Stiphodon atropurpureus (blue neon gobys?)

[jlorenzo]

I just bought some of these to go in my unheated 40g breeder. I also have 4 dojo loaches. I used to have a bunch of hillstreams until a new pair of Panda Garra brought some ich even after I quarantined them and they all were lost except the dojos. Anybody have experience with these little guys? their requirements seem very similar to the hillstreams.

[shuwae]

Same requirements as any other stiphodon. Just have plenty of algae for them to graze and other foods with a high oxygen rate.

[jlorenzo]

I am not too familiar with Stiphodons, these are my first. Will they be ok at 70 degrees? Also is it normal for them to bury themselves? I have play sand for substrate and since I introduced them to the tank they were all out and visible for the first few hours but gradually disapeared one by one. I found a big one buried underneath a big rock in the sand and was wondering if 70 is too cold for them. My dojos love it at 65-70 and so did my hillstreams I had before. I am also slightly worried that my dojos may actually eat some of them. I have kept the dojos with tiny hillstreams and other small fish with no problems at all but the Gobys are pretty tiny. The dojos dont seem to even acknowledge them though.

[shuwae]

70 is okay. In winter, my tank gets to the high 60s. Summer is usually in the mid 70s even with a fan blowing across the top. Yes, they love to dig especially near large rocks. I keep my rocks in eggcrate as the gobies might move around the rocks which can fall. I rarely see any of my gobies at night or when I have my hand in the tank. Not too sure about the dojos but I doubt the gobies will get eaten unless the dojos hunt for them.

[jlorenzo]

thanks for the info. Almost all of my rocks are by themselves on a bout 2" of sand the only stacked ones are pilled over a bubble bar. Any advice as to feeding? I know they like algae but what are their eating habits like? what would look normal? again I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions, thanks.

[shuwae]

If you can get Repashy, the gobies will eat that. Before I tried Repashy, I gave my gobies Mazuri gel food (for herbivores). The Mazuri is almost like the Repashy but my gobies prefer the Repashy. Mazuri can be found/order in other countries too unlike the Repashy where it is mostly in the US. The gobies should be grazing, hopping around on the rocks and substrate.

Here is an old clip of a female stiphodon feeding on the Repashy, at the 30 second mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvizOPxjckI

See how she nibbles on the rock and Repashy.
Just make sure to have the algae and another source of food for them. Mine only pick at frozen foods I feed them so their diet mostly consists of Repashy, algae, and veggies (rarely eaten by them). Fish should not be skinny as that tells you that the gobies are starving or have parasites.

[Danelle Vivier]

I have conditioned my gobies to eat any food such as pellets, flakes and bloodworm. But now they rarely do because of all the algae I have. If you don't have enough algae then try get aufuchs food such as Repashy metioned, or veggie tablets.

[jlorenzo]

awesome. Thanks for the replies great info. nice to see hillstreams co existing with the gobys as that is what I plan on doing.