Bumblebee Fish   6/13/09
Hi, I was wondering if I could have some advice. is there a way to tell the gender of a Bumblebee Fish? Thanks, Jesse
<Nope; most of the time both sexes look very similar. Both males and females are territorial, but males more so, since they're the ones who look after the eggs. So if you have a group of Bumblebee Gobies, the ones that seem to be most aggressive are likely the males. That said, as with most fish, sexually mature females filled with eggs will be obviously more "swollen" than the males, and in some Bumblebee Goby species at least, males will change their colours when courting females. That's of no use at all when buying them since the fish offered by retailers will be juveniles.
But once settled in and a bit older, you will probably be able to use all of these clues to sex your gobies. Cheers, Neale.>

Help! Mollies/BB Gobies  9/18/09
Hello,
<Hi,>
I have a 30 gallon brackish (1.004-1.005) tank. Nitrites, nitrates, and Ammonia are all zero, pH is 7.6. In the tank I have 1 adult Dalmatian molly, 2 "teenage" mollies, and 5 baby mollies (I haven't found a home for them yet, and now I don't know if I can). I recently purchased 5 bumblebee gobies (I didn't have a quarantine tank, hopefully my mollies won't pay the price for my ignorance).
<Oh? Sounds nice so far...>
The bumblebee gobies (BBGs) all became sick... the first had a very crooked spine, like he had been bent in half (he didn't look like this when I got him). He was floating around the tank like a person in space. I had him euthanized. Then, a few days later, a second with a crooked spine, same listless floating around, not eating - neither were eating. A few days later, the rest were listless, not eating. One appeared to have an advanced case of tail rot that progressed rapidly - seemed to be overnight. All have been euthanized now. As a side note... when the BBGs would eat, I was feeding a combination of live brine shrimp & blackworms, frozen brine shrimp and frozen daphnia. I was using a turkey baster to shoot it down to them at the bottom so the mollies wouldn't eat all of it.
<OK. This is odd. Did this happen within days of purchase? Here's a bunch of other thoughts. Firstly, are you 100% sure the salinity is what you think it is? Do double check. Some hydrometers are more accurate than others. Maybe you can take yours to a pet store and have them check it by using it in one of their marine tanks. Or else you can add 35 grammes of cooking salt to one litre of warm water. Stir until it's dissolved, and then when the water is still, test the hydrometer. At 35g/l, it should read 1.025. If it's far off that, you have a problem. The plastic swing arm models are notoriously variable. Next, do check water quality. Usually when a bunch of fish die, it's a water quality issue or a water chemistry issue. We've already mentioned salinity, but do a quick nitrite test and see where you're at. To be fair, gobies generally are pretty tough animals, but still...>
My question is for the remaining mollies, do I just wait this out and see what happens?
<Pretty much.>
Or, should I do something as a precautionary treatment?
<Randomly adding medications without a diagnosis is usually pointless.>
I am going out of town for 4 days and my pet sitter doesn't know anything about fish. I can ask him to medicate, but he probably wouldn't be able to identify a problem. Any help would be appreciated.
<Do a 25% water change the morning of the day before you go, check everything is fine that afternoon, and then forget about it. Do take care the pet-sitter doesn't overfeed the fish; if anything, for 4 days, don't feed the fish at all. Mollies will be fine, and they'll turn their attention on any algae.>
I am worried about the possibility of Fish TB, b/c of the crooked spines.
<Nope.>
I had a similar problem with one of my mollies many months ago. We had her euthanized and sent off for pathology. There were no signs of TB.
<Quite so; very rare among freshwater fish. Grossly misdiagnosed within the hobby; a "catch-all" rather than anything tangible.>
I don't have the report in front of me, but from what I remember the vet suggested treating the rest for internal parasites and feeding a more nutritious diet, which I have done - I have lost one adult molly since, possibly to age (no other apparent signs). Anyway, when I mentioned this Fish TB possibility to my husband, he assumed I was over-reacting, again, and we did not send the BBGs off for pathology. I hope that was not yet another colossal mistake in my short time of keeping fish. Does this ever get easier, or should I just stick to four-legged friends? I love my fish and want to give them the best care possible, but I feel like I am failing them.
