View Full Version : blue cheek gobies
about 6 months ago i bought a blue cheek goby from my lfs, he seemed to be doing well so about 3 months later i bought another one. The bloke in the lfs told me they dont normaly stock blue cheeks and warned me that they rarely make it past 6 months in captivity. I thought he was mistaken as the first one i had was going really well and even eating frozen and flake food!
Unfortunatly 3 months later (about 6 months from buying the goby) the first blue cheek began to waste away and died. Its now about 3 months from the first one dying and the second looks like its going the same way! ive got a 5 foot tank with about a 2" fine sand bed and both the gobies ate flake and frozen food but i still cant seem to sustain them :(
any one had any similar experiences or got any suggestions?
Use a good pellet like New Life Spectrum, feed before the lights come on to allow the pellets to sink, then the goby can hoover them up as he sifts
lawrence cope
17-02-08, 18:18
Mine seem fine and i have had them for a long time now! They eat anything and everything, including rivershrimp. I couldnt see them wasting away any time soon!
ill give it a go but mine would eat out of the water column. they ate flake and frozen food which i vary between all the makes. it just seemed like there was some thing lacking in their diet they went getting from the flake/frozen. ive spoken to some one else that had a similar experience.
ill try some sinking pellets tomorrow but i think its to late. my secong blue cheek seems to weak to eat
How often do you feed? I think one of the problems with sifters is that they spend all day sifting, thereby expending lots of energy. If the sand bed is insufficiently mature with critters, the energy isn't replaced with each sift. Little and often and as nutritious as possible is the way to feed them
that would make sence. I feed pretty often now (5+ times a day) as im home most of the day but not much of it reaches sand bed because im feeding in very small amounts whch all get eaten. I used to do one or two big feeds in the morn and evening because i was out all day which now you mention it the goby much prefered as it was easier for it to get some of the food. Ill pick up some sinking pellets tomorrow and drop them in the tank just before lights out.
:rip: RIP sandy the blue cheek goby
he hasnt been out all day and is usually a very active fish. i fear the worst :sadbye:
I kept mine over quite a long time, but my tank was quite large. had a deep sandbed and was over 4 years old when I introduced him, so I guess there were plenty of critters in the sand for him. Also I fed a quite often (4 times a day).
Blue_Peter
18-02-08, 19:03
Bought A pair last September,one only lasted 2 months :( but the other's still going strong & has grown quite a bit since Ive had him. :thumbsup:
News to me that there life expectancy is only 6 months in a Reef Tank though :( Only time will tell with the one I have left.
fireproofcujo
18-02-08, 20:43
Bit of a scary thread as i fancied one of these will put it on hold now untill i see some more feedback on here :(
Oops sorry guys but just realised I got the wrong specie:o you are talking Valenciennea strigata, never had one as they dont live that long. Can you delete my vote?
Had the same problem. It was very early in my reefkeeping days before I knew better.
i would like to say im glad im not the only one but in this instance :(
sanghy- i assume you were the one who voted that you had kept a blue cheek over 3 years? if your vote was deleted then 2 years would be the maximum amount of time one had been kept and most have died with in the first 6 months :eek:
Surely this is very bad considering how often these fish are sold in the trade?
jimmy
Divejunkie
20-02-08, 10:08
i would like to say im glad im not the only one but in this instance :(
sanghy- i assume you were the one who voted that you had kept a blue cheek over 3 years? if your vote was deleted then 2 years would be the maximum amount of time one had been kept and most have died with in the first 6 months :eek:
Surely this is very bad considering how often these fish are sold in the trade?
jimmy
This vote doesn't really work for me.
It only takes into account fish that have died OR lived over 3 years.
What about those under 3 years that are still alive?
I have one for 18 months that so far (touch wood) is happy and healthy.
can't vote...
I suspect there is a distribution for all fish, that if you look at only fatalities, has a peak in the first 6 months simply due to the issues of introducing fish, transport, system stability etc
I'm not saying there's not an issue, simply that the picture and logic of the poll is slightly flawed.
Love my "Cheeky Blue"
Mark
Divejunkie
20-02-08, 23:42
i would like to say im glad im not the only one but in this instance :(
sanghy- i assume you were the one who voted that you had kept a blue cheek over 3 years? if your vote was deleted then 2 years would be the maximum amount of time one had been kept and most have died with in the first 6 months :eek:
Surely this is very bad considering how often these fish are sold in the trade?
jimmy
This vote doesn't really work for me.
It only takes into account fish that have died OR lived over 3 years.
What about those under 3 years that are still alive?
