One More Fish!
Hello all,
<Hey there! Scott F. here today!>
Thank you in advance for your help.  I have a 40 gallon tank (36x15x17) with a Coral Beauty Angel, Yellowtail Damsel, Lawnmower Blenny, a variety of Nassarius, Turbo, and Astraea snails, a Sand Star, 50 lbs live sand, and 35 lbs Fiji live rock. Ammonia and nitrites are 0, nitrates are generally 0-10 ppm; the tank is filtered by an Emperor 280 and skimmed by an Aqua C Remora.  I want to add a refugium with a DSB, Chaetomorpha and maybe a little Gracilaria or Ulva. However, I cannot drill the tank and do not want use another overflow box that will lose siphon and... "make a mess on the floor," so I was looking at the CPR Hang-on Refugiums.  I am looking at the largest size, 25 inches long, but that won't fit on the tank with my filters, would it be a problem to hang the Emperor or Remora off the back of the refugium?
<The potential problem that I see is that the skimmer pump may draw more water out of the refugium than is being brought into it! Ideally, you'd want to hang either one of these units off of the display tank itself.>
Additionally, would changing the Rio power head for a Maxi Jet 1200 provide too much water flow.
<If you are referring to the skimmer, I think that the pump substitution is a valid one. "Too much" is a relative term!>
Is 65 watts of PC enough light?
<Fore a small refugium, that should suffice.>
I also have a stocking question: Is my tank too crowded to add, say, 2 or 3 Firefish or some other small goby?  Thank you very much for your time and help. Elvis
<Well, Elvis- I think it would be better to go with a smaller goby species, ideally one that inhabits the lower strata of the tank, so as not to be overly harassed by the active damsel. I think that the Firefish, although suited for a tank of this size, is too passive, IMO to work in conjunction with the fishes that you have in there. Hope this helps! Regards, Scott F.>

A Lone Goby
I'd like to get some opinions on the best way to handle a bad situation. <Sure! Ryan with you>  I used to have one pair of bar gobies in each of two tanks.  One of the four jumped out through an incredibly small hole in the top and died.  I've eliminated the small hole, and now I want to make the lone bar goby happy.  The pairs in the past were ALWAYS together, and I hate to leave this one on his own.  I've got three options:
1.  Leave one pair together and a single goby mourning by himself. <How sad!>
2.  Put the single into the tank with the established pair. <Could be a violent ending for his sad story!>
3.  Purchase a mail order bride for the widower, or even a pair, to bring them back to a pair or a triple. <Probably your best bet at this point.  If you stick him in with another male, there will certainly be problems.  Best of luck! Ryan>
Thanks for any advice as always,
Ken Kiefer

Goin' For Gobies...
Hey Crew,
<Hi there! Scott F. with you today>
I am just wondering if you can give me some suggestions on my stocking plan for my 90 gallon FOWLR, soon to reef. It has been running for about 10 months now and have just recently pulled the bio-balls and added another 26kg of live rock giving me a total of 72kg and I have started doing water changes to reduce my nitrate, which is currently at 30 – 40 ppm.
<Keep 'em up, and I'm sure that things will continue to move in the right direction. You've taken some good steps with these moves, and with continued husbandry "tweaking", things should keep going well for you.>
At the moment I have 2, 3cm Ocellaris clowns, 2.5cm six line wrasse and a 3cm lawnmower blenny which have been moved back to the quarantine tank so they weren’t in the main tank if there was another cycle when adding the live rock, which there was.
<Good heads-up move on your part!>
So onto my question, finally. After I add these guys back into the main tank in about a week, I was thinking for my final additions I would like to add a group of 5 clown gobies (Gobiodon okinawae).  I am unsure about this because it says on your site that they live together  in groups of 5 - 15 but everyone else says they will fight with their own kind. Do you think 5 will be okay together and how sensitive are they to Nitrate?
<These little guys can become "chippy" with each other at times, but if added at the same time to a tank with lots of room to roam, I have not personally experienced any problems. Which is not to say, of course, that your fish won't battle constantly, but I have not personally seen this in years of keeping them. With regards to your nitrate question- nitrate is not, in and of itself "toxic", but it is a "yardstick" to help measure the overall water quality of your system. Low or undetectable nitrate levels in the tank will only help your fishes thrive. With delicate inverts and corals, low to undetectable nitrate levels are of great importance. All the more reason to shoot for the lowest possible level of nitrate in your system>
Also is it okay to add them before I start adding corals to my tank or should I wait until all the corals are settled in? The corals I plan to get will be mostly Acropora species as I know that the gobies live on them in the wild.
<I would probably let the corals settle in first, if it were me. I have seen these little guys pick on Pocillopora species, so this may be one coral you want to avoid if keeping these fish. This is a personal observation only, but worth considering. Usually, the "munching" seems to occur on an injured or damaged specimen only-this may be part of the "cue" to "sample" the coral...Who knows? Two other hobbyist friends of mine have made similar observations as well, so it's something worth mentioning to you as a friend. I wouldn't worry about the Acropora, however.>
I am really looking forward to starting a reef tank but am having a really tough time finding good coral books, especially Anthony’s book, in Australia.
< Bummer. This is pretty much THE hands-on hobbyists guide to coral husbandry- and worth every penny, IMO! Anthony's book is found on a number of e-tailer's websites, and I would even try Anthony's site direct to see if he could get a copy of it you, or advise who carries it Down Under: http://www.readingtrees.com >
Can you recommend some other books to search for on corals as I want to make sure I am ready and able to care for the corals before purchasing them.
<I'd be remiss if I did not mention Eric Borneman's "Aquarium Corals", which, along with Anthony's "Book of Coral Propagation" would be the ideal beginning of a good coral reference library. Also worthwhile are some of the "Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" books by Nilsen and Fossa, as well as Sprung and Delbeek's "The Reef Aquarium" series. Veron's coral books, although not specifically geared towards the aquarist, are excellent general reference/ID books, and offer a lot of good biotopic information on many coral species>
Sorry for being so long.
<No problem at all...We're happy to be here to assist>
Thanks for all the help you’ve given me and everyone who writes to you. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Down Under. Damn it’s hot down here. :) Dave.
<I guess that Fall can't be too far away, though, mate. Hang in there! And a very healthy and happy holiday season to you from us in the Northern Hemi! Regards, Scott F>

