# Eretmodus cyanostictus



## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Can these (or any other gobies) work in a 38" 36"x12"? If so how many? I'd be happy with a species only tank but if anything can work well with them that's something to consider aswell. Thanks.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

If you can get a pre formed breeding pair that is used to a small tank then yep I would try it. With a larger back up tank. No way would I try it with fish not already paired.
Lots of Tang cichlids do well and breed well all the time in 36" tanks but gobies are not very reliable in tanks that size.

All the best James


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks James meant to say 38 gallons 36"x12"


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## ssondubs (Nov 16, 2008)

8 or more would do good. If your wanting for them to breed you will need to thin them to a single pair once you see a pair bond. Gobies are one of my favorite cichlid because they are entertaining to watch.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

It can work, but I don't recommend it if these are your first gobies. 36" just isn't enough space for a harassed fish to hide.

A single goby would be a nice addition to a community tank, and in 38 gallons, you might consider a Paracyprichromis and a shell dweller or a peaceful rock dwelling cichlid.


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Interesting, never thought of a single. How about one of these guys with a pair of alto comps or calvus and a group of multi's?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Absolutely- calvus and multies are a good mix- and a goby will annoy them sufficiently to provide a good show. :thumb:


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

great! i mentioned multies because they work well in colonys from what I understand? Any shelly I'd prefer a colony rather than a pair so are there others that work well in that capacity?

Or maybe pushing my luck but would temporalis shelly work with the two comps and a goby? If so I assume I'd have to wait for two to pair up or could a small group work?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I think you might be happier with a more peaceful shelly- you can maintain a much larger group with a colonial species, and have less bloody headaches getting them to behave. If the comps were good sized (2") when you got the temporalis, it might work out just fine. I'm thinking the goby might get kicked around a bit too much though.

Besides- multies always win popularity contests because they have the huge attitude and drama without the violence of many other shellies. :thumb:


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Cool, how many multies should I start with in your opinion? Would the multies and comps get any interference in spawning from one another or the goby?

And does it matter if the goby is male or female? Any particular types of gobi to favour versus avoid?

And also are there any harem breeders that you would recommend for this setup instead of calvus/comps just for consideration besides Paracyprichromis? Or even any other possible pairs instead of calvus? Thanks for any advice, I'm new to tangs and wanting to know all my options and all the possiblities.

Thanks again.


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## Jamey (Jul 19, 2008)

3 things...

1. Comps and calvus are SPECIFICALLY EVOLVED to eat babies out of rocks and shells...

2. My multis atleast, wouldn't spawn with the gobies in the tank. The gobies are oblivious of territories and personal space. They went right over and sat among the shells without a second thought. The multis are fairly timid when it comes to larger fish and a full grown goby is out of their league. So much so that the goby was actually rooting around inside shells, possibly eating young, i don't know that for sure, just that the multis didn't even try to stop him. Something like hecqui would do much better at defending young and also probably their territory.

3 gobys do NOT need to be kept with peaceful species. They're a classic tankmate for tropheus, and mine are on an hourly basis the bane of my v. Moorii's existence. The v.moorii are very territorial and quite agressively defend their area. The gobies are oblivious to this and continually park in their front yard honkin the horn and banging on the mailbox, as it were... they're quite fast and very agile, despite what you'd think, and handle agression quite well.

However many you get you still need to separate them out once they grow up... 2 males in a smallee than 4' tank will quite probably become 1 male very quickly. Pairs do great if they chose the pair, as they are a pairing fish, but then ypu have to watch and start pulling fish out as they get beat up. As with any fish, specific behaviir is decided by them, and i have 3 that live happily in a 75. 1 hides a lot. Have more tanks ready for individuals to move to, but thats not a bad thing as they're great fun to have and watch!


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

hmm some conflicting advice. Jamey would the lone goby disturb the calvus or comp breeding at all? Even if the pair of alto's and the lone goby distrub the breeding of the multi and eat their fry would they harm the adult multis?


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## Jamey (Jul 19, 2008)

Gobies are sorta manic... they could stress out calvus or they could bring them out of their caves, either way they won't directly bother them. They may indirectly stress them but no aggression. Gobies will pick some "safe" spots around the tank, places that are the end destination of a manic sweep from one side to the other but they aren't at all territorial. Before i pulled the multis they'd go over and just sit among the shells, oblivious of everything around them. The multis hated it but aren't agressive enough to do anything about it. My v. Moorii hate em, constantly chasing them away but the gobies are unphased they don't care, just scooch off and come back again 20 secs later. They live in their own world... quite amusing to watch for sure. Mine haven't brewd yet and from what I've heard from other breeders they're fairly inconsistent and will usually do it right when you're fed up and ready to ditch them. That being said I'll never have a larger tank without them. Way too much fun to watch, and entirely innocuous.