I have one for 18 months that so far (touch wood) is happy and healthy.
can't vote...
I suspect there is a distribution far all fish that if you look at only fatalities has a peak in the first 6 months simply due to the issues of introducing fish, transport, system stability etc
I'm not saying there's not an issue, simply that the picture and logic of the poll is slightly flawed.
Love my "Cheeky Blue"
Mark
hi divejunkie,
i can see were your coming from in terms of all fish having a lot of fatalities in the first 6 months. im not sure how i could change the poll to take this into account but looking at the results so far i wouldnt have thought the percentage of deaths in the first 6 months would be this high?
i have been doing a bit of research and spoken to people who have successfully kept other sand sifting gobies (orange spot etc.) but been unable to keep blue cheeks. It has been sugested that there is some thing in there natural diet thet we cant supply in the aquarium.
As for the poll being flawed i dont see how? the fact your blue cheek is still alive doesnt tell us any thing. it could die tomorrow or in 10 years. as far as i know blue cheeks have been available in the trade for a long time so there should be plenty out there over 3 years old? if i re posted this poll in 5 years time you could say the same thing but i believe the poll shows what i want it to show.
obviosly the poll will become more accurate the longer it runs and maybe the results will ballance out but its not looking good so far is it?
jimmy
not sure i can answer this just because i had a very large fat one for over 2 years however i gave him away as he was driivng me mad with his sand dropping round the tank... so as far as i know he hadnt died within your time period but cant accurately say :)
Divejunkie
22-02-08, 17:11
but i believe the poll shows what i want it to show.
Exactly right.
what i want it to show - how long blue cheek gobies live an an aquarium:mad:
How would you have set the poll out to show the avarage life expectancy of a blue cheek then, as i dont seem to have your vast intelect? do you think the title should be "how long have you had your blue cheek?" i dont see how this would help but at least you would get to vote then ey?
jimmy
rockaria- if you speak to the person you gave it away to please ask how its getting on. would be good to find a few more that have lived over 3 years to find out what the owners are doing differently.
jimmy
"max. reported age: 1 years" from:
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=6575
that would suggest they only live a year (although I'm probably reading it wrong :o )
also the link below says they eat zooplankton so maybe people could try adding that?
http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FoodItemsSummary.cfm?GenusName=Valenciennea&SpeciesName=strigata&autoctr=13304&vstockcode=6896
interesting.....
i think when they refer to zooplankton there talking about the stuff which lives in the sand bed more than the stuff you can add to the aquarium like frozen etc.
I know this poll is a month or so old, but just wondering....
....do any of you goby guys treat with anti-parasitics as a routine?
Harrison916
11-08-08, 18:04
Had one of those a few years back and it ate healthily or so I thought, lasted only 5/6 months from memory,
Mine didn't last unfortunately, I put it down to diet and not being a mature sand bed. thanks for the tips on Diet, I might have another try.
Mines been in the tank about 3 months. Ok at first but looking awfully thin at the moment. Seems to be taking flake and I've spotted it having a go at the New Era Pellets but being a glass half empty guy I doubt it will see out six months.
how do you treat with anti-parasitics as a routine?
neilharris
13-02-09, 20:27
I had my pair for about 2 years. They were a happy and healthy pair that bred regularly. I only offloaded them as they were bothering my lps by covering with sand. I believe an important part of keeping these is feeding lots of nori. They love it, especially when breeding:thumbsup:
robertholloway
27-03-09, 17:21
I Had Two Bluecheeks But One M0nth Ago One Dissapered
The Second Is Still Going Strong 7 Months And Counting
billijaywest
13-06-09, 12:52
my lfs said it is the best type of goby to get sor sifting the sand, he is easilly 5 inches long cost 27pounds and sifts but hides also, food wise i was chucking in spinular flake which all my fish like but i want to try pellets, can i use algae pellets? cheers
did'nt have a problem with my blue cheek besides him making a right mess.
i have had my blue cheek for a month now and he is getting fatter as every day goes by! he eats anything i put in the tank and turns the sand all day and seems very happy being cleand by my wrasse and shrimp!!! no probs so far fingers crossed!!!!!
also i have a friend that has had his for nearly two years now with no probs!!!
billijaywest
18-06-09, 20:07
i have had my blue cheek for a month now and he is getting fatter as every day goes by! he eats anything i put in the tank and turns the sand all day and seems very happy being cleand by my wrasse and shrimp!!! no probs so far fingers crossed!!!!!
also i have a friend that has had his for nearly two years now with no probs!!!