<My gut feeling is you were unlucky, and got a bad batch of perhaps half-starved BBGs. These are easily starved in retail tanks. Not all come from brackish water, in fact they're mostly freshwater fish in the wild, so if your salinity is higher than you think, they might have been shocked by the change. Mollies tolerate salinity above normal seawater, so are unlikely to be stressed by high salt concentration.>
I also have an unrelated question... I have driftwood in my 20 gallon FW tank for algae to grow on for my Otos. One piece seems to have a white, fluffy mold growing on it.
<Fungus; essentially harmless, though implies the wood wasn't cured prior to sale. The fungus is consuming organic matter in the wood.>
Should I throw it out?
<Plecs usually eat the stuff pretty quickly! Not something to worry about unduly, though it's consuming oxygen and adding to the bioload. And no, this isn't fungus that's going to jump onto your fish!>
Will the other pieces of driftwood be alright, or should I get rid of all of them?
<If the other bits of wood have organic content, they'll fungus as well, regardless of what's happening to this bit of wood.>
Thank you for having the patience to read through all of this, and for taking the time to help.
Amy
<You're welcome, Neale.>

Re: Help! Mollies/BB Gobies  9/18/09
Thanks, Neale, for your quick reply.
<Most welcome.>
Do you like when people respond to your answers? Or does it clog up your system too much? I usually don't write back when I ask a question, just read your answers, but this time I
wanted to touch base.
<Go for it!>
Here it goes...
All of this happened in one week - I purchased the BBGs on Tuesday last week and they were all dead by this Tuesday. I'm so sad, because they were so adorable and I was so happy to finally have found them (Petco special ordered them for me). I got them all their own little terra cotta pots. Got lots of different foods for them, b/c I read they could be finicky.
<Oh yes... I swear my single specimen feeds almost entirely on juvenile cherry shrimp. He only seems to eat the odd bloodworm, but has been in the tank for at least a year, and stays nice and plump.>
I feel absolutely awful, especially if this is my fault b/c of the salinity - I researched them for so long and fell in love with their cute little faces.
<They are nice fish; but despite being widely sold, they're actually among the most difficult gobies to keep. Many other species are substantially easier. The Australian species Chlamydogobius eremius for example eats flake and algae, and produces babies that are so big they're no more difficult to raise that baby Kribs!>
Anyhow, I did the salinity test, but I'm not sure my conversions were correct. I used 4.23 cups of water and 2.44 tbsp of salt (that was iodized salt - does that make a difference?
<Ah, for this test, cooking salt of whatever type is fine. By my reckoning normal seawater salinity is 4.7 oz per US gallon... how many tablespoons that is will depend on your tableware, I guess! I do have a little freeware tool for Mac and Windows that converts salinity, SG, and weights on the fly:
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Programs/brackcalc.html
>
I use marine salt for the mollies, but for this test, I just used my iodized table salt. I looked the conversion up on http://www.ez-calculators.com/measurement-conversion-calculator.htm). That was off the charts on my hydrometer - over 1.032. I'll try to take the hydrometer over to the LFS and have them check it.
<Does sound odd. Do a couple things before panicking. First, give the hydrometer a good clean with lemon juice or vinegar, to remove any lime that might be bunging up the pivot (if the swing arm type). Do also check temperature. If you play with my Brack Calc tool, you'll see temperature has a big impact on specific gravity, which is a measure of density, not salt concentration.>
I also just checked ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites - still all zero, pH was 7.8 today. I've been using the saltwater API test kit, b/c the FW kit always seemed hazy when I first turned the tank brackish - not sure if that is a problem, but all levels look okay.
<Sounds fine.>
Thanks for the recommendations - I will change the water right before I leave. I'm using auto flake feeders, I'll set them to distribute a small amount. I'll just have the pet sitter look in to see that everyone is alive and kicking'.
<Cool. For up to 7 days, fish don't need food, and even to 14 days shouldn't do any harm if there's algae and plants for them to attack. If you're "doing" fish right, they really should be VERY EASY pets.>
Thanks, also, for the words about fish TB - I feel a little less worried about that now (though it will be looming in the back of my head, until I've waited this out a few weeks ;-)
<Fish TB is primarily a marine fish thing, and the symptoms associated with in the freshwater hobby are almost always better explained by other diseases, many of which are quite easy to prevent/fix. I certainly remember back in the 80s when I started keeping fish, every time a fish diet in a mysterious way, Fish TB was blamed. That's largely stopped now. Do see here though:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Wound.htm
Even if Fish TB isn't a major issue, it's as good a reason as any to be alert to the importance of health and safety around the fish tank.>
Thanks, again, for everything.
