# 10 gal planted goby and microrasbora tank (pic HEAVY)



## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Thought I would throw some pictures up of my tweaked new set up. They start up to today, and include today with my new gobies.

the set up after i removed the large field of e tenellus and replaced it with an awesome ammania sp. bonsai. plus my kit.










the tank layout









a pair of emerald dwarf rasboras acclimating









ammania with some new ludwigia palustris and a bridgette's rasbora named Buddy.









today after a trip to Menagerie - new ammania in the middle planted in a thin row, and a bunch of ludwigia. i really cleaned these guys up before planting so they look pretty nice already. They were producing nice pearls all day despite no CO2. Also the new kit box that hides the CO2 and the blue IKEA background that I just am trying. I will more than likely go black, or maybe a rock pattern. 









inside the kit box.








it cost me a whole $3. Looks great!

the male goby. it was identified in the order as red fin stiphodon goby. I will need to do some more research to be able to tell the species. The colours have started to come out and he was displaying vibrant orange fins and the great pattern and spots on his body. the female was chasing him. I must get some anubias this week. 









the female is paler, but her pattern is pretty noticeable.









the new back right corner with ludwigia and the line of ammania. marsilea crenata on the front right. pogostemon helferi in the middle, with anubias nana small and christmas moss/dead moss. plus the male on the back glass.









They are extremely playful. I must make a few adjustments to the tank to make them happier. tomorrow I will hook my CO2 back up and monitor the gobies. Also need to get some anubias nana and other broad leaf plants. I ordered a sampler of some river stones for $12, so I hope they get here this coming week. I will grow algae on them for the gobies. Also, I am considering culling the field of pogostemon and leaving only the two or so healthy ones. they bleached the weeks i had no nutrients, but some rebounded well and some melted.

comments? suggestions? identity of the goby?


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

You know having fluctuating levels of Co2 or no Co2 then yes Co2 causes uncomforable fluctuations in your pH for the fish. I'd be very careful when reintroducing the co2 and try to keep the level relatively constant long term.

Otherwise looks fantastic. No idea on the goby. Very nice though.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Last night the Gobies settled in and dug themselves caves under my drift. I also posted on Loaches.com and the species have been identified as Stiphodon sp. 'ST01', a yet-to-be-identified species called 'orange fin.'

The poster also said they might both be males, but because of the vast difference in the male compared the the 'female', I will keep the original m/f pair. Info on these Goby's is found http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Stiphodon&species=[pl]sp.+'ST01'[/pl]&id=1387. 'Orange fin' is better named than 'Red fin' as the male displayed some vivid orange being chased by the female. One of those 'wow, I need to run across the room and stare in awe!' moments.

I must also say that I just saw the female dive into the marsilea and crawl under the drift. i'm glad i lifted them up today and gave them some more hiding room.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Today I bought some Anubias Hastifolia and a Nana. The hastifolia has a good amount of algae, although I am finally seeing the juvenile male graze on the algae on the crypt leaf. The adult male is especially shy in the morning and early afternoon. He is fairly skinny and I am trying hard to fatten them both up.

I nearly had a heart attack at the LFS because a couple was looking at anubias' and I thought they would take the one I wanted/NEEDED. Then the guy pulling my plant tried to dust off the algae and I had to tell him to stop! LOL! It's a bit weird in the fish keeping world to WANT algae, but I'd rather it be on my plants and some rocks then on the glass and all that. I was getting worried (go figure) that I wasn't seeing the gobies eat algae wafers. I need a good amount of sustainable algae before I will sit comfortably.


I removed 60% of the pogostemon and am leaving just the tri-head plant, it has the parent and two offspring, and the parent is doing really well and rebounds well with dosing and good light. I finally gave up on the Christmass moss. After getting it to grow it then browned out when the original nitrates ran out, so I have replaced it with Java moss! I used plant fasteners to anchor it nicely at the bottom of the driftwood. I really like the look and I fully believe in paying $2 for a set of plant fasteners! 

I've disconnected the CO2, the gobies didn't react badly after a full day of it yesterday, but I have to remember I need to jump-start some algae blooms. 
I am going to dose a bit higher phosphorus this week, however I do not have a test kit for this yet. 

I am a big fan of Anubias now. 

Pics when things are settled and the beasts fatten up.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

BettaBeats said:


> Today I bought some Anubias Hastifolia and a Nana. The hastifolia has a good amount of algae, although I am finally seeing the juvenile male graze on the algae on the crypt leaf. The adult male is especially shy in the morning and early afternoon. He is fairly skinny and I am trying hard to fatten them both up.


