clown/goldhead behavior issues....

[m3 Ryan]

Hey guys/gals-

I have a tank raised percula and he is just to cute for words. He wiggles and is very playful. If I put my finger in the tank he will come nibble on it, then my shrimp will try to come and "clean" my finger.

He didn't do this when I first got him. Is this a sign of affection towards me (only caretaker), or is he just starving? (I feed every other day with frozen "brine shrimp plus"- for 30secs of eating)

 

Also, I plan on taking a few trips, 3-4 days, and x-mas break of 2-3 weeks, how long is he good for without feeding? I could have someone feed him, but I will have my custom top off system done by this weekend so no worries on water level (7gal A Life).

 

Also, how long does a goldheaded sleeper goby take to get comofrtable? hes hardly ever out in the open of the tank, and its usually when I am not in my room. Does he need food other than the algae he sifts from the gravel? I have a seaweed stalk growing in my tank as an alternative "natural" food for them to nibble on...

 

Thanks for any/all imput on these questions!

 

-Ryan G.

[printerdown01]

Clown will be fine w/o food for 4 days! He will snoop around and find a couple of pods here and there. However, he won't make the 3 week x-mas break! Your feeding schedule sounds good to me... Sorry but I can't comment on the sleeper -I just don't have the experiance needed, I could make some guesses, but others will know more...

[m3 Ryan]

well, bad news...

my gold head died today... I jsut took him out and did a 30% water change to get rid of the Am.

this sucks... he was such a cool fish. Oh well, I am going to leave my tank as is with 2 fish. My Target Goby and my TR Percula as they are both very active and healthy. both the goldhead and a bicolor blenny died from not comming out in the tank much, and probably starved to death.

 

anyadvice on the clown and my other q's??

[MKramer]

I think you would be makig a wise decision in stopping at 2 fish in that tank. Personally, I'd stop at 1, but that's me.

 

As for your clown questions, his approaching you is:

 

1) a product of its ownership of that territory and increased confidence that it is safe

 

2) a learned behavior knowing that the hand always comes with food.

 

Many people out there would claim that #2 is an example of bad husbandry, that we should not allow our non-domesticated pets to be become so familiar with us. I'm guilty of it, too, though. I feed a lot of food with my fingers, and now they nip at my hands and arms whenever I go to do anything in the tank.

 

As for your food, tohugh, stop using the brine shrimp. Or at least supplement it with something healthy. Brine shrimp, even vitamin-enriched, "super" brine, are of almost no nutritional quality. Over time, if it's the only food, it will cause disease and even death in your clowns (and other fish/corals/anemones).

 

Use mysis, krill, raw table shrimp, or frozen combo foods (Formula One, etc.).

 

Matthew

[m3 Ryan]

great, thanks for the feedback.

should I be adding photoplaynkton aswell??

[onthefly]

First off, I feed my clowns a "multipurpose" flake, with a frozen brine treat every week or two. They've been healthy and clowny for 5 years now. As for gobies, I've had 2 goldheads. They appeared to acclimate well and fed with the rest of the fish, but both "suddenly" died a month or two later.

 

One day at my new LFS, I asked the owner which goby is best, and he said "hands down, a dragon goby" I replied with why? he said "They LIVE!". He said that sleepers and diamonds are really dependent on the sand critters (worms, cops, etc.) they sift and it's not algae or detritis that they live off of. Therefore, you have to have a pretty stocked sand bed to sustain a sleeper or diamond.

 

Sorry about the sleeper!:*(