what exactly do you feed him.,
i am using spinular flakes and it goes in and comes out at his gills, so i bought some brine shrimp the other day and he didnt like that either, is there anything in particular
i have had mine nearly 7months now, and he is nice and fat, and as active as ever, he is also in a160litre system, i didnt realise at the time that they need a bigger system and should be kept in pairs??? also i introduced mine when the tank had gone through its 'cycle' i get my 6ft tank tomorrow which will be taking me a while before it is up and running, but if he lasts that long then he will have even more sand to go at, one thing i have noticed at night; absolutely loads of little shrimpy like things(their tales/back ends kinda curl), come out of the rock, and i mean loads, and he picks them off too, oh and he gets copepods added too
hi bily
i have read that if you keep them in pairs they dont get on! and can die quickly. i have flakes (but most of that comes out of his gills) pellets seem to do well and any of the pellet that getts missed he hoovers up when sifting and then i have frozen mysis which he likes and frozen brine with garlic which is his favorite i dunno if its because he can smell it more but he goes crazy for it! as soon as food goes in he is out and about eating it all up! hope this helps if you want to know the exact brine i use let me know and i will dig it out the freezer.
hope this helps mate
matt
billijaywest
19-06-09, 22:42
cheers matt for the advice, ill try some pellets tomorrow, and yeah the shrimp info would be fantastic thanks
mine died as when i changed my tank over i used 90% new sand and there wasnt enough life in the sand to keep him going. unfortunetly i only noticed how skinny he was a few days before he dissapeared. bless him
hi billy i use gamma blister brine and garlic and gamma blister mysis. i think you can get garlic mysis aswell. i think it is about £2.40 a pack with 60 blisters! lasts me ages as i only feed half a block a day. and i use ocean nutrition formula two marine pellet. nothing eats them whole so i usually split them in two when i feed them.
billijaywest
20-06-09, 12:04
hi billy i use gamma blister brine and garlic and gamma blister mysis. i think you can get garlic mysis aswell. i think it is about £2.40 a pack with 60 blisters! lasts me ages as i only feed half a block a day. and i use ocean nutrition formula two marine pellet. nothing eats them whole so i usually split them in two when i feed them.
thank you, yeah mine ben hiding last two days i even set up bed by my tank last night to see if he would come out:dance: end he did, ive just chucked some frozen mysis in the tank with my new koralia 6s at each end its vortexing around the tank lol, hopefuly he will come out again¬!!
yeah fingers crossed hope it all goes well mate!!!! good luck
billijaywest
20-06-09, 15:03
nah still hiding lol
The Reefer
20-06-09, 15:04
Had my Blue cheek (Sandy) for over 12 months he has grown to approx 4 inches and eats everything live and flake. He has had the benefit of a 350 ltr reef tank 18months with a good deep sand bed 3inches deep.
give it time billy! how long you had him? mine took ages to become use to people walking past the tank! and stuff so it might be a matter of time.
my san dbed is about 2/2.5 inches deep and its probably 50/50 mature live sand from a tank breakdown and brand new coral sand.
billijaywest
20-06-09, 22:23
cheers, id imagine my sand should be mature by now 6 months, and 1-2 inch thick,
had my one about 6 months still looking fine and eats like a pig
the fat controler
22-08-09, 23:32
The only prob. with mine is the sand he drops everywhere
jaseribbit
01-10-09, 12:24
i had one for a few months, it wasted away, fed it allsorts inc sinking pellets, i wont get another
ballyvalleyarcher
09-06-10, 21:50
hi everyone mine has been going for three years now and loves my sea horse tank as he hovers up all that they miss he is a big fat hover great lol:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Infamousweasel
10-06-10, 13:27
i still have mine he eats flake , brine, krill , mysis
Hi all - newish tank and Goby been in for a day. Fingers crossed to 356+ more!
Had mine for about 18months. Eats everything going and constantly sifts the sand for live foods keeping nice and clean to. Ace fish.
Mine is a bit of a menace, all he does is chuck up sand around the tank! I bought the tank with him in it and I think he is at least a year old now.
My first 1 died after around 6 months, was eating flake and frozen, sifting the sand all day long then 1 morning he was dead :( Had my current 1 around 6 months or so and he seems to be doing fine.
Fisher 2007
18-03-11, 09:41
Would never buy one again, similar to copperbands, mandarins, etc and should be left in the sea....
Mine has been with me for at least 10 months now and he's a right fatty. He throws his siftings all over th place but he's such a stunningly beautiful fish and full of character. He's out and about in the tank all the time and I love him to bits. He eats frozen foods and flake and has a very good appetite :D
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