I know you want the algae for food here but if you ever want to you can clean anubias leaves by very gently rubbing them 'with the grain' (I suppose stroking is a better word) using a soft sponge. It won't get everything off but it will remove green thread algae and all your brown algaes, as well as some black beard algae but I find that's easier to just pluck off if it happens on a leaf. Anubias is tough. Its the only plant I can buy knowing it won't die and will actually look decent.. For me.. As I pay no attention to my plants.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

They appear to like the older, harder, caked-on stuff on the crypt and the soft green algae on the drift wood. Good tip though, i might clean the anubias


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## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

Tank looks awesome  cant wait til the plants take on more growth and you add some more  the Goby's are really interesting I've seen them in stores before... always wondered if I should start a tank with them


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Well, I am extremely lucky! While picking up some air tube to replace the stuff I destroyed making my brine shrimpery and hiding my CO2 reactor, I noticed ONE single female goby! She is now acclimating and I hope she does as well as the other males. 




Pics to come.
She is a very different colour. She can change from a pale gray to a black and yellow/off-white diamond-ish pattern. Very cool.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

Where did you get your gobies from? I'm looking for some Stiphodon gobies, especially the Stiphodon percnopterygionus.

Thanks,
Harry


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Harry Muscle said:


> Where did you get your gobies from? I'm looking for some Stiphodon gobies, especially the Stiphodon percnopterygionus.
> 
> Thanks,
> Harry


From Menagerie in Cabbage Town. Harold and I were talking and he mentioned he has brought in the rarer/more expensive kinds before - but most people don't want to spend that much on a fish or a pair of fish. I don't see why not myself! Gobies are incredibly quirky and display great shows of natural behaviour, they change colours depending on their mood, and they pose and hop amongst the plants. Very original fish.

percnopterygionus are quite beautiful, I agree.

I would send an email to Menagerie Pet Shop and see what could be ordered. They have ST01 'Orange Fin Stiphodon Goby' at the moment. There would probably need to be enough of an interest to make it worth flying in the gobies. They might not get homes for a few months becuase they are unusual (and not a cichlid). I think this might be because they need algae in the tank, which means going against the 'algae in my tank is bad' idea.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

BettaBeats said:


> From Menagerie in Cabbage Town. Harold and I were talking and he mentioned he has brought in the rarer/more expensive kinds before - but most people don't want to spend that much on a fish or a pair of fish. I don't see why not myself! Gobies are incredibly quirky and display great shows of natural behaviour, they change colours depending on their mood, and they pose and hop amongst the plants. Very original fish.
> 
> percnopterygionus are quite beautiful, I agree.
> 
> I would send an email to Menagerie Pet Shop and see what could be ordered. They have ST01 'Orange Fin Stiphodon Goby' at the moment. There would probably need to be enough of an interest to make it worth flying in the gobies. They might not get homes for a few months becuase they are unusual (and not a cichlid). I think this might be because they need algae in the tank, which means going against the 'algae in my tank is bad' idea.


I emailed Harold and he mentioned that they run about $20 a piece to order and the minimum is 80 so there's not a good chance he's gonna be getting any anytime soon.

Btw, can I ask you a few things about the Orange Fin you got? How large is he? Based on what I can find they grow about 7 to 8 cm, which might be a bit large for my 5G nano.

Also do they accept any aglae tablets? I might not have enough algae to keep them fully fed (unless they do a good job of cleaning algae off the glass which is where most of my algae is) so I was thinking of supplementing their diet with algae wafers.

Thanks,
Harry


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Harry Muscle said:


> I emailed Harold and he mentioned that they run about $20 a piece to order and the minimum is 80 so there's not a good chance he's gonna be getting any anytime soon.
> 
> Btw, can I ask you a few things about the Orange Fin you got? How large is he? Based on what I can find they grow about 7 to 8 cm, which might be a bit large for my 5G nano.
> 
> ...


That's too bad. to be honest, I was quite surprised when I saw 'stiphodon goby' on the window tag. They aren't that popular in North America, but a fish I have been interested in for months.

As for feeding, my three gobies (two males, one female) only touch live algae. I was lucky I had some on my driftwood from dosing macronutrients, as well as on a crypt. I have even taken out my CO2 and dosed higher amounts of phosphorus and nitrates for a few days to get algae blooms, but that proved to be a bit counter-productive as my lush plant growth is now covered in a mucky algae.

*My gobies haven't touched an algae wafer yet. *
I ended up buying an anubias hastifolia because it had an algae on it. broad leaf and hearty plants like anubias and crypts are great surfaces for growing algae. and yes, they do eat the green algae on the tank glass. The males didn't at first, but the female did as soon as she was put in the tank. Now they all do.That made me a little happy that I didn't have to OD nutrients to get algae. I clean 95% of the tank glass and leave a spot next to the filter and back left corner that has algae.

