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My 7 Gallon Minibow

panmanmatt

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Yeah, the pandas are very tiny. Good luck with them. Hopefully next week I can get me some.

Have you tried feeding them Cyclop-Eze or other small foods?
 
I've tried cyclopeeze and that Frozen Coral food that Steve sells. It's the perfect sized food for gobies. Even when his bodyguard the yellow clown goby went to feed he did not respond.

Steve completely caught us off guard as soon as we walked in. The first thing he says is he got a bunch of gobies in- including a pair of Pandas. My girlfriend has wanted one for the longest time and I never imagined being able to buy one locally. They may be perfect for your seahorse tank- they couldn't be any less aggressive. I'm waiting for the sexy shrimp to start picking on them!
 
I just spotted the second Panda goby who was MIA all day. He has joined the other Panda near the powerhead with the yellow clown goby between them. Hopefully the 2 Pandas will eventually join each other and they will feel safer. Considering the gauntlet they have had to endure thus far, they aren't going down without a fight. If the lights weren't off I'd take a picture.
If only they will eat something!!
 

panmanmatt

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Yeah, my girlfriend loves all the little gobies. She recently lost her 3 year old neon gobie. A pair of pandas would make a perfect replacement.

Glad they are both still with you. Hopefully you see them eat soon.
 
I couldn't resist trying to take a night time picture of the scenario playing out before me. Here you can see both Pandas and the yellow goby within fins reach.

nighttime008.jpg


nighttime007.jpg
 

panmanmatt

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Looking great. You do know that catalina gobies are a cold water fish right? They needs temps in the 68-70F range.
 
I was expecting some feedback regarding the Catalina. Here's the story behind him. Went to Aquatic Obsessions for the first time back in October and my girlfriend saw a greenbanded goby and the Catalina. I really did not want him because I've read he is a cold water fish. My girlfriend was convinced by someone other than me than he would be fine in our tank. To make for a pleasant car ride home I conceeded. I keep the tank between 76-78 degrees which is as low as I can go without a chiller. He appears to be thriving not merely surviving as best as I can tell. Sure I would not encourage folks to run out and buy a Catalina if they ran their tank in the upper 70's to lower 80's. But at this point he is no more a risk than the Panda Gobies that apparently have a poor survival rate in captivity.

I hesitated including him in the shot, but the folks on minibow.com are rather laid back. I wouldn't even CONSIDER posting this on nanoreef unless I wanted a flame war.
 

panmanmatt

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
That's fine. I was just letting you know they require cold temperatures. They usually survive about 6 months or so at the higher temps. They are gorgeous fish, it's just a shame that they aren't kept sold at their required conditions.
 
This is my one and only Catalina now that she has that out of her system. Since I bought him, he has grown quite a bit. His fins are always erect and he is very active. Whenever he sees me he comes to the front of the tank expecting to get fed. These are the signs that give me the impression that he is doing rather well. I really was expecting a more sluggish fish considering he is not in his ideal temperature range. I still don't advocate buying one unless you can keep a cooler tank temperature. Those of you with a significant other who won't take no for an answer AND you have an hour car ride home- you understand :p

Now I'm battling her desire to start a seahorse tank. Guess who will win that one as well.
 

panmanmatt

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
eric65 said:
Now I'm battling her desire to start a seahorse tank. Guess who will win that one as well.

Give me a holler, I'll be glad to help out. And I'm not too far away either, right down in Waretown.
 
Funny you should mention that. I told her that one day I want to be the resident goby go to guy just like panmanmatt is the resident seahorse expert. I'll definitely need your input once we get the tank set up. That dream just ain't going to go away for her ;D
 
eric65 said:
Those of you with a significant other who won't take no for an answer AND you have an hour car ride home- you understand :p

Now I'm battling her desire to start a seahorse tank. Guess who will win that one as well.

Totally understand - mine is the "wife" now and long ago she expressed interest in a sea horse tank...I have to keep this post secret lest she read over my shoulder and find out panmanmatt is an expert...oh dang it I'm not a mod for this forum! ;D

Cool pics and love those gobies. The other complicating factor is how the fish are collected - so it's great to see yours are healthy and happy!
 
Sad to say, I'm down to 1 Panda Goby. Found 1 stuck to the intake tube of the Aquaclear then it wasn't long before the peppermints swooped in for an easy meal. I'm assuming he starved to death since I read somewhere that tiny fish have high metabolisms and they can't go very long without eating. Personally I won't try these guys again since they are very difficult to keep despite what most of the online stores say.
 
eric65 said:
Sad to say, I'm down to 1 Panda Goby. Found 1 stuck to the intake tube of the Aquaclear then it wasn't long before the peppermints swooped in for an easy meal. I'm assuming he starved to death since I read somewhere that tiny fish have high metabolisms and they can't go very long without eating. Personally I won't try these guys again since they are very difficult to keep despite what most of the online stores say.

I would blame the aquaclear first. I used to have those until it kept pulling in almost every fish I had. I got rid of them and I have never had the issue again.
 
Thanks! I initially was going to do a mixed reef, but then the thought of having to test and dose another tank swayed me against that idea. Except for the candycane, which will probably get moved, I'm making this a mostly softies tank.
 
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