is my yellow clown goby goin to kill new coral?

M88A2 · 03/19/2010, 10:06 PM

i picked up a few sps frags a few weeks ago and i have yet to see them with their polyps out. i often see my yellow clown goby crawling on them and sometimes nipping on them. is he going to kill the new frags by preventing their polyps from coming out or do you guys think the frags are still getting used to the tank?

cm11599ps · 07/04/2011, 01:22 PM

Old thread, but I'm having the same questions. I haven't seen him nipping anything but he does like to perch on an orange digitata frag that's about 3".

snorvich · 07/04/2011, 01:27 PM

Clown gobies can damage SPS but killing them is unlikely.

Jim Z. · 07/05/2011, 09:42 AM

Some species of clown gobies will feed on coral tissue. Most of them are fairly harmless to your SPS and some may actually feed on red bugs and in nature specialize on small copepods for food. I have a green clown goby that I have observed grabbing red bugs off one of my acros. I have not observed any damage to any of the acros in my 50 gallon SPS reef tank. When spawning, clown gobies will remove acro tissue and lay eggs on the exposed skeleton. For small tanks its best to only have one as their spawning behavior can be destructive and they can be territorial. Most Acropora purists will not place clown gobies in their acro displays fearing destruction of an expensive frag.

As Always,

Jim Z.

Chipie · 07/05/2011, 09:56 AM

I've had a clown goby destroy many of my sps before i could catch him. He would keep bitting flesh off the corals until it died. He seemed to enjoy the slime that the sps would give out when bitten. So i gave him to someone without sps.

Cpt sehorse · 07/30/2011, 02:24 PM

How do you get rid of yellow clown gobys mine has killed all of my birdsnest, and my hand sized policipora, by eating the polyps. How how can i get it out?

M88A2 · 07/30/2011, 05:57 PM

i had to trick mine. over a period of 2-3 days i left a little fish net in the tank. everything eventually got used to the net and went about their buisness. the 4th day i fed close to the net and scooped up the fish when it got close. sounds long and drawn out but it worked for me. maybe someone else can chime in with another tactic.

03/19/2010, 10:06 PM	#1
M88A2 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA Posts: 682	is my yellow clown goby goin to kill new coral? i picked up a few sps frags a few weeks ago and i have yet to see them with their polyps out. i often see my yellow clown goby crawling on them and sometimes nipping on them. is he going to kill the new frags by preventing their polyps from coming out or do you guys think the frags are still getting used to the tank?

07/04/2011, 01:22 PM	#2
cm11599ps Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Port Jefferson Station, NY Posts: 1,413	Old thread, but I'm having the same questions. I haven't seen him nipping anything but he does like to perch on an orange digitata frag that's about 3". __________________ LIRA Member Current Tank - 55 gallon. Custom CLF1 sump, fuge, overflow & SVS2-24 skimmer from Lifereef. 4x54 Watt AquaticLife T5 HO Light Fixture W/ 4 Lunar LEDs. 2 EcoTech MP40's, 70lbs assorted

07/04/2011, 01:27 PM	#3
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	Clown gobies can damage SPS but killing them is unlikely. __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

07/05/2011, 09:56 AM	#5
Chipie Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Shippagan,New-Brunswick, Canada Posts: 1,116	I've had a clown goby destroy many of my sps before i could catch him. He would keep bitting flesh off the corals until it died. He seemed to enjoy the slime that the sps would give out when bitten. So i gave him to someone without sps. __________________ Lobster fisherwoman. Current Tank Info: 90g rimless reef

07/30/2011, 02:24 PM	#6
Cpt sehorse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 12	Yellow clown Goby eating all of my Sps How do you get rid of yellow clown gobys mine has killed all of my birdsnest, and my hand sized policipora, by eating the polyps. How how can i get it out?

07/05/2011, 09:42 AM	#4
Jim Z. Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 198	Some species of clown gobies will feed on coral tissue. Most of them are fairly harmless to your SPS and some may actually feed on red bugs and in nature specialize on small copepods for food. I have a green clown goby that I have observed grabbing red bugs off one of my acros. I have not observed any damage to any of the acros in my 50 gallon SPS reef tank. When spawning, clown gobies will remove acro tissue and lay eggs on the exposed skeleton. For small tanks its best to only have one as their spawning behavior can be destructive and they can be territorial. Most Acropora purists will not place clown gobies in their acro displays fearing destruction of an expensive frag. As Always, Jim Z.

07/30/2011, 05:57 PM	#7
M88A2 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA Posts: 682	i had to trick mine. over a period of 2-3 days i left a little fish net in the tank. everything eventually got used to the net and went about their buisness. the 4th day i fed close to the net and scooped up the fish when it got close. sounds long and drawn out but it worked for me. maybe someone else can chime in with another tactic.