One trick I am in the process of setting up (if my package arrives) is using river stones which have large, flat surfaces, that I will place in tank water in a container and sit it in my windowsill. This is allow a surface for algae to grow on, and I will essentially have feeding-stones. A neat little tip I picked up when I purchased my gobies.

In my experience they prefer the softer diatom algaes. They've practically cleaned the brown algae off the anubias hastifolia. Although, they like all algae, so the harder, caked-on stuff on my crypt is a big meal source too. I don't know what algae it is, but it is CAKED-ON. The only time I see the crypts leaves are when the gobies have eaten! lol

*I would recommend getting them in pairs at least.* Even two males of the same species won't so much mind eachother - they will play fight, but its a great chance to see their vivid orange fins! I could see it across the room is was that vivid! the female has a different pattern. Yellow/offwhite and blackish diamond, with a vibrant blue-tipped pelvic? fin. I'm not a pro at fish anatomy yet.

*As for 5 gallon, I think it is a little small. I'm not positive though.* Essentially each goby has it's 'bed.' my males are under the driftwood pieces and the female is in the marsilea crenata. then they have basking spots which are the anubias and the drift, which are also feeding spots. And they will tend to like to hide amongst the plants and cling to the glass. They don't swim all that much, but prefer to 'hop' short distances. They are rather terrible swimmers!  
And they like/need highly oxygenated water, but don't mind my low-key DIY CO2. They will dive up and down the tank glass if the oxygen levels are low, or probably breath at the surface like most fish will. This is something I'm monitoring all the time - I make sure the CO2 is out at night, and just now removed it as I saw a goby doing the glass dive. I might be overreacting but I don't want to stress my fish.

Perhaps a nicely thought-out planted 5 gal would be OK? I'm not positive, and I don't want to get flamed for bad suggestions. It would be up to how well the space was designed for the gobies. I see my tank as a playground and home for them and have designed it as such. Remember that plant leaves provide lots of surfaces and spots for the fish to rest, which 'expands' the space. I wouldn't do community though. My next step will be to gradually build up my microrasbora clan.. it's at 5 now, and I will hope to get 8-9, but I'm going to be patient.

Enough of my novel. Check out www.loaches.com for the 'stiphodon goby species' thread. Odyssea is excellent at identifying the species and provides lots of great pictures and videos. You will find great information there.

If you want an odd-ball, quirky fish then I would definitely suggest gobies!

edit: *they are around 5-6cm as juveniles*, and as they get older they can grow longer. the females are smaller, 4-5cm for juvenile. This is subjective as I can only go by what my fish are. I will say I saw gobies of all shapes at Menagerie. I guess they are like people


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Pics .. the quality isn't very good, but will be better used explaining my points

my layout provides more space than one would think a 10 gal has.. lots of hiding, lots of different areas for a change of scenery
http://img2.purerave.com/5/50/5499850.jpg[/image]

this anibias hastifolia is a beautiful specimen. the leaves were covered in brown algae, which has since been eaten.
[img]http://img2.purerave.com/5/51/5499851.jpg
my nana, and nana small are both covered in an algae now too.

the lady goby feeding on the green diatom algae on the glass. I won't clean this spot of the tank so there will always be food. Also notice the BIG difference in colour pattern compared to the males. 









perhaps this better illustrates the CAKED ON algae on my crypt? one can see the cleaned leaves that the gobies have fed from.









I thought this behaviour was odd - the trio are all lined linear under the filter flow.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

BIG PICTURES!

the tank was active tonight! lots of visible photosynthesis thanks inpart to adding a chopstick to my diffuser to break the bubbles down smaller before entering the impeller. 
I have cyanobacteria. I hope the gobies find it tasty soon! x's fingers!

the female is the queen. she is a little star and is also not on a diet. 









male basking on a leaf









visible photosynthesis. this is with the diffuser out of the tank for a good 10 minutes at this point. these curtains came up every 20 seconds or so.









the cyanobacteria has smothered all my ground plants.. there is java moss beside the driftwood...


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Congrats on the cool little gobys.

Makes sense they are under the filter flow in the article you linked to says they are best kept in fast flowing water. I wonder if a small power head would help make them happy?

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

TBemba said:


> Congrats on the cool little gobys.
> 
> Makes sense they are under the filter flow in the article you linked to says they are best kept in fast flowing water. I wonder if a small power head would help make them happy?
> 
> Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.


