hello stranger!

[fishorama]

In my "river-ish" tank, I have sewellia lineolata that breed every year. I used to have stiphdon gobies of a few species & another kind hillstream loaches. The tank has been set up for 9 years...I was sure all the gobies etc. died out, they were all adults when I got them. But every year ~this time 1 goby shows up for a couple months then disappears.

Today he's back again! Like a zombie fish or something...or maybe he's just gets hungry? He's doesn't look as pretty as they can, no female or male to show off for but it made my day He's people interactive in a minor way, I love the way he turns his head to look at me & perches on leaves right up front, neat fish!

 

[FreshyFresh]

Neat! What size tank?

 

[Lalo J.]

Nice. We need photos of that configuration of course.

 

[Sprinkle]

LOL i wonder how he survived

 

[Wyomingite]

That's interesting behavior. How long does he stay visible? Any idea where he goes the rest of the year? It must be a pretty darn good hiding spot if he doesn't get flushed out during water changes and vacuuming the gravel.

WYite

 

[Sprinkle]

That's interesting behavior. How long does he stay visible? Any idea where he goes the rest of the year? It must be a pretty darn good hiding spot if he doesn't get flushed out during water changes and vacuuming the gravel.

WYite

This would scare him out of his hiding spot..

 

[fishorama]

It's a 55g with 2 AC 70s & a powerhead. There used to be a black worm colony in the Eco, maybe still? & with lots of plants, I don't really vacuum much. Lots of smooth rocks to hide in & under. Unless the fish are right up front I can't see them well. I also let algae grow for the loaches. My husband just scaped the glass so maybe that's why the goby is suddenly visible . In the past he's around for a few months. I'm sure enough flake food blows around, he likes those & maybe loach eggs too. But he's so friendly when he's out, maybe he hibernates, lol, or is begging for a female ?

In the wild the stiphdons go through a saltwater pelagic period as fry so no breeding is possible. Well, maybe with a whole lot of goofing around...not something I feel the need to ever try.

 

[fishorama]

Well, I thought I had some goby pics from long ago...I did find a couple but they so blurry I can't tell which species. Not that I was ever sure what my guy is & had another similar but different male too. Trouble is they're very variable depending on mood, conspecifics etc., but that part of their charm Females can be hard to find & in most species look pretty much the same, not colorful like males can be.

This thread Stiphodon genus of the Goby - Loaches Online Forum was what got me interested in them. It goes on for many, many pages & spans 12 years or so. Even just looking at pics will take a loonngg time, but there are gobies in the wild too, cool stuff for the interested & not just stiphodon gobies.

 

[Wyomingite]

In the wild the stiphdons go through a saltwater pelagic period as fry so no breeding is possible. Well, maybe with a whole lot of goofing around...not something I feel the need to ever try.

Yeah, so does the genus Sicyopterus if I remember right. That's why I haven't tried them. Other than tetras, I like to at least have some kind of chance to coax my fish to spawn. One of my quirks, lol. I'm trying to change that and remember it's okay to keep fish that are just pretty to look at. The mentality that I "have" to breed everything I keep is one reason I almost left the hobby ~ 4 yrs ago. All I did was spawn more and more Africans and manage stocks and get rid of the young, always trying to bring new species to the area, until it became too much like a job and I didn't enjoy myself anymore. My wife actually convinced me not to quit. Some habits die hard.

Well it sounds like he has plenty of places to hide. That's a pretty cool situation. I've never heard of anything like that before.

WYite

 

[fishorama]

I too like to have a chance of my fish breeding even in a long shot way...without too much effort on my part or even a small chance of fry, lol. Yeah, I think several species of gobies do the pelagic thing. Odyssey has or had many gobies & has visited many of their natural habitats.

Still, I'm happy I tried stiphodons, not something I would have done without a coast to coast move & a chance to start all over with very different fish...just 1 more interesting thing about relocating We've done it a few times over the years, new water, new lfs, new opportunities...it keep life & fish keeping interesting!