Amy
<Cheers, Neale.>

Brackish and small... BB gobies, reading    12/16/07
I'd like to try a small brackish aquarium with the BB gobies and olive Nerites I read about on your site. what kind of easy food do you
recommend? can I avoid buying live food often? Any ideas on plants? the science teacher mentioned java fern. is plant acclimatization recommended?
can I go with one quarter salt water? what type of salt do you recommend, or can I use rock salt?
Thanks,
Elaine
<Hello Elaine. Bumblebee gobies do very well on a diet based around small chunks of seafood (small enough to swallow), wet frozen bloodworms, and live foods including brine shrimp and daphnia. Under such a regimen, they are easy to keep. In my personal experience they should be given live food once every week or two. Java fern is an excellent choice for a low-end brackish water tank around SG 1.003-1.005. Also very good choices are Anubias and Java Moss. All three plants are epiphytes, so they grow attached to solid objects. They do not like being put into the substrate, and will die if you do so. Otherwise, they are pretty idiot-proof, and will thrive even under quite low light levels. Acclimating plants to slightly brackish water generally isn't required. As for salt, you MUST use marine salt mix (Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, etc.). Since you only need 10-20% the dose used in a marine aquarium, this isn't a major expense. For Bumblebee gobies, 6 grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water is perfect. This is about 1/6th the salinity of normal seawater. Olive Nerites will also do well in these conditions. Good luck, Neale.>

Reclusive BBGs – 07/01/07
I have a 10 gal brackish tank at about 1.008 spg (established, all the levels normal) with two bumblebee gobies, a fiddler crab, and I just added one figure eight puffer this past week. Realizing that the gobies and crab would need places to hide from the puffer, I gave them about a month by themselves to establish territory, with plenty of places to hide - lots of fake plants, a patch of java moss, and a few little caves. The crab was shy, but the gobies were friendly and were always at the front of the tank.
The first day I added my puffer, the gobies acted normally even when the puffer was nearby. But since then, I am lucky to see my gobies once a day.
I have, surprisingly, seen the crab out more than the gobies. Is there anything I can do to make the gobies more comfortable with their new tankmate? Or will they be in hiding for the rest of their lives? Thanks for your help, Ben
<Greetings. A few comments first. The SG is a little high for this community. SG 1.005 is more than adequate. Bumblebee gobies -- despite their reputation in the hobby -- are found in both freshwater and brackish water habitats. Some species even live in blackwater streams with virtually no hardness and a very acidic pH. So opting for a low SG gives you the safest option; SG 1.005 won't stress gobies collected in freshwater, while being high enough to satisfy ones collected in brackish water. Figure-8 puffers are good at SG 1.005 as well. Now, the reason the gobies are hiding is they don't feel safe. The natural instinct of gobies is to stay near their burrows and dive into the burrow at the first sign of danger. In a tank 10 gallons in size with a pufferfish and fiddler crab, the gobies likely don't feel safe. Fiddler crabs, by the way, need amphibious conditions as they are really land animals that only dip in water to wet their gills and for breeding. I'm curious how you fit dry land into a 10 gallon tank and still have space for the puffer. Eventually the adult puffer will kill and eat the fiddler crab. Crabs are pufferfish food. So I think you have bigger problems than the hiding gobies to worry about! Hope this helps, Neale.>

Bumblebee goby – 6/8/07
Hi,
<Hello.>
I have 3 bumblebee gobies in a 10 gal tank. They are currently the only fish in the tank. The tank is brackish with 1.012 specific gravity, is established, and the levels are optimal (pH, ammonia, nitrite, etc.).
<The SG is a bit high for bumblebee gobies. Contrary to popular belief, bumblebee gobies (which I'll shorten to BBGs) are as much freshwater fish as they are brackish water fish. Some species even occur in acidic blackwater streams alongside things like rasboras and Carinotetraodon puffers. So, BBGs are best kept at the low end of the salinity range. Something around SG 1.003-1.005 is just about ideal, and should be acceptable for both BBGs collected in freshwater habitats and BBGS collected from brackish waters.>
Two of the gobies are active and healthy. The third has had problems. He is very skinny compared to the others, and it is reluctant to eat. He first happily ate the frozen krill I fed them, then lost interest. Knowing that he could just be a picky eater, I switched to live black worms (to try something new, and have read they are more substantial for the fish anyway).
