MTS - Multiple Tank Stand?? (Part 2) - White Cheek Goby/Blue Gularis

[vince0]

So I started up the first tank today. This tank will be housing 2 pairs of white cheeked gobies and gardneri killifish. Filtration will be a sponge filter. No heater as both species prefer cooler water. It will be planted. I will be trying the moss tying technique outlined in takashi amano's column in TFH November edition.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/new%20tank%20setup%2010%20gallons%202/P1020229.jpg

More to come!

[vince0]

So the tank mostly cleared up overnight, I left the filter off to reduce on water movement so everything would settle quicker. And the first inhabitants are now in the tank. I added a few plants I had kicking around the tank. And I'm also looking for plant ideas to put add to the tank. Sometime in the next day or two I will be adding the moss to the wood Amano style. Here's some pics from today.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/White%20Cheeked%20Gobies/P1020237.jpg
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/White%20Cheeked%20Gobies/P1020236.jpg
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/new%20tank%20setup%2010%20gallons%202/P1020238.jpg

More to come!

[CACAdmin]

Intriguing piece of driftwood you have between those stones. Leaving the filter off will have let everything settle but I'd be concerned about leaving it off for long as you'll want to keep the beneficial bacteria in there oxygenated. Fish look quite happy in their new home. I'm enjoying watching this all come together.

[vince0]

Intriguing piece of driftwood you have between those stones. Leaving the filter off will have let everything settle but I'd be concerned about leaving it off for long as you'll want to keep the beneficial bacteria in there oxygenated. Fish look quite happy in their new home. I'm enjoying watching this all come together.

To be honest, its a brand new filter that I didn't even cycle it. If I start to see the fish in distress, an immediate 50% w/c takes place.

I also noticed that the 4 fish I purchased are all males. So I went back to the store I purchased them from to see if they had any females. Not only did they get a new shipment of these fish, but every single fish in that tank was a male. Im a bit dissapointed that I won't be able to start breeding these right away, but now it gives me a reason to visit the LFS more often, just in case they get more. Through research, I also found out theres about 70 closely related species of white cheek gobies and most of the are either undescribed, or very poorly described. This'll just make things a bit more interesting (or difficult) At this point im debating on just scrapping the whole project and returning all of the males to the store. Ill just wait till I can purchase a m/f group all at the same time.

Here's some pics from tonight.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/White%20Cheeked%20Gobies/P1020242.jpg

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/new%20tank%20setup%2010%20gallons%202/P1020240.jpg

Im still debating what I want to plant in the tank, so rather than rush to find something to put into it, I think im just gonna wait and see what inspires me.

[CACAdmin]

Sometimes, the tactics of the breeders/wholesalers is to only sell males... to redeuce the chances of someone being able to breed a particular fish. However, on occasion, a female slips thought the cracks. This may or may not be the case but you could keep checking for a female.

[pyro]

How did you cycle the tank? Did you use water from another aquarium?

[Rabadswompe]

I'm gonna keep an eye on that moss (java ???)... you certainly hog tied it well cowboy!!!!!:laugh: It'll make a nice "zen" scape!
other than the odd bumble bee goby, we don't see much of that fish type.

[vince0]

Its tied on pretty well for now... I used 100% cotton thread, and im told its biodegradable, so ove the next month, as the moss grows and the thread degrades it should come out looking nice.

This morning ill be returning 3 of the 5 males in this tank, ill probably get store credit for them and wait for a new shipment to come in. Hopefully the next shipment comes sooner than later. I wonder if I could get the LFS to special order me 4 fish, and I could pay the freight... Ill look into this scenario this mornig.

[vince0]

How did you cycle the tank? Did you use water from another aquarium?


Nah, I just declorinated the water and added plants and a few fish. I know its gonna take a month or so for the tank to "settle". I do 30% w/c twice a week on all my tanks so if there is an ammonia/nirtite spike, it shouldn't be too bad.

[Kimr]

Nice looking fish and tank! Too bad you didn't get a chance to get some females, but maybe they can bring them in for you as you said.

[vince0]

Ity may take a while before I may be able to acquire more, they have to come out of china or honk kong or something. Betwen you and me, I'm not too keen on paying frieght from china. Ill just wait till they get more. In the meantime, Ill be adding a pair of Blue Gularis on tuesday. I built the lid to be jump proof so that I won't go through another male.. Hopefully Third try will be the good one with getting these to live longer than three days. I still have the original female, but I've had two males jump on me so far. Ill get pictures of the new male when I get him, hopefully tuesday

[Cowboychris]

Nice!!!!

Are the Brackish water? I wanted to get a Dragon Goby pair but the LFS goby's were not freshwater, were yours brackish and did you change them to fresh?


Thanks

[vince0]

They are freshwater, from china to burma i think. The information on them isn't very good. And its few and far between. At this point, I've pretty much given up hope of breeding them anytime soon. They will just be an oddball fish in my tank for the time being. The real eye catcher in this tank will be the blue gularis

[vince0]

So i got a male blue gularis finally on tuesday, and this one is even bigger/nice looking than the last. I taped up any holes in the lid so that he couldn't jump out of the tank, and added the female the day after. The plants are starting to show some nice growth and the fish are really settling in quickly. The gularis will even let me look at them without going to hide!

Here's a pic of the male.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/killiefish/blue%20gularis/P1020251.jpg

Ill be putting together spawning mops this week for the killi tanks and hopefully will be collecting eggs shortly from these beauties.

[CACAdmin]

Beautiful fish. Glad to hear they've settled in well.

[Kimr]

Oh yes beautiful fish indeed!

[Rabadswompe]

how big is this fish? hard to have a scale! a beauty!

[vince0]

about 4 to 5", in killifish terms, hes huge :)

[vince0]

Here's an update look of the tank, I added a few more plants and some horned nerite snails.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/new%20tank%20setup%2010%20gallons%202/P1020269.jpg

and some more picture of the blue gularis male

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/killiefish/blue%20gularis/P1020267.jpg

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/killiefish/blue%20gularis/P1020256.jpg

[xblade]

He's a beauty! Lookin good:Smile:

[vince0]

Well it would appear that blue gularis cannot coexist with white cheeked gobies in a 10 gallon tanks, as evidenced by this picture

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/killiefish/blue%20gularis/P1020272.jpg

What you see in the gularis' mouth would be the back half of a white cheeked goby. im a little worried the gularis might "choke" and die.... Hopefully he's finished his meal and doing great in the morning...

[CACAdmin]

Ouch! Obviously not good tankmates. Poor little goby. I hope by the time you snapped the picture, he no longer knew what was happening. Also hope the blue gularis is ok this morning.

I guess this means another tank? for the white cheeked gobis? :wink:

[vince0]

He was fine by morning, no sign of the goby. Ill try the gobies again in another 10 gallon that im setting up for the killi fry I got growing out. Hopefully It'll be ok. If not, Ill have to do gobies when Im done with killifish (if that ever happens)

[Rabadswompe]

[quote=vince0;88354]http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/Vince_O/killiefish/blue%20gularis/P1020272.jpg

quote]
Yikes... no idea the size differential was so big!!!

[vince0]

that gularis streched his whole head to eat that goby... im not even sure how to explain it....

[Namor]

Too bad the goby was gulped, but that's an amazing photo!

[vince0]

Thanks!

I dropped my first spawning mop into this tank last night, and collected my first two eggs this morning! I have these in a small ziploc plastic container with an airline. Ill be doing 50% daily water changes for the next few weeks as long as the eggs don't turn white. Ill keep you folks updated.

[Rabadswompe]

OMG...that fast?!!!!

[vince0]

yeah lol, they have been laying eggs in various areas of the tank, I just haven't bothered to collect them. The male is probably close to full grown, and the female is quickly getting there as well. As of 5 minutes ago, I was still watching courtship. It is quite neat to see, the male hovers over the female and wiggle around together.

[CACAdmin]

It's always interesting to watch the different courtship rituals of various fish.

[pyro]

The rule I always follow is that if one fish can fit into another fishes mouth.... it will! :Smile: I recently had a boesmani rainbow eat a corydoras pygmaeus! I never expected that!

[vince0]

I just didn't think the goby would fit in the gularis mouth! lol ... live and learn lol