Spawning Neon Gobies?   2/8/08 Greetings, <Salutations> About a week ago I bought a couple of Blue Neon Gobies (Elacatinus oceanops) for my 15g setup, as expected they co-existed well with my Eviota nigriventris goby. (Thanks Nixon) They were doing fine at first, swimming around in the open, poking their heads out now and then. But since a couple of days ago I have only seen glimpses of them, the first day I thought they were dead since I hadn't seen as much as a life sign all day, until I briefly managed to glimpse one of them in the middle of the night, and again one early in the morning the next day, but only for a moment before the one I saw darted instantly back in among the rocks. Could it be that I was extremely lucky and got a male and a female that now are spawning, and that being the reason for their sudden reclusive behavior? <Yes, could well be> Because there aren't any other tank inhabitants around that could harass them, and it always seems to be the one I see, just a short glimpse at night, and not a single life sign during the light hours. Best regards, Mark Forsling <And to you. Bob Fenner>

- Breeding Gobiosoma - Hail to the Crew: <Hello, JasonC here...> First, I would like to thank all of you for the outstanding assistance you guys and gals provide. <I'm glad you find it useful.> I do not make a move without checking here first!  I am interested in breeding Gobiosoma species.  Originally, I was going to try G. oceanops, but lately my LFS has been stocking G. randalli, and I find the gold color irresistible.  Do you think the randalli species would be as "easy" as the oceanops? <Oh sure - both are bred and raised in captivity with regularity... featured by ORA as part of their tank-raised offerings.> I was thinking of a 20 gallon long for them to breed.  I don't expect you to provide me with all of the answers in one neat email, so do you have any other resource (or link I missed on your site) you can point me to regarding substrate, lighting, etc. for my endeavor? <These hyperlinks should give you a good start: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/reproduc.htm http://www.breeders-registry.gen.ca.us/Articles/v4_i1_brown/gobies.htm > Thanks a million, Rich. <Cheers, J -- >

Nursery ... Lysmata, Neon Gobies repro.   2/22/06 Hello aquarium gurus!  <Hello Norris.> I have a question (obviously) I have a 46 gallon bowfront tank with the following inhabitants -2 false percula clownfish -2 neon gobies -2 skunk cleaner shrimp -3 yellow tailed damsels -1 yellow tang - lots of live rock -various corals (including mushrooms, button polyps, and a pumping xenia) -cerith snails -Nassarius snails -red legged, reef hermit crabs -a few Trochus snails -1 margarita snail I have reason to believe that one of my shrimp is carrying eggs in the little fan-like flippers on her abdomen. <Very likely.> I also think one of my neons is pregnant. It has "bloated", and is now either obese or full of little eggs. This was all very exciting, but I've been reading (largely on your site) that the other fish (and I'm looking at the damsels as I write this) will promptly gobble up all eggs, larvae, and fry that dare to be born. <Yummy, yummy, yummy I've got eggs in my tummy...> So... I was already thinking of buying a 20 gallon refugium/sump, with compact fluorescent lighting for my tank... I'm thinking that I could place the future mothers in the refugium, allow them to give birth, and then put them back into the main tank. Could the refugium be used as sort of a nursery? I don't have a quarantine tank... a crime to be ashamed of, if I've gotten anything out of my readings. Is there something wrong with this idea, or is it worth a try? <You would have a difficult time to say the least, providing the right kind of food to rear the shrimp.  Neon gobies have/are bred in captivity and the same problem goes along with a proper food supply.  Do read FAQ's on this subject here.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gobyreprofaqs.htm> AND If I do get a bunch of healthy shrimp and neon gobies, what should I do with them? Where can I sell them? <If it ever develops to that stage I'm sure local shops would take them off your hands for a fair price.> Also, I'm thinking of layering an additional inch of finer, live sand over my current substrate, loose coral rubble. I want either a mandarin, a diamond watchman goby, or a sleeper banded goby, and they need a nice, sandy bottom. Sound OK?  <Yes other than the mandarin is going to require a well developed tank with plenty of live rock and copepods to survive.  Very few adapt to prepared foods.  James (Salty Dog)> Humbly yours,
Norris, OR