darkgumby Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I'm planning a 5g AGA bowfront and want a couple of little fish for it. Rainford's Goby http://store6.yimg.com/I/marinedepotlive_1756_12194609 http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/~dd/g/eg-068.htm Galapagos blue-banded goby http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/~dd/g/eg-210.htm I saw the Rainford's today at the LFS and think it's a great looking fish. I saw the blue-banded last Saturday at a different LFS and like it alot too. I googled for care info but didn't find much. Would either of these work out ok in a newbie's 5g tank. I'd like to keep a pair of either type. Link to comment
bgoode Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 The Galapagos Blue Banded Goby looks a lot like the Catalina Goby which would need a chilled tank (low 70s). They are the same genus, but different species, and I don't know the requirements for the Galapagos, but if you saw it at a lfs, it is probably the Catalina Goby as this is a more common species. http://www.marinedepotlive.com/493554.html Link to comment
onthefly Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Banding paterns are totally different on those 2 gobies, but like bgoode says....make darn sure it isn't a catalina or you'll be asking for trouble. Link to comment
supernip Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 rainfords are a little too active to be kept in a 5 imo. It will be a tight fit depending on your landscaping. One by itself with no other fish will be ok I think. Plus Ive seen them and if Im not mistaken, they kinda like to shift sand so provide open areas as well. Just my 2 cents Link to comment
darkgumby Posted November 13, 2003 Author Share Posted November 13, 2003 Thanks for the input. I did read about the cooler water requirements of the Catalina version (is it a fish or software? ) and would make sure that I got the Galapagos if I decide to go with one. I think I'll consider something besides the Rainford's if they are too active for a small tank. Link to comment
Acoustic Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Darkgumby you are a very smart and conservation minded nano-reefer. I wish there were more threads like this on people actually thinking and planning before buying. You are on my A-list. Also, I agree with bgoode on the fish choice. Link to comment
darkgumby Posted November 13, 2003 Author Share Posted November 13, 2003 Thanks for the kind words Acoustic! The reason that I appear to be so conservative is because I am cheap and lazy and I hate to kill animals. I have learned from keeping FW tanks that simpler is better. I like simple hardware because there is less to go wrong. I keep livestock that is hard to kill. I don't attempt to keep fragile animals because I honestly don't have the time or skill or bucks to keep them alive. My plan is to setup the best tank that I can on my limited budget. Part of that plan is to keep the setup as simple as possible. I will spend more on better equipment because it's stupid to keep replacing cheap stuff that fails. I won't buy stuff that I don't need. I'll then choose the cheapest and easiest to keep animals to go in it. Later when I've made a few mistakes and learned a bit more I'll try something more difficult but not too difficult. Now here is where I shed the conservative label and get branded a radical... My goal is to never do water tests, never dose the tank, never feed any special foods. My planned maintenance routine is to scrape the algae if necessary and do weekly water changes. I'll probably have to top off the tank daily and deal with salt-creep too. There is a nice LFS right across the street so RO and pre-mixed salt water are easy to get. I know that the part about never testing sounds crazy. I will test during the cycle, but after that the tank should stablize and the parameters shouldn't drift much. I'm not going to make radical changes by adding a bunch of bioload or overfeeding, etc. As far as dosing and feeding go I plan to have a 'fuge to provide plenty of little critters to eat. Macro algae in the 'fuge will help with nutrient export. What ever fish I get will be able to live off of what comes out of the 'fuge and flakes or pellets. I will NOT overfeed the fish. Water changes should take care of the dosing problem. If I *have* to dose I will. This the area where I lack most experience. I never dosed anything in my FW tanks. I understand that this plan will limit what I can keep. But I don't want to spend all of my time babying the tank. I want stuff that is easy to maintain. I'm not going to choose animals that can't handle the environment that I provide. My tastes are pretty simple so I don't need to keep every type of coral that God created. Part of this simplicity is necessary due to the tank's location. It will be on my desktop at work. I won't be able to touch the tank on weekends and there will be some 3-4 day weekends. I'll get an autofeeder and find somebody to top off the water when that happens. The tank has to be simple since my boss won't be happy if I spend too much time working on it. One advantage that the tank has is that I'll be able to observe it 6-8 hours per day. I'll learn to judge the quality of life inside by looking at the inhabitants. I'm not so stubborn that I won't fix things that need fixing. Understand that I am a SW newbie and my plans and attitudes will change with experience. The KISS principle rarely fails but experience is a great teacher. Oh, and don't think I'm so smart on my own. I've been lurking here for months. Link to comment
BlueTuna Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 darkgumby, So how's your hands-off approach working out? I'm new to the hobby myself so I'm curious of other's experience with a simpler approach. Link to comment
darkgumby Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 Haha! Still have not got the tank wet yet. I ended up getting a 7 gal minibow for Christmas and am still working on upgrading the lights. Funds are *real* tight right now so I'm going *real* slow with the project. Link to comment
kennerd Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Bag the rainford's: I have a 1" specimen in my 65 and he never stops moving, has never eaten any food I've supplied, as is healthy as can be. He scoops up mouthfuls of sand and sifts them through his gills and picks at the rocks on occasion. Filtering the sand in this way would most likley sprinkle it all over a nano. Link to comment
Pinrod Urkish Posted February 7, 2004 Share Posted February 7, 2004 Hey dark Gumby what fish store do you use? I'm curious to find out about other lfs in the area, besides the one i always use, "Pet Village". I love the store and the people but it takes several weeks to get anything in. Link to comment
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