Goby, Wrasse, cardinals, etc. HOw fun are they?

[AMANIQU77]

Hello Folks.

I am curious as to how fun is it to keep gobies, wrasses, cardinals, etc in the tank. You know, it's pretty typical for hobbyists to choose the Tang route, the puffer route, the trigger route, the lionfish and eel route, the damsels and clowns route...how about these colorful neon colored fish?

How are they? I only ended up deviating away from them because for the most part those fish remind me of the freshwater hobby (they are shaped like a normal fish). But I could only imagine how colorful your tanks are.

Are they cool to keep? Are they aggressive? Are they hard to have compatible specimen mates? Just curious.

Thank You for your input

 

[Fluff]

They are all great fish.
Cardinals are peaceful fish that should be kept in groups and are more nocturnal so keep that in mind when deciding.
There are several types of gobies, sandsifters/watchman/ect. As far as I know, all are fun, peaceful species with tons of personality. If selecting a watchman type goby, consider getting him a pistol shrimp buddy to pal around with.
Wrasses are great and come in lots of different sizes and colors. Alot of them are not reef safe/invert safe though and some will munch on your ornamental shrimps and crabs. I don't know what your current set up is but some get very large as well and needs systems of 100g or more. As for temperament, that will vary depending on the wrasse you choose. Decide what you want and research a species compatible to your tank. A nice small wrasse that is inverts safe is a sixline wrasse. Very colorful and normally plays well with others. liveaquaria.com has alot of different wrasses listed with some basic info on each. You could browse through their site for ideas. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=15

 

[AMANIQU77]

Thank you for the facts. I appreciate the advise. I always had the impression tank size isn't an issue for these folks but thanks for the info regarding the wrasse.

 

[fishyG]

I have a watchman Goby, a Diamond Goby, and a Clown Goby. They have great color and are a lot of fun. The Clown will sit on rocks, power heads, or just hang on the glass and follow you around the room. He loves to see what is going on outside the tank. The Diamond is a sand sifter and over one weekend, he managed to cover one 15 pound chunk of LR. THe next few days he uncovered it and moved all the sand to the other side of the tank. The watchman, he just hangs out behind the rocks (and under them) and is always peeking around the coners to see what is going on. He does not scare away if you are looking at him or near the tank, but he just sticks his head out and stares at you.
All in all, they are fun to watch and I have spaced out many hours just watching them watch me.

 

[Hara]

alot of them are know for carpet surfing, so a nice fitting lid would be important.