<BBGs are indeed finicky feeders. I've found shrimp eggs to be remarkably popular with them. Depending on the time of year the shrimp spawn in your part of the world, you can find them under the legs of unshelled shrimps. If you can't obtain them, then frozen lobster eggs work nearly as well, but are smaller and more fiddly to use. Lobster eggs can be obtained from any store selling food for marine fish, as they're widely used to feed invertebrates. Defrost them, and then use a pipette to throw them in the general direction of the BBGs. Either type of egg provides lots of oil and protein -- making them an first-class way to fatten up gobies. Other picky feeders, such as glassfish, seem to enjoy them, too.>
He at them at first and continues to show interest, but has stopped eating them. Even though he still won't eat, his overall condition has improved - he swims with the other two and is becoming more active. I'm ruling out parasites or disease, because of the extended period of time he has been like this without dying. I'm very confused about this fish and have no idea what to think. Any ideas??
<My feelings are two-fold here. Firstly, the salinity is a bit high, and that might be creating borderline-tolerable conditions for the one goby. No attempt is made by collectors or retailers to identify them to species level, so it is entirely possible you have different species, the one having a lower salt tolerance than the other two. (Identifying BBGs to species level is in fact impossible for aquarists, despite the widespread use of various names in the hobby.) Secondly, it's possible you have males and females. If the thin fish is otherwise healthy, the fat fish might simply be females swollen with eggs. BBGs spawn rather easily in captivity (though rearing the fry is whole other ball game). In the meantime, try varying the diet some more. Shrimp/lobster eggs work well, but also try bloodworms, small chunks of prawn, small earthworms, and other suitably sized foods. Even brine shrimp and daphnia should do the trick.>
Thanks for the help
<Cheers, Neale>

New tank set up, FW leaning to BR. Bumblebee Gobies...      5/11/07
Hi all,
<Hello!>
Its been a while since I last wrote in.  I am about to be the proud  owner of a new 60 gallon tank. Wondered if you could answer a few questions as my  set ups have never been this large.
<Will do my best.>
I now plan to keep tropical fresh water fish.  I love the  brackish fish especially the bumble bee goby and wondered if they could be  adapted to the fresh water environment.
<Basically no. A few supposedly brackish water fish are actually freshwater fish that tolerate salt, such as glassfish and wrestling halfbeaks, and these are obviously fine in freshwater. Bumblebee gobies are a mixed bag. Some species are found in freshwater and can potentially be kept in even soft/acid conditions. However, identifying bumblebee gobies to species level is basically impossible for aquarists. So as a default position, BBGs are best kept in a brackish water tank (and ideally a single species one, as they're quite tricky to feed).>
Brackish fish are quite hard to  find here in Scotland and I found my choice limited hence the decision to go  freshwater.
<Often people don't realise the variety of brackish water fish out there. Besides the things like scats and monos, there are also numerous cichlids that do well (if not better) in brackish water, and there are also a few marine fish that thrive in (strongly) brackish water, such as various Arothron and Lutjanus spp. as well as a few inverts, like blue-leg hermit crabs. Agreed, brackish water fish are not easy to obtain on a single trip to your pet store, but over the year you are bound to see many different types. In the UK, you have some good options for mail-ordering fish, with stores like Trimar Aquaria and Wholesale Tropicals offering overnight delivery. Skim through a copy of a British fishkeeping magazine like PFK and you'll find lots of such dealers. These places often have lots of brackish water fish, and would be able to plug any gaps you can't find locally. I'll add that when I live in Scotland (Aberdeen) I didn't have much trouble getting brackish water fishes. There were a couple of decent shops in Aberdeen plus another in Dundee. Trips to Edinburgh or Glasgow would likely be rewarding, too.>
I also plan to have some clown loaches how many I believe they like to be in groups.
<Correct, they are sociable, and best kept in at least trios.>
I have a supplier near by also that stocks mollies reared in fresh water will they thrive the same?
<Rearing mollies in freshwater doesn't change anything. They are sensitive to high nitrates (anything much above zero), low pH, and low hardness. Keeping them in brackish water fixes these problems, which is why they do best in brackish water. So even if reared in freshwater, if you plonk a molly into water with high nitrates or a low pH/hardness, it'll get sick.>
I will have a shallow sand bed (playsand) and I know it must be  stirred regularly to prevent gas and toxins.  is there any freshwater critters available that can aid in this.
<Anything that burrows. I happen to like Malayan livebearing snails (Melanoides spp.) but these will breed rapidly if you overfeed the tank and do not remove organic waste quickly. Loaches and catfish also clean sand very effectively, and so will most benthic cichlids.>
Finally I would like to have some real plant life.  I thought if  I bought them potted they would thrive better than placing then directly in the sand.
<Potted plants are a bit of a con in some ways. Many plants do not thrive when potted, and need to be unpotted at once. Java ferns and Anubias, for example, shouldn't even be put in the ground at all! What matters is the development of the roots. I'd sooner take a loose plant with a decent root system than a potted one I cannot observe properly.>
What are your recommendations?
<For plants? Depends on your level of experience. Because sand is pushed about a bit by large fishes like clown loaches, you want to choose plants that develop deep root systems quickly, such as Vallisneria. Alternatively, go for Java ferns and Anubias that grow attached to stones/wood, as these don't care about the substrate either way. In fact, sticking with epiphytic plants like Java ferns, Anubias, and Java moss, plus floating plants like hornwort and water sprite, might be the best option. That way you only need 1-2 cm of sand, and there's zero risk of anaerobic decay.>
Thanks ever so much
Lesley
<Cheers, Neale>

FW/BW Bumblebee Goby: Table Salt vs. Aquarium or Marine salt.  10/10/2006
Thanks for the tips Jorie.
<You're welcome.>
I'm almost certain this Goby is the more freshwater tolerant Brachygobius xanthozona variety. The stripes and coloration look right. I will read up more on appropriate salt level for them. By the way, I added a level Tsp. of noniodized table salt per gallon to my tank. the Endler's and plants don't seem to mind but should I use aquarium or marine salt instead?
<You definitely should be using either aquarium or marine salt, not table salt - these are very different.  I personally use Instant Ocean marine salt in my brackish tank.  I'd suggest doing enough water changes to remove the table salt, then very carefully increasing the salinity with either aquarium or marine salt. Do invest in a hydrometer if you don't have one. The  table salt is very likely why the goby isn't happy at the moment - I'm surprised the Endler's are OK, to be honest.  Endler's livebearers aren't brackish, and even though the goby can "tolerate" freshwater, that doesn't mean he will thrive.  In all reality, you've got two types of fish with very different requirements that really don't belong together.  For the best interest of all, I still recommend separating the two, and making the goby's tank brackish.>
Thanks again. Gregg.
<You're welcome.  Good luck, Jorie>

Bum Bum Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee Gobies (not tuna) 10/22/05
Please can I ask for some advice? 
<Sure, it's Pufferpunk at your service!>
I have two tanks at present, one is a 30 litre BiOrb (established for 6 months) and the other a 15 litre nursery tank (established for 5 months). I have in the BiOrb 2 bumble bee gobies, that seem to be doing great. The temp is good. I have added aquarium salt and feed flakes to them and the other fish in the community. I have had them 3 months now. Is there anything else I can feed them to give them some variety? I heard they should have live food (yuch) but I cannot readily obtain this.
<Live brine shrimp will do as a treat (not very nutritious, being mostly water) & live blackworms (great source of protein). Both are good as live foods. More available foods are freeze-dried plankton or bloodworms. Aquarium salt does not make brackish water though. 
To make water brackish, you should be using marine salt & measure it with a hydrometer. A specific gravity of 1.005 should suit them well. If you have any freshwater fish in with them though, they will not appreciate this much salt (comes to roughly around 1 cup salt/5gallon).>
Also, last week I went and bought another 2 for my nursery tank which currently has no fry. Was this a wise idea? Will they thrive just as well as the others, being the only fish in the tank and will they eat any fry that I do add? 
<They should be fine without any tank mates. They will eat anything they can fit into their mouth.>
Thanks for your advice
<Enjoy your little bees! ~PP>
Lesley from Dunfermline Scotland