golden headed sleeper goby ruining my tank?

kevin kaplan · 01/05/2007, 06:57 PM

I purchased a golden headed sleeper goby last week, hoping he would help whiten up my sand bed. He does clean the sand, but he also makes the tank extremely cloudy. He takes a mouth full of sand and ascends to the top of the tank while he shakes the sand out of his gills. The powerheads get ahold of some of the dust and now I have an extremely cloudy tank. He does this faster than the filters can clean the stuff. I already lost an open brain coral. My live rock is all covered in sand, and my anemone has moved from a spot he was in for weeks. Does anybody know if the goby will eventually calm down and keep the sand at the bottom, or is this completely normal and consistent behavior for one of these? Should I get rid of him?

amphirion · 01/05/2007, 07:05 PM

it's a constant behavior for them. I had one that killed a finger leather and other little frags that I had on the bottom of the tank. Good luck to catch him, they can swim pretty fast...

kevin kaplan · 01/05/2007, 07:38 PM

thanks.......i guess. that is my fear. I did some research and never found that fact. I should have looked harder

The Saltwater Kid · 01/05/2007, 08:44 PM

You're going to have to tear your tank apart trying to catch him. Your best bet would be to try a fish trap down on the sand bed near one of his holes and bait it with some food he prefers and catch him that way. Any Sleeper Goby will sift sand so unless you want piles of sand everywhere I wouldn't get another!

01/05/2007, 06:57 PM	#1
kevin kaplan Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Cary, Illinois Posts: 77	golden headed sleeper goby ruining my tank? I purchased a golden headed sleeper goby last week, hoping he would help whiten up my sand bed. He does clean the sand, but he also makes the tank extremely cloudy. He takes a mouth full of sand and ascends to the top of the tank while he shakes the sand out of his gills. The powerheads get ahold of some of the dust and now I have an extremely cloudy tank. He does this faster than the filters can clean the stuff. I already lost an open brain coral. My live rock is all covered in sand, and my anemone has moved from a spot he was in for weeks. Does anybody know if the goby will eventually calm down and keep the sand at the bottom, or is this completely normal and consistent behavior for one of these? Should I get rid of him?

01/05/2007, 07:05 PM	#2
amphirion Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 209	it's a constant behavior for them. I had one that killed a finger leather and other little frags that I had on the bottom of the tank. Good luck to catch him, they can swim pretty fast... __________________ François-Étienne Current Tank Info: 110g Mixed Reef

01/05/2007, 08:44 PM	#4
The Saltwater Kid Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Barre, VT Posts: 2,586	You're going to have to tear your tank apart trying to catch him. Your best bet would be to try a fish trap down on the sand bed near one of his holes and bait it with some food he prefers and catch him that way. Any Sleeper Goby will sift sand so unless you want piles of sand everywhere I wouldn't get another! __________________ Oceanic Biocube 14g Nano Tank w/middle chamber refugium mod 2 Ecoxotic Power Pro LED Modules (1 - 12K/Royal Blue combo, 1 - Royal Blue) MaxiJet 900 return, VorTech MP10 circulation Livestock: Higher End Z's & P's, few mushrooms, Aussie Duncan, Maxi Mini Carpet Anemone

01/05/2007, 07:38 PM	#3
kevin kaplan Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Cary, Illinois Posts: 77	thanks.......i guess. that is my fear. I did some research and never found that fact. I should have looked harder