I am considering a maxijet 400. I will do a bit more research on how to maximize the hillstream effect


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

.... delete post


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

the aquarium after the vacuum and replant. I had to cull the marsilea crenata and the pogostemon because of cyanobacteria, or the smothering plague. I have a few clean clumps i will replant and regrow.
I'm pretty happy with the background plants now. I've also put the 3 anubias (nana, nana small, and hastifolia) in one corner. New addition is Hygrophilia Polysperma 'rose neivis' which has a glowing appearance of pink and lighter lime green. Really spiff plant!

click here for the video

And some pics:

the female loves to graze on algae. All she does is eat.. more than the two males!









this is really nice hygrophilia 'rose'









and a shot of the new layout. now that the tank is full I don't want to touch it, The microrasboras are less shy with the new 'scape and I think it looks visually awesome. The Hastifolia is in the front right corner now, where I hope it will grow algae. Plus, its just a great plant to look at!


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

*UPDATE
*
I have to admit, I had some issues after removing my carbon sac from my filter as recommended by a girl at a LFS - apparently it sucks up micronutrients which I knew, but I didn't think it was as quick as has happened. Since then the tank did a 180 and I have had massive algae bloom in the water since.

The more mature male goby died, but I had been hearing the orange fins in this shipment were especially hard to feed - they would NOT take any commercial products. I rarely saw him eat any type of algae I could grow, sometimes he scraped for green diatom, but he was not a good eater. I have learned the stiphodon goby opt for real algae, and they can devour it quickly! My other two can eat quite a bit and are robust and playful and healthy.

Since the mature male passed the male/female pair have been showing natural displays again. Extended fins, mid-water dances (the stiphodon goby is not a good swimmer so to see them hovering and dancing around eachother is a nice sight) and they are looking healthy.

I'm at 10% partial water changes daily and am considering tearing down the tank and moving it. I'm not sure if the new orientation of the Summer sun in the morning is hitting the tank and causing the bloom, or if it is the removal of the carbon and my once-regular dosing regimen.

I will suggest anyone who has a fascination with gobies, specifically the freshwater stream gobies to have a 20+ gallon tank as the nutrient volumes needed to produce algae are hard to maintain in lesser volume aquariums.

As for pictures, please bear with me. I will say I'm embarrassed to have my tank do this 180. It was looking amazing, and was operating amazing. I don't even want to go to the LFS because of this 180. 
I am on vacation now, so I will hopefully be able to run around the city and grab some parts for the tank including a handful of Silica sand. I have good hopes this will help with brown algae growth, and I will be able to remove a sac as needed.

That's all for now. I'm providing this information because keeping freshwater gobies and providing live algae is difficult and this information can be useful. I have been in love with gobies since reading Odyssea on loaches.com last July so I am still excited to keep them, but it is more stressful than betta's or community fish as maintaining proper algae growth and not overdoing it is quite the task. This tank requires near-daily testing and work.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Bought another Anubias Nana. I am a big fan of the Anubias class of plants lately. On top of that, the Anubias Hastifolia is showing a new growth on the plant, and I expect to have a new leaf very soon. 

Still a bit cloudy water but we have drawn the sun-screen down now that the landlord is away (and doesn't want our beautiful view of the Toronto DT skyline covered). 


I'm still thinking of co-inhabitants for the gobies. They were seemingly less active with the large school of microrasboras. I doubt they are much the community fish, so I may be looking at an oddball floor dweller. 

About to do another 15% WC. I might do some plant trimming as well. 


My dosing is only on Nitrogen @ 2ml in the morning. CO2 is constant and very good absorbency. 

Still looking for SILICA sand. The stuff that leaches silica into the water. My goal is to put this into pantyhose and have a ball I can hang in the tank to add silica as needed to enhance algae growth. However, I seem to have enough to keep the gobies robust, but they go from one type to another after a period of time.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

UPDATE:

No pics as my batteries are DEAD.

But, I've completely redone the tank. The flake food, the Hygro Rose dropping leaves, and over-crowded tank (of plants) was the cause of the algae bloom.


It was hard to invest in a nano high-tech tank and then find the Gobies! I've wanted gobies for so long that having a sweet planted tank has become back-burner. It's all about the gobies now.


I took out the Hygro Rose, and I am sticking to thick and hearty stem plants and anubias and crypts. Figure I will pick one or two up today and keep at it for a few months until my ground is carpeted.


Crystal clear water now. I'm almost wishing I bought some more young stiphodon gobies as the tank 'looks' bare. I'm not sure which water dwellers would suit with the gobies.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

after the cull...

I will pick up more anubias tomorrow. Expensive, but I LOVE the look of it.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Great thread. Whats the tank like now?


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