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

sounds like a cool fish with personality to match its looks. Would another species of goby be a better fit or are they all pretty much the same?


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## Jamey (Jul 19, 2008)

I'm bad with names and im on my phone so i cant copy but in ascending agression I've heard its T. E. S. i have the tangiscadae whatevers  supposed to be the least agressive but all of their agression is among their own kind. But you've never seen agression like goby on goby agression! With most fish one is dominant and will just beat and bite the other to death, with gobies no one goes down without a fight! Occasionally my alpha and the other male will decide its time to deal... they both go willingly to one corner and go into this vortex speed spiral attacking each other 8 times a second spinning fast enough to cause a cloud of sand then they break, rest for 2 minutes and meet up back at the same spot to do it again. Early on they did this every evening for a week, now its only occasionally. I have a feeling i have 2 males still squabbling over the female. Unfortunately i got these from someone who got 3 fry and grew them out before deciding to ditch them so i don't know what they're doing... could be early breeding activity. If so its pretty violent and excited... no torn fins yet so I'm hoping thats what it is. Whatever it is it's great entertainment!


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Different fish and different set ups will have different results- even the safest mix can end badly if you happen to have non-typical fish.

Perhaps Jamey's multies were extremely skittish or maybe their shell bed wasn't ideal for the colonial defense. It also sounds like a young tank that isn't settled. Either way- "timid" and "multies" are not words you often see in the same sentence. :wink:

My gobies (Eretmodus cyanostictus) and multies have bred for years in the same tanks. I've raised and sold 100s of fish of both species, with calvus in the same tank too. Even the 3/4" female multies will chase a 4" goby away from the shell bed. They dive bomb the hunting calvus as well. In general, calvus and comps will not harm fish much bigger than fry- and the multies are very aware of potential fry predators.

The biggest threat to calvus fry are the adult calvus- if you want to raise them, you'll have to remove fry once they are free swimming.


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## Jamey (Jul 19, 2008)

My multis have always been skittish... I've had a couple different tank mates in with them and they do fine with tank company but there's never any babies. As soon as I remove the cyps or whatever else is in there with them, bam, babies everywhere... maybe it's just mine... they certainly couldn't have more shells or sand to push around, and they do move some serious sand when they're feeling settled, but as he says, every fish and every group are a bit different. Never know what you're gonna get, just a general idea of how it's PROBABLY going to go...


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## Jamey (Jul 19, 2008)

as a testament to that, in with my Ventralis Chaitika I have one lone multi that I missed when I pulled the group out of that tank... she thinks she's a ventralis now, swims around with them, is even developing longer fins on the bottom with white streaks, I swear if it weren't for the stripes one of them would try to breed with her... they completely accept her into the group... and my wife has one single lone cyp in her south american tank that lives in a cave... seriously... a cave dwelling cyprichromis... (she insisted on taking him when I was going to give him away)... never know what could happen with fish!


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

> as a testament to that, in with my Ventralis Chaitika I have one lone multi that I missed when I pulled the group out of that tank... she thinks she's a ventralis now, swims around with them, is even developing longer fins on the bottom with white streaks, I swear if it weren't for the stripes one of them would try to breed with her... they completely accept her into the group... and my wife has one single lone cyp in her south american tank that lives in a cave... seriously... a cave dwelling cyprichromis... (she insisted on taking him when I was going to give him away)... never know what could happen with fish!


 :lol:

Hey, you could get a new strain of multies going! And doesn't everyone want their cyps to hide all day in caves?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Pair Altolamps, multies and a single gobie. To be honest I would go Tanganicodus because its feeding fits better with the others would be something I would try in this size tank. Some male Eretmodus can grow to 9cm+ and cause a bit of bother at that size in small tanks.
Trying to think of the best order to add them. Prob is as each gets settled then they could dom new additions or in case of the gobie cichlid just drive em to destraction. Best chance of success would be to add em all at the same time I think. Big shells for the Altolamps one end (best if it is a preformed breeding pair as you have not much room for getting 6 to get a compatable pair from young ones) small shells for the multies some distance away (about 5 or six young unsexed I would try or one preformed breeding pair) and the gobie (Tanganicodus) with a small tower of holy or in the UK we call it Ocean Rock.

Funny you would be mixing three Lake Tang biotypes in just 36" of length but I think it could work.
For sure the Altolamps would prey on the multie young and their own but then its a community tank not a breeding tank. You should if you want be able to syphon a few young into another tank if you want to raise a reasonable number.

Safest and best breeding would be a multie tank *or* a Altolamp tank but then that is not what the original poster seems to want.

All the best James


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks for the input guys. Alot to ponder


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

> Pair Altolamps, multies and a single gobie.


I think this would work. I have a 20GL with a calvus pair, as well as a small colony of similis, and since your tank is a little larger, I think a gobie would do fine!
Good luck with the new setup!

Manoah Marton


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