Any info on a Rainford Goby?

[newsalt]

I was at my LFS today and saw a fish there listed as a Rainford Goby. I had downloaded a page from LiveAquaria.com about a fish called a Court Jester Goby and found out today that it's the same fish. The kid at the store told me the fish is peaceful and might grow to about 2 inches. He also mentioned that the fish was a sand sifter and needed a fine sand bed or it would die. The tank the fish was in at the store had a fine sand, almost like sugar, finer than what I have in my tank. I have CaribSea aragonite sand not very fine, but IMO, not coarse either. The write up on LiveAquaria.com made no mention of the fine sand requirement. It just said "..aquarium that is well established and has live rock and sand..". I was thinking of adding this fish to my 15g high tank that currently has two ocellaris clowns, some blue leg hermits, and a few nassarius snails. Anyone have info on this fish? I'd appreciate any comments.

[SaltyQueen]

the entire sentence you quoted from liveaquaria.com is:

"It should be kept in a 30 gallon or larger aquarium that is well-established and has live rock and sand on which the fish can graze."

If your tank is only 15 gallons, and the reccommended minimum size is 30 gallons, I'd steer clear. The fish may outgrow your tank when it reaches it's full size. Also, if your tank is newer, there may not be enough for this fish to graze on, and could possibly starve. That's why they recommend a well established tank.

[fidojoe]

FWIW, liveaquaria.com doesn't say anything less than a 30 gallon for any of their fish, but if the fish stays less than 2-3" it will be ok in your 15. Your sand should be fine also. HTH

[SaltyQueen]

it may work, but i was mostly concerned about it having enough to eat- if it's a grazing fish, a newer 15 gallon may not provide enough "grazing material".

[fidojoe]

BTW, I would definately make sure your sand is live, if it is not, there will not be any little critters in it for the goby to eat. How long has your tank been set up? If I remember correctly, it was some time in december?

[Witfull]

rainfords gobies are not a true sand sifter. they will hunt the bottom of the tank as well as the rock for pods and other edibles. they swim in the bottom third of the tank and close to the rocks for a hasty retreat if needed. they are similar in temperment to firefish gobies. good lil fish. they will feed readily on mysis and will soon accept flake.

[fidojoe]

Good point SQ, but I have a yellow watchman in my tank, and he does not leave a 6" radius of his home, all he does is grab a mouthful of ls, and go back to his den, and sift through it. So if the habbits of this fish are anything like the other gobies, it shouldn't be a problem still.

[BoomerD]

Here Ya Go:
Rainfordi1

Rainfordi2

amblygobius/faqs
That will give ya a bit of info. More just by dioing a google search.
By the way, they're nice fish, not too agressive, and around here run about $15-$25.

[BigReepher]

I tried an Old Glory (Rainford Goby) in my 20g w/25LR with a 10g sump/fuge. He was a very beautiful fish, but shy. He made him a little home in the sandbed up against the LR. He would push any hermits out of his area and chased off the peppermint shrimp on occasion. He was a character. He sometimes would grab a mouthful of sand and dump it on the zoos. Other than that he was awesome. I loved the heck out of him. He was the only fish in the tank other than a small damsel in the 10g sump/fuge. The tank was 6 months old but the sump had only been added 3 months earlier. He was doing fine but he wouldn't eat anything that I added to the tank, not mysis, not brine w/spirulina, not live brine, not flake, not Spectrum, nothing. I watched him sift sand and pick at the hair algae and rock every morning but never saw him eat anything that I had added. After 2 months he started to look a little slim and frail. He was still picking at the sand and algae but wasn't looking good. I went to the LFS to ask some questions, when I got home Jester was nowhere to be found. Then I noticed a swarm of hermits and my two peppermint shrimp feasting on a skeleton. I was heartbroke, just couldn't believe it. I felt helpless and ashamed that I had let a fish in my care perish. This is my first time talking about this btw. I figured I might get bashed (pre RS) for putting a Rainsford in such a small immature tank. Even though I felt like my sand bed had plenty of fauna. I think it's possible that he had an infection of some sort and was darwanized by the inverts. I hope my ignorance didn't cost him his life. I'm not really sure what I did wrong. A part of me wants to says go ahead and try it but my hindsight tells me to not take chances with living creatures that I may get attached to. I still may try this fish again down the road in a larger more mature tank. It's a judgement call. If you do decide to try it, I hear they fair better in pairs purchased together.

[wooddood]

they are cool fish i say go for it.

[newsalt]

Thanks for all the fantastic replies. This is my first SW tank. My tank was started on Nov. 18, 2003. The Ammonia and Nitrites didn't drop to 0 ppm until the 18th of Dec. Two clowns were added on 12/21. The seem to be doing great (agressive little eaters). As my original post mentioned, I have some blue leg hermits, and a few nassarius snails. I agree with fidojoe, all of LiveAquaria's "Quick Stats" recommend a minimum tank size of 30 gals. Even for a Neon Goby that grows to about 2", so I'll "take that with a grain of salt". BTW, if this 15g works out, I will be switching to maybe a 45g by the summer or fall. During the tank cycling period, there were a few things moving around in the tank. There were these white little things crawing on the glass, and I thing I saw a bristle worm or two also. So, the sand might be live by now. Wouldn't you think? It's been running now almost two months (post cylcling). Will this fish eat and sinking pellets? I can try that too right? How would you compare the Rainford, to a Neon Blue Goby? IMO the Neon Blue seems a bit boring to me. My local Petco has a tank of them. I was considering that as a substitue. But I like the coloring of the Rainford. I'll think about it a little more.

Thanks

[Cosmic]

The neon gobies are a cleaner type fish, similar to cleaner wrasses. They prefer eating gill flukes and parasites from your fish, although they can be shifted to prepared foods with little problems. In fact, these are now commonly captive raised, making them a much more durable choice to go with.

A tank that is 2 months old may still be a little too "new" for a fish that will concentrate feeding from the rock and sand. Although you see bug populations presently, there is little hope that they have "flourished" enough to populate the tank to required densities. A refugium will help ensure continued food if the main tank is depleted too quickly.

A note on the *30 gallon rule*, and that is that several LFS will try to tell you that it's not wise to try saltwater tanks under 30 gallons in size, no matter WHAT you try to keep in them. This is mainly for reasons of water and tank stability more than an actual "size" requirement for a particular fish. However, if you can overcome those obstacles, even your 15 gallon is more than suitable for swimming room for an adult rainsford goby. It's the food source I'd be most worried about, personally. While they CAN be coaxed onto other foods, the question is whether you can get that done before thier natural food source runs out.
Personally, I'd wait another month or two to allow the tank time to populate.

-HTH-
Cos

[Craig Manoukian]

Hey,

Not to rain on anyones parade here, but let's step back and consider some things about the eventaul size and habits of the fish. The two Clowns you have will geventually grow to be 4 - 5" in length and 15 gallons is pretty small for that size. Fish swim laterally the majority of the time and 15 gallons is a pretty short run. Adding more than two fish to a 15 gallon is not very fair to the animals IMHO and is very risky without sufficient biological and mechanical filtration including a skimmer. Too little water to have sufficient water quality safety buffer if there is any kind of an imbalance in water parameters.

I have a 20 gallon long with two small Damsels, a blue and a Blue Green Chromis. I have 35 lbs of live rock, 4" of live sand, and a skimmer. I can't see putting a third fish in there as there is just not that much swim room, even though I would love to.

Fire Fish gobies are very skiddish and more prone to jump out of smaller tanks any time you do tank maintenance. Other gobies who have more of a den territory are not at such risk to jump and generally require less tank area.

The reasons above are a great part of why liveaquaria recommends nothing smaller than a 30 gallon. I know a 20 gallon is a stretch, but the 30" of lateral swim room lets me get by. Minis and nanos, less than 30 gallons, are very much limited by the fish they can truly support long-term.

Food for thought.