee Gobies? Please don't just yes because they eat small fish, tell me what you honestly think.

Compatibility, the reality
When asked "will they get along ?" Sometimes the answer is as simple as yes or no, The truth is we speak in generalities some fish in theory should be ok together some not.The long broad sweeping statements are flawed as they are generalities I think we all know generalities are just opinions , but because we are dealing with animals each with its own personality its flawed.This question is harder with predatory fish, due to their natural habits ,predation! where they naturaly feed on the smaller , the weaker and the sick, claim territory and defend it . The actual answer is we don't know it's our best guess that they should or shouldn't get along.I know one of my bichirs is highly agressive which is completely different from what i have been told, so he's in his own tank , my others all conspecifics seem fine together which is oppisite from what i have read and been told. Its a case of trial and error to some extent and depends on the individual animal. When introducing a new animal into the territory of an established animal try rearanging the tank it tends to remove reference points for territoriality but most important watch for trouble and stop it before it goes to far.-Anne

[Madding]

Thanks guys and girls.

It's a 60-gallon with 12 bumblebee gobies, amongst other things. It is not a brackish tank, and the bumblebee gobies have been with me for a long time. I acclimated them very patiently with salt additions getting less and less until stopping them altogether. Now all I do is add regular aquarium salt, which wouldn't help make water brackish anyways. Brachygobius xanthozona, one of two bumblebee goby types, can handle freshwater much better than its brother, Brachygobius nunus.

I'm going to do a bit more research, wait to see if anyone else has any suggestions, and probably end up giving it a try.

[Gobioides]

If you have the bumblebees already, you should definitely switch to artificial marine salt and make the tank brackish. Don't pay any attention to anything the internet says about Brachygobius species unless it's in a scientific article or something really reliable. The truth is, B. xanthozona may be completely nonexistant in the aquarium trade. You've only mentioned two species. There are a lot more than that. I think the most common bumblebee goby is B. doriae, but without having one positively identified by somebody that knows their gobies inside and out, we simply don't know.
You may have a species that can survive in freshwater, but it's a risk not worth taking. Most species are found in brackish.
As for the ropefish, don't they get like 3 ft. long? I know they're really slender but an adult ropefish would still probably be big enough to eat BBG's.

[DrNo]

If you have the bumblebees already, you should definitely switch to artificial marine salt and make the tank brackish. Don't pay any attention to anything the internet says about Brachygobius species unless it's in a scientific article or something really reliable. The truth is, B. xanthozona may be completely nonexistant in the aquarium trade. You've only mentioned two species. There are a lot more than that. I think the most common bumblebee goby is B. doriae, but without having one positively identified by somebody that knows their gobies inside and out, we simply don't know.
You may have a species that can survive in freshwater, but it's a risk not worth taking. Most species are found in brackish.
As for the ropefish, don't they get like 3 ft. long? I know they're really slender but an adult ropefish would still probably be big enough to eat BBG's.

Some great content here: ropes can get as long as ~15-20 inches in most home aquaria. Go brackish, those gobies will love you for it.