Goby/Shrimp Associations: Is 3 A Crowd?
Hey, I know the 2 things I'm going to ask are completely opposite but I would appreciate a response...
<I'd be happy to...Scott F. with you today>
I just got my 55 gallon tank yesterday and I was curious as to what HOB filter you would recommend -- I was thinking of the Penguin 330 since it can  handle up to 55 gallons and it Isn't too expensive.
<The Penguin is a fine filter, although I would be inclined to recommend a protein skimmer as well. There are hang on the tank varieties out there. Whenever you are utilizing a mechanical filter for your primary filtration, I encourage you to clean/replace the media often, so that accumulated organics trapped within the media do not degrade water quality>
My second question has to do with gobies.
I saw a website, http://www.aquaticretail.com , I believe, selling pairs and trios of Yashia Hashe gobies---if I got the kind of shrimp that bonds with the goby, would the gobies fight over who gets to watch the shrimp?
<It all depends, many times, it's one shrimp to one fish, but I have seen a number of associations between two gobies and one shrimp. Generally, this seems to occur in mated pairs of gobies, but I suppose other "arrangements" are possible.>
Thanks in advance. Mike
<Glad to be of service, Mike! Regards, Scott F>

Gobies in a Nano
Hello crew members <Hello! Ryan with you>
I have a 20 gallon long and I would like to add a few real small gobies. <Gotcha> Can all different species in the goby family live together or will they fight. <Likely fight in this small a space>
Would they fight with a blenny too? <Perhaps> I thought that since they were so small they would be good for a  nano tank and like 4 or 5 of them would not be a big bioload if you stay on top of water changes. <Most successful nano-reefers I know stick to one species per tank.  In such small confines, it's difficult to contain aggression, and weaker fish have less coverage in which to hide.  2 Gobies of the same species would be my selection. Ryan>

Bullet Goby in Refugium?
Good day crew!  I just read on Aquacon.com that bullet gobies are the #1 form of algae control for hair algae and blue-green "algae".  Is this correct -- will bullet gobies eat Cyano?
<Indeed they will, but like most of Aquacon's wildly upbeat claims about NEARLY EVERY animal on their site, I find the assertion that they are the "#1 form of algae control...." to be a bit exaggerated.>
I continue to struggle with a huge Cyano problem in my refugium and I am considering trying a bullet goby if it will eat Cyano.
<These fish are reported to eat Cyano, but I would not count on them for this duty.  Do consider improved water movement, skimming and maintaining high pH and redox as a control.>
My concern is that I am using my refugium to build-up my 'pod population in order to keep two mandarin dragonets.  Are bullet gobies purely herbivores or do they eat 'pods like other gobies?
<I suspect that they will be mildly predatory given easy opportunity.  They will also eat some critters as they will happen to incidentally be hiding out in the algae being eaten.>
I have searches fishbase.org but I have been unable to find anything called a "bullet goby".
<See here:  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amblygobius.htm  You will see that there are two distinct "complexes" in this genus.  The rounder, vertically barred species are often generically referred to as "bullet gobies".  All are fair bets for your use.  The other complex is typified by A. rainfordi. They are thinner, have pointier heads and are striped horizontally from head to tail.  These fishes are decidedly more predatory and their need for tiny living crustacean prey is exceeded only by mandarins and other dragonettes.  These are best avoided by most aquarists except for large peaceful aquaria, preferably with refugia.>
Thanks for the help!--Greg
<Glad to! Best Regards, Adam>

Signigobius biocellatus -nope, take a pass 11/27/04
Hello crew! I have a 58 saltwater setup, reef with a crushed coral  substrate base about 3-4 inches deep. I have noticed with some species of fish  (signal goby etc) that it states their natural eating method is to suck in sand  and filter out what they need, then exhume the sand through their gills. In a  setup like mine where there is no sand substrate, would it be a bad idea to put  a fish like this in the tank even if the food is available? Thanks a lot for the  help. Kenn
<kudos to you my friend for taking the time to investigate this animal's needs before buying it. Too many folks buy on impulse and it leads to a sorry end. It would have in this case too. Indeed, signal gobies would not be able to forage and feed properly on a coarse substrate like this. Moreover, they are a categorically difficult fish to even keep alive in captivity. Had you said you had a 6 foot long, mature tank with deep fine live sand, I still would not have recommended the fish. Many better gobies to pick from. Blue-spotted yellow watchman's are handsome and hardy. Phalaena dragon/bullet gobies are famously hardy. Etc. Anthony>

Stocking a 10 gal
Love the site, great info.....
I've spent the last few weeks searching for the answer to this question, and humbly apologize if I just missed it somewhere (I'm sure you'll put a link here, lol).  I need suggestions for stocking a 10 gallon fish-only marine setup.  Gobies are probably my best bet, but are different of gobies species compatible? << Yes, just about all of them will do well together.  Feeding them is the biggest challenge. >> I've read that most don't do well with their own kind.  I'd love to find a way to fit maybe 3 fish in there. << I think 3 different kinds, and hardy types are best.  Maybe a Chromis or damsel would be a better choice for such a small tank. >> Thanks in advance.     BC
<<  Blundell  >>

Snail Population
Bob, and/or Crew
I have enjoyed both this site and the book CMA. It has made the setup and maintenance of our 55g salt water reef tank enjoyable.
I have two questions for you.
First, I have a plethora of small snails in my salt water tank. The snails are pearl color and some of the shells are white with brown stripes (kind of reminds me of a zebra). I would not mind them, in fact I would have thought of them beneficial except there are so many of them throughout the tank. When I turn off the light in the tank they really come out in full force. The snails look like the turbo snails that I currently have. What are these snails?
<Can't tell definitively by your description>
And with there so many how do I get rid of some of them.
<A wrasse species would be my first choice here... of a type that will get along with your other livestock, system>
Currently in the tank is 1-coral banded shrimp, 1-cleaner shrimp, royal , Gramma, ocellaris clown, 3-scissor tails and a variety of hermit crabs. I also have some button polyps, White clove polyp, colt coral, and a Derasa Clam currently in the tank. Is there something I could add to help with population control of the snails (fish, or invertebrates)?
<Perhaps a Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus species... these are detailed on WetWebMedia.com>
My second question is my LFS has some Signal gobies (Signigobius biocellatus). I was wondering how hard are these little guys to keep and ultimately to feed? They have two but they are not a mated pair. Should I get two or just try one?
<Should only be kept in pairs or more in a large-enough system... Not a really hardy species... easily lost by the less than diligent>
Thanks for all your help that you guys have done in up keeping a great site full of information.
I realize I still have a lot to learn.
Thanks again.
Sean H.
<We all do my friend. Bob Fenner>

Rainford Gobies
hello
I'm Huig from Belgium. 
<Cheers my friend from far away! Anthony Calfo in your service>
you'll probably get a lot of emails and I hope you will find the time to read and answer mine. I'm very interested in biotope aquarium, but it's hard to find information on this. I'd like to combine species from the same geographical region which require the same care. if possible species that live next to each other and do not occupy the same niche. and if possible species that have a chance of being reproduced. some info found is contradictory. one of my favorite species is Amblygobius rainfordi. 
<yes... a very beautiful fish!>
almost everywhere I read it lives on sandy and muddy substrate but in Korallenriff aquarium from Svein Fossa it is told that they occur over stony substrates and pick on algae and crustaceans. as I have a 350 l aquarium decorated with live rock and live sand. I previously stayed away from them but with this new (maybe false) info I'd like to add them to my tank. as I read in one of your articles you observed them in the wild. I hope you can tell me about their preferred zones in nature. thanks
<Rainford's goby is notorious for being very difficult to keep for long in captivity and this is largely because of its seemingly strict dietary requirements. The nature of its substrate is truly secondary to this dietary need as they have been observed on both hard and soft substrates as you have noted. For many years the common denominator to their success in captivity has been a constant supply of hair algae (Derbesia or like species have been "employed" perhaps inferior to turf algae) Since such algae is generally considered to be unsightly and a nuisance... many Rainford gobies are not kept healthy for very long. Turf algae species are really perhaps more appropriate and their recent popularity in algal scrubbers and subsequent methods for cultivating a continuous supply may help keep species such as the Rainford goby. Ironically, it may not be the algae at all that they need to feed upon but rather the zooplankton attracted to the dense mats of algae. Regardless... are you really prepared to turn your 350l display into a field of algae for this fish? Most people would not be willing, but you have said that you are interested in a biotope display. If so, I hope I have reassured you that you need not worry so much about the nature of the substrate and rather to focus on cultivating turf algae and incidentals within it for keeping the magnificent Rainford goby. Best regards, Anthony>