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