Bumble bee gobys in a community tank

[DocOc]

Hi All,

I am cutting back on my tanks from a 30G and a 5G to one 55G. The 5G has had two bumble bee gobies. I am thinking about selling them, but that can be a hassle and I really like the fish. Might they do ok in my 55G shown here? I think they are large enough to avoid being eaten by others in the tank because there are fish presently in there that are smaller than them.
What's in there already:
Loaches: Clown, Yo-yo, and Skunk
Pleco
Mollies, Platies, and Swords
Pearl Gourami
Siamese algae eaters
Corys
Glo-lite Tetras
Danios

It's a party in there and everyone gets along fine so far, but gobies are a little different and territorial from what I know. Just wondering. Thanks!

 

[zenkatydid]

i think personality-wise they will do fine, but as far as i know they should really be living in a brackish environment...

 

[andywg]

They should be fine in there.

With regards to whether BBG should be in brackish or not, I quote an interview with Naomi Deventhal (a goby expert who is currently sorting out the taxonomy and relationships of the Ind-Pacific goby genus Callogobius.

When asked about BBG she had this to say:

By far the most commonly traded species is Brachygobius doriae or something quite close to it. And I have kept these several times equally well in both fresh and slightly brackish water. I prefer fresh water, because I like to keep live plants.

It is also worth noting that in the wild this fish is found in freshwater more often than brackish.

 

[coldmachineUK]

They should be fine in there.

With regards to whether BBG should be in brackish or not, I quote an interview with Naomi Deventhal (a goby expert who is currently sorting out the taxonomy and relationships of the Ind-Pacific goby genus Callogobius.

When asked about BBG she had this to say:

By far the most commonly traded species is Brachygobius doriae or something quite close to it. And I have kept these several times equally well in both fresh and slightly brackish water. I prefer fresh water, because I like to keep live plants.

It is also worth noting that in the wild this fish is found in freshwater more often than brackish.

I'm glad someone else is quoting scientific papers/evidence here rather than anecdotal. Yes, BBGs do fine in freshwater. The whole gobiidae family is actually amphidromous (migratory): they wander from FW to brackish to marine at various times (often spawning related). Some specific species require full marine conditions, some specific species require FW, but 'brackish' as a permanent form of water is actually a misnomer because there's no such thing. 'Brackish water' actually refers to the (sometimes extremely lengthy in terms of distance) gradiant between FW river and marine water (i.e. the sea) in which there are variant degrees of intermediate salinity between the two.
Generally goby larvae develops in salt water where it flowed to in order for greater chances of survival, develops there until the juvenile stage, and then returns to FW to live out adult life. This is a generalisation though, some as I say are permanently marine.

Best place to check out info: http://www.gobiidae.com (The Gobioid Research Institute).
Also check out Moyle & Czech and their very good intro to icthyology. I've the 4th ed (2000) but there may be a more recent edition. Good stuff about fish ecology in there, inc. gobies.

 

[zenkatydid]

wow, great info, thanks! *add bumblebees into the tank plan...*

 

[coldmachineUK]

Np, welcome
Here's some more useful links:

Brachygobius doriae
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=25066
"Environment: demersal; freshwater; brackish" (i.e. 'anything really, just not marine').

The other commonly found BBG: Brachygobius xanthozonus
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=11304
"Environment: demersal; freshwater; brackish" (i.e. same as the other).

The only thing to make sure is this: if your BBG are being kept in the LFS in low-end salinity water (i.e. 'brackish') then acclimate them to whichever conditions your tank is set to keep them in long-term. Don't just pop them into FW straight off if they're used to brackish. Likewise visa versa.

 

[DocOc]

So, I went ahead and did it. They seem to be doing fine. I love those guys, attaching themselves to things with their ventral/anal fins, then zooming off to snag something out of the water column. Quite the little hunters.
If I ever get a good camera, you'll see a lot of picture of them and their tankmates.
Thanks for all the research and resulting info!