Will/Can sleeper Gobies kill an entire tank?

I spoke to a gentlemen today, and he just "erked my tators" so to speak. Now this guy is a LFS owner, so he knows more than me I'll give him that. But this is what he said after I told him I acquired a pair of yellow headed sleepers..

Your Sleeper Gobies will die, but not befor they deplete my sand bed of all copapods and amphipods, subsequently killing the sand bed, in turn causing my tank to crash and burn... No matter how many of the *******s I buy I could never keep up..


What the hell? Is this guy smoking crack? Then he told me to take back my foot long 6-10lbs squamossa.. Because I paid to much.. At a price of 200$.

Interested in yall's responses on this. Because I left his store pissed lol.

 

the only thing i've really heard about the gobies are, Sometimes they will not take food and cannot get enough by sifting sand and slowly waste away. Their aggressive sand sifting style can also pile sand on the coral and other places you don't want it.

 

What size is your tank? In a smaller tank, yes the gobies would deplete the sandbed of all infauna then most likely starve. I'm assuming, however, since you bought a foot-long clam for it, that your tank isn't all that small.

 

I have never had any success with this fish long term, I have tired 3 times.

Sleeper gobies look like they are eating, they do not get visually shrunken bellies until it's too late.

Around the 3 month mark is when I started to notice issues. This was in both medium and large tanks.

Over the years I have read again and again how they mysteriously die. I believe they just slowly starve to death.

Now the Squamosa clam sounds very large that is debatable. Be warned the gobies will drop sand all over it all the time.

 

Most sand sifting fish do not do well in the aquarium. As has been stated.

 

I feel the squamosa is a good value. I got a brown one, with not great coloration but wonderful size (about the same size as you describe yours) for $150 and felt I got a great deal.




I too have never seen someone keep a sand sifter for a long period. Gobies or stars, and they absolutely are predatory on the same microinfauna that keeps a DSB "alive". I doubt you would experience anything nearly a drastic as a tank wipe, but I always recommend a DSB be kept with no sifters and no hermits. If you have a shallow sand bed, then you run into a different problem.. it's hard to have enough micro infauna to keep it alive even for a period of 6+months.

 

My squamossa is just a tiny bit bigger and almost the same coloration. I am extremely happy with it. The sleepers are non stop on the sand, so I could see how they could deplete it quickly. I make my own food (fresh shrimp, mussels, oysters, Scallops, red, green, brown algea, mysis shrimp, coral smoothie, and garlic.. Blended.) is that not enough to sustain them? they go HAM on it. If I was to replenish the Copapods, amphipods, monthly/bi monthly and such aswell.. Could I not keep up.?

75G 3 in sand bed.

What are yall's results with Flame Scallops? I hear the same story with them.

Also

Anyone buy these from Reefs2go ??
Live Saltwater Amphipods & Copepods-1000 - Buy 1 Get 1 FREE | Reefs2go.com

Thank you for the replies guys.

 

I moved everything off the sand bed, the pair were reeking havoc on everything.. My buddy has a watchman (pink spotted). He isn't as bad, the problem with the sleepers is when they sift they swim to the mid/top of the tank then dump... I enjoy their landscaping though, as long as they arnt hurting things.

 

Sleepers have to go.

Months later in a 210 gallon aquarium...


Sleeper gobies.. White devils.. Evil little.. Doing what nature intended them to do... JERKS.

They killed my bubble... They try to kill my clams all damn day. I hate the little jerks.

I've tried double netting, 3 fish traps at once ( caught a naso, Lt. Tang, swallowtail angel.. No gobies!)... Spear/net device .. I can't get um.. If you have a reef.. And possibly would like to have brain corals, plates, bubbles, clams, zