want to start a catalina goby biotope

[boltp777]

i was wondering if anyone has any information on this here yes i know catalina gobies are cold water.i got a 3 gallon arcylic tank to help with sweat of the tank. ill be using fans to cool down the tank. i just need some information on their surroundings etc.

[jeremai]

in the wild, their environment is mostly large smooth rocks and kelp.

[seabass]

Fans will cool it down some with evaporation, but you have to watch that too (salinity swings are often problematic in tanks that small). I'd look into a small chiller like the IceProbe.

[Jamie]

ideal temp is between 60 and 70. They are found in the sea of cortez, which gets pretty warm, but the ones you'll be getting are probably from california, and used to colder temps, so try to keep it as low as possible. And if you're using fans, you'll have serious salinity swings, iceprobe is definitely a better option than fans for keeping the water cool.

[boltp777]

the ice probe sounds awesome ill def get that when i save the money =)

[C-Rad]

i just need some information on their surroundings etc.

 

Catalina Gobies are territorial, each staking out a hiding place (crevice) and an area around it or a few inches. They also prefer vertical rock faces, so an ideal design is a tank that is rather tall, with the back wall of the tank covered by a layer of sculpted foam or aragocrete with crevices in it. That's how they display them at the Birch Aquarium in San Diego. Idally the tank would be sort of narrow from front to back, so the fish are never be very far from the viewer.

I forget how many inches of territory each needs around it's crevice, so you should do some homework and determine how many will fit in your tank.

 

Temperature:

When they say that the temp range is between 60 and 70, that doesn't mean that you can keep them at 69 degrees all year long. It means that in the wild the average temp ranges, from month to month, between 60 and 70 during the year, but only stays at 70 for a few weeks during the hottest part of the year. The bottom line is that you need to be able to keep the tank below 65 at least 90% of the year. The fan trick will only buy you about 5 degrees below what the tank would normally run at. But remember that your pumps and lights will add heat to the tank, and that your acrylic will keep that heat in the tank (insulate) better than glass would (sweating is only a problem if the water in the tank is more than a few degrees colder than the air outside the tank, which can only happen if you use a chiller, so acrylic actually hurts you unless you use a chiller (then it helps)). In general the fan trick will remove about as much heat as your pumps and lights add, so your tank will run at around room temperature (74 degrees?) which is too darn hot. Unless you keep the room temp at 65 degrees, you will need a chiller to keep Catalina Gobies.

 

I've seen used iceprobes on eBay for an affordable price. I think you need both the IceProbe and it's controller, so don't accidentally buy just the IceProbe.

[Hero]

I've been snorkeling and have seen these guys. There pretty cool. Everyone has the right advice here. In the wild they are found in areas of dense kelp growth (not one of the best snorkeling places) where the ground is frequented by large rocks covered in sea grass and macro algae. You will also find smaller rough rocks. I have seen many smooth fist sized rocks to.

[boltp777]

thank you very much on the info im def getting an iceprobe my light wont produce must heat it is a small led. wit a fan built into it. my room temp is usually 74 like you said. i have a controller for temp so that wont be a problem =). and also. i have ac 20 modded fuge i can put the ice probe in =)

 

Catalina Gobies are territorial, each staking out a hiding place (crevice) and an area around it or a few inches. They also prefer vertical rock faces, so an ideal design is a tank that is rather tall, with the back wall of the tank covered by a layer of sculpted foam or aragocrete with crevices in it. That's how they display them at the Birch Aquarium in San Diego. Idally the tank would be sort of narrow from front to back, so the fish are never be very far from the viewer.

I forget how many inches of territory each needs around it's crevice, so you should do some homework and determine how many will fit in your tank.

 

Temperature:

When they say that the temp range is between 60 and 70, that doesn't mean that you can keep them at 69 degrees all year long. It means that in the wild the average temp ranges, from month to month, between 60 and 70 during the year, but only stays at 70 for a few weeks during the hottest part of the year. The bottom line is that you need to be able to keep the tank below 65 at least 90% of the year. The fan trick will only buy you about 5 degrees below what the tank would normally run at. But remember that your pumps and lights will add heat to the tank, and that your acrylic will keep that heat in the tank (insulate) better than glass would (sweating is only a problem if the water in the tank is more than a few degrees colder than the air outside the tank, which can only happen if you use a chiller, so acrylic actually hurts you unless you use a chiller (then it helps)). In general the fan trick will remove about as much heat as your pumps and lights add, so your tank will run at around room temperature (74 degrees?) which is too darn hot. Unless you keep the room temp at 65 degrees, you will need a chiller to keep Catalina Gobies.

 

I've seen used iceprobes on eBay for an affordable price. I think you need both the IceProbe and it's controller, so don't accidentally buy just the IceProbe.

 

 

thats awesome you actually get to see them like in the wild and their surroundings i would love to do that with fish in general that would be so awesome. i admire you.

 

I've been snorkeling and have seen these guys. There pretty cool. Everyone has the right advice here. In the wild they are found in areas of dense kelp growth (not one of the best snorkeling places) where the ground is frequented by large rocks covered in sea grass and macro algae. You will also find smaller rough rocks. I have seen many smooth fist sized rocks to.

[horusmachine]

the ice probe sounds awesome ill def get that when i save the money =)

 

An ice probe will work great on your 3 gallon. I have a 1.75 Gallon temperate tank with a ice probe mounted on an Aqua Clear 20. The temp remains about 60 and colder during cooler days. I do not use a

controller with my ice probe I just keep it on constantly to keep temps around 60. Good luck.

 

H

[Mike Maddox]

Keep us posted!

[boltp777]

yeah well i got the ice probe just have to wait for it in the mail got it on ebay $100 shipped. damn people at the end screwed up my bid at the last minute! but i got it =)

[organism]

I've also seen them in shells and random crevices while diving, they adapt pretty well to any terrain as long as they've got a cave to hide in. Pretty much a standard goby as long as your water is cold, looking forward to seeing the tank!

 

Also, keep in mind that the few wholesalers that carry these refuse to cool their tanks because they're scumbags and don't mind killing local livestock to save a few bucks. You'll probably need to coordinate with your LFS to get them within 24-48 hours after they arrive at the wholesaler.

[Hero]

Catalina Gobies