Goby question (new tank)

[FishyFrick31]

I went to the fish store the other day and told them I have a problem with my tank.. My live rock is covered with green hair algae and the whole top layer of my sand was covered with brownish redish algae..

So the owner suggested I get a clean up crew

He said get some snails
He said since you are adding coral soon, do not get turbo snails because they will run over everything in their path
So I got 6 nasserus snails
They go so slow its like I didn't even add them yet lol
Also I bought 12 carribean blue legged hermit crabs which are the size of the finger nail on my pinky finger each...
And then he said for your sand problem get 2 gobys...
He said they will turn this tank into this tank in a matter of two days... (Pointing at a dirty sand tank compared to the clean sand tank they are in)

So I said ok I will get them..

At first when I put them in they went strait to the back of the tank to hide... They dug a whole under some of the live rock to hide the first night...
Today I came home and one of the live rocks were against the glass tipped over from the whole they dig...
Each one of the the rocks were dug under..
So today I picked up each live rock and balanced the sand back out and put the rocks back down... The orange dotted goby is a menace. Right away as soon as I took my hand out of the water he began digging again....
Is this a normal thing? Is he only digging because he's scarred? Will this stop?
Help!

 

[Mebbid]

If they are digging and toppling rocks then you have a much bigger problem than a goby. You need to make sure all of the rocks are securely seated in the tank. They should all be pushed down in the substrate so they are touching the glass to prevent toppling.

Don't listen to your lfs. He is a moron. You need to address the root of the problem to solve your algae issues. Furthermore, orange spotted gobys are carnivores. Also, yes it's normal for the gobys to dig

Have you tested the water parameters recently?

 

[FishyFrick31]

If they are digging and toppling rocks then you have a much bigger problem than a goby. You need to make sure all of the rocks are securely seated in the tank. They should all be pushed down in the substrate so they are touching the glass to prevent toppling.

Don't listen to your lfs. He is a moron. You need to address the root of the problem to solve your algae issues. Furthermore, orange spotted gobys are carnivores. Also, yes it's normal for the gobys to dig

Have you tested the water parameters recently?

I have two questions for you... What's a substrate and what is a water parameter? Lol

The goby with the orange dots looks like the attachment on here and the other one looks like the yellow head I attached also... The yellow one is not much of a nuisance to my tank at all. Actually pretty peaceful. But why would the lfs guy say that I can fan off the algae in the sand because you don't want to disturb the sand bed but then it's fine to let a goby dig holes to the bottom of it and constantly move sand around?

 

[Mebbid]

I have two questions for you... What's a substrate and what is a water parameter? Lol

The goby with the orange dots looks like the attachment on here and the other one looks like the yellow head I attached also... The yellow one is not much of a nuisance to my tank at all. Actually pretty peaceful. But why would the lfs guy say that I can fan off the algae in the sand because you don't want to disturb the sand bed but then it's fine to let a goby dig holes to the bottom of it and constantly move sand around?

Substrate is your sand bed.

Water parameter is your levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate. They are EXTREMELY important to know and since you aren't aware of them currently I would say that they are the sole cause of your hair algae issues. I would suggest that you go out and buy an API saltwater master test kit to test for your water levels but in the meantime take a sample of your water to a LFS, a different one than you have been going to if possible, and have them test your water.

Again, going back to not listening to your LFS guy. If you have a Deep sand bed which is a sand bed that is 5" deep or more than disturbing the sand bed could cause massive issues in the tank. An average sand bed of around 1" or so doesn't have the major problems that a deep sand bed has so it's okay to disturb it.

Some more questions:
How long has this tank been set up?
How often do you change your water and how much do you change out?
Do you have a protein skimmer?
What are you using for a filter?
Did you cycle the tank before adding livestock?

 

[Jmkb02]

Both gobies are carnivorous, you have an orange spotted and a sleeper gold head. I would look into the source and beef up the cuc before any more additions and def before adding any coral. Blue hermits do work, also blenny's are what your knucklehead of a lfs guy needs to sell you in the future. They do work on algae outbreaks. Find the source, and keep it under control with these guys.

 

[FishyFrick31]

Both gobies are carnivorous, you have an orange spotted and a sleeper gold head. I would look into the source and beef up the cuc before any more additions and def before adding any coral. Blue hermits do work, also blenny's are what your knucklehead of a lfs guy needs to sell you in the future. They do work on algae outbreaks. Find the source, and keep it under control with these guys.

Ok well my water parameters are perfect lol I just didn't know what parameter meant. I test my tanks levels on a daily basis and the tank has been up for 6-7 weeks.. Sand bed is about 4-5" deep.. I do have a protein skimmer..

 

[Mebbid]

What exactly are your nitrate and phosphate levels at?

 

[FishyFrick31]

What exactly are your nitrate and phosphate levels at?

Zerooooo