Pumilius Gōbius Admīrābile

[aquarium]

Yes they are. Plenty of species to choose from. Huge gamma of color and personalities. And I honestly hope more nano reefers catch up with dwarf possibilities. It is hard to imagine better suited fish for small nano tanks. Tanks that are usually stocked with fish too large to be truly happy. And thrive as it should.

 

Yes, I will keep this thread alive. Not just for my enjoyment but for others who might be interested in dwarf gobies.

 

 

As a side note. I found distributor who sells a bunch of different kinds of dwarfs. There is only one problem...... minimum purchase has to be at least $600. Perhaps future group buy if interest is strong enough to commit to such a purchase.

I'd do the group buy, if individually they weren't too much...

I'm thinking of setting up a 3 or 4 gallon reef this summer, maybe the cadlights mini or jbj cubey. How many dwarf gobies could I keep in a tank that size?

[Maniu]

I'd do the group buy, if individually they weren't too much...

I'm thinking of setting up a 3 or 4 gallon reef this summer, maybe the cadlights mini or jbj cubey. How many dwarf gobies could I keep in a tank that size?

Cool, cool. Glad you like the idea. And I assure you, these guys are ways more enjoyable then overrated clowns or other common trends these days. One thing to keep in mind when you setup your new tank. Make sure they have enough rock work to establish their territories. But not over do it with caves and pile of boulders taking away from enjoying them in open scape.

As to how many you can keep in say 3-4 gal tank....... well, I think you could get away with 3 of different species or even 4 of same, schooling type specie. Just to give you an idea. I host 5 dwarfs in my 12x12x12 cube, which is roughly 7.5 gal of volume. And honestly, it doesn't seem crowded lol another thing that makes keeping larger number of dwarf gobies possible, is very low bioload. These guys are not messy eaters. They perch rocks in search for pods all day long and get very tiny amount of supplemental food once a day. I would say that my 5 gobies consume %10-%15 of what my small Springeri Damsel poops out daily. 5 of them are definitely a lesser bioload then single small clownfish. Hope it helps

[gena]

You have gorgeous tanks! I love the gorgonians you have too .

 

Ands some dwarf eye candy:

 

 

 

I want them all LOL.

[Maniu]

You have gorgeous tanks! I love the gorgonians you have too . I want them all LOL.

Trust me, if I could find these guys I would have get them all.

Thanks. Gorgs are doing great. Taking over my tank tho. I made 4 frags already and it keeps growing pretty fast. I need some more yellow and red zoas and maybe some acans for color contrast.

[Snow_Phoenix]

My friend caught this little one off Tanjung Balau (Balau Lagoon) on the east coast of the state.

 

 

Not sure what species he is, but he's pretty small.

 

Apparently the area is rife with dwarf gobies. Although most of them are camouflaged very well, so they're not as colorful as the ones you see in the store.

[gena]

Trust me, if I could find these guys I would have get them all.

Thanks. Gorgs are doing great. Taking over my tank tho. I made 4 frags already and it keeps growing pretty fast. I need some more yellow and red zoas and maybe some acans for color contrast.

Maybe someday those pictured will become available to us .

[Maniu]

Sequential Hermaphroditism

At least 20 families of fish posses ability to change from female to male or reverse.

Dwarf gobies are one of them.

 

 

Maybe someday those pictured will become available to us .

I will try to source out importers or collectors. Someone gotta have those. If not intentionally then maybe by chance.

[gena]

Cool! Didn't know they could transition that quickly.

[Maniu]

My friend caught this little one off Tanjung Balau (Balau Lagoon) on the east coast of the state.

 

 

Not sure what species he is, but he's pretty small.

 

Apparently the area is rife with dwarf gobies. Although most of them are camouflaged very well, so they're not as colorful as the ones you see in the store.

I will try to find it for you over the weekend. Cool pic and thanks for sharing.

Cool! Didn't know they could transition that quickly.

I knew they can do that but like you I was shocked by time it takes to sexually morph.....

[Snow_Phoenix]

I will try to find it for you over the weekend. Cool pic and thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks, and you're welcome.

[Maniu]

My friend caught this little one off Tanjung Balau (Balau Lagoon) on the east coast of the state.

 

 

Not sure what species he is, but he's pretty small.

 

Apparently the area is rife with dwarf gobies. Although most of them are camouflaged very well, so they're not as colorful as the ones you see in the store.

I don't think I have found exactly what you were looking for but ......... it is close:

Oplopomus caninoides, Macrodontogobius wilburi, Gnatholepis thompsoni or Fusigobius neophytus

 

 

Another possibility

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many that it is hard to pinpoint exact specie without more research.

[Maniu]

Plus, with some species there are differences between juvenile and adult. It makes it that much more difficult.

[Maniu]

For your consideration:

 

 

Redeye goby - Bryaninops natans

 

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/7205

 

Bryaninops natans　（Hovering goby, Redeye goby）: https://youtu.be/QpxGX2O7ldo

 

https://youtu.be/hl8cGAAOh0o

[Maniu]

Real marine aquarium - Life of a small fish in the Red Sea: https://youtu.be/IzqXtQwgXGA

More about this fascinating fish.

Unfortunately, in depth commentary about their life and behavior is in polish.

If anyone is interested, I will be happy to help with translation.

[teenyreef]

Just caught up with your new thread, Maniu. Your tanks are beautiful! And thanks for putting together all this great dwarf goby information. When I started researching fish to put in a 4g tank, the choices seemed to be neon gobies and clown gobies. Then I found green banded gobies, but that was about all I could find in common sources. This is really great and hopefully it will help everyone be more aware of the many choices out there

[Maniu]

Really neat concept! Love the biotope aspect of it. How long has it been running?

 

One thing to note, I think those polished black stones may contain Iron. Keep an eye out for rust forming on them.

Hey Mr. Microscope

Unfortunately I have to confirm.

Those rocks do contain iron.

Lots of it. Enough to get picked up with magnet from outside of the glass.

Now I need suggestions:

Leave it. Monitor it.

Slowly replace it with another substrate option.

Or there is something else I can do.

On the side not. What are the consequences of leaving it in the tank?

Wish someone can tell me to leave it as a cheap GFO alternative lol

[nidding]

Very nice little tank

[Maniu]

Very nice little tank

Thanks on behalf of my gobies lol

[gena]

For your consideration:

 

 

Redeye goby - Bryaninops natans

 

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/7205

 

Bryaninops natans　（Hovering goby, Redeye goby）: https://youtu.be/QpxGX2O7ldo

 

https://youtu.be/hl8cGAAOh0o

that is my holy grail fish!!!!!! I don't think they are collected though. I tried to get them a year or two ago.

 

If you find a way to get them...please let me know .

 

Real marine aquarium - Life of a small fish in the Red Sea: https://youtu.be/IzqXtQwgXGA

More about this fascinating fish.

Unfortunately, in depth commentary about their life and behavior is in polish.

If anyone is interested, I will be happy to help with translation.

Oh cool...gonna watch that later. You can press the CC at the bottom of the video for subtitles . Are you Polish? I am

100% (or almost, a tiny bit of German )..but don't know the language .

 

Hey Mr. Microscope

Unfortunately I have to confirm.

Those rocks do contain iron.

Lots of it. Enough to get picked up with magnet from outside of the glass.

Now I need suggestions:

Leave it. Monitor it.

Slowly replace it with another substrate option.

Or there is something else I can do.

On the side not. What are the consequences of leaving it in the tank?

Wish someone can tell me to leave it as a cheap GFO alternative lol

The rocks are dense so I don't think they will absorb like a GFO would. Too bad because they look awesome in the tank!

 

I personally would go the sand route but maybe a courser grade.

[Maniu]

that is my holly grail fish!!!!!! I don't think they are collected though. I tried to get them a year or two ago.If you find a way to get them...please let me know . Oh cool...gonna watch that later. You can press CC at the bottom of the video for subtitles . Are you Polish? I am100% (or almost, a tiny bit of German )..but don't know the Language . The rocks are dense so I don't think they will absorb like a GFO would. Too bad because they look awesome in the tank!I personally would go the sand route but maybe a courser grade.

That goby is amazing!!!!!! Such a character and huge heart. And if you have Acros, there might be more to this cute guy then meet the eye. Very likely, there is possibility that some symbiotic relationship occurs between goby and the coral. ofcause more study has to be made to verify this theory. Scientist goal of this expedition other then in depth study of this fish was aquatic hobby potential. It is not likely that we will see Redeye widely available in the trade. But there is hope. If I only knew how to contact this guy .......lol

 

I am Polish (% 110). German language isn't my forte but I took several courses of german back in the days.

 

So you think removing pebbles is a must before sh...t hits the fan?

I was afraid that you were going to say that lol

Gonna look around for some alternative.

I got some black slate tiles leftovers. I can crush those into fine rubble and use that.

Unless there is an issue with that kind of stone as well.......

I could mix things up a bit by mixing that with black sand. Idk

[Maniu]

This guy got me worry a bit since it got run over by large nassarius snail. Any damage can be lethal to these fragile invertebrates. His feeding tentacles and scotoplanes retracted for few days. Not a good sign.

However, last night it showed interest while feeding corals with oster feast and zooplankton.

 

 

 

 

[gena]

OMG...LOVE those GIFs!!!! Too bad those pebbles are bad..they look sooo cool. Go with black sand. That way you know

it's safe. Although even black sand will have iron in it. I had it before and some pieces would stick to the cleaning

magnet.

 

 

That goby is amazing!!!!!! Such a character and huge heart. And if you have Acros, there might be more to this cute guy then meet the eye. Very likely, there is possibility that some symbiotic relationship occurs between goby and the coral. ofcause more study has to be made to verify this theory. Scientist goal of this expedition other then in depth study of this fish was aquatic hobby potential. It is not likely that we will see Redeye widely available in the trade. But there is hope. If I only knew how to contact this guy .......lol

 

I am Polish (% 110). German language isn't my forte but I took several courses of german back in the days.

I got a chance to watch that video . I hope he can determine that they would be good for the hobbyists' tank. It was cool how

the little guys could differentiate between a fish that was a threat and a fish that was just a nuissance, regardless of it being 20x it's

size . Oh how I'd love to get a little school of those guys. Definitely would need a lot of acros in the tank for them too!

[Maniu]

OMG...LOVE those GIFs!!!! Too bad those pebbles are bad..they look sooo cool. Go with black sand. That way you knowit's safe. Although even black sand will have iron in it. I had it before and some pieces would stick to the cleaningmagnet.I got a chance to watch that video . I hope he can determine that they would be good for the hobbyists' tank. It was cool howthe little guys could differentiate between a fish that was a threat and a fish that was just a nuissance, regardless of it being 20x it'ssize . Oh how I'd love to get a little school of those guys. Definitely would need a lot of acros in the tank for them too!

Looks like they lay eggs between dead acro branches and feed on plankton. So it shouldn't be that difficult to keep those guys long term. Their lifespan is unknown tho. lol you would snatched every goby available on the market, wouldn't you?

I am the same way tho. Something about these guys puts a smile on my face.

Yup, It was interesting to see little guy giving a lip to the much bigger fellow. School would be awesome, I am not sure if they live in big groups or smaller groups of 1 male and several females...

 

I got some black sand to slowly replace pebbles. I will also try to use slate rubble for a bit of a variety.

Thanks foe advice G.

[Maniu]

Just caught up with your new thread, Maniu. Your tanks are beautiful! And thanks for putting together all this great dwarf goby information. When I started researching fish to put in a 4g tank, the choices seemed to be neon gobies and clown gobies. Then I found green banded gobies, but that was about all I could find in common sources. This is really great and hopefully it will help everyone be more aware of the many choices out there

Omg not sure how did I missed your post. Thanks teenyreef.

Exactly on point. Even when searching the web for nano fish options, dwarfs rarely come up or selection is poor to say the least. Perhaps these dwarf gobies are hard to find or just not that popular. Idk

What I do know, is that for small nano tanks options are limited. And many steer away from more common choice as bio-load and water stability is a huge factor. Naturally, we don't want to overstock to avoid costly concequences down the road. But it doesn't have to be that way.

You can have your mini reef and enjoy cool fish in the same setup.

I am not saying gobies are your only option but it is a pretty safe bet as bio-load is minimal.

Thanks and hope to see your more often around these woods.

[Maniu]

Some of new coral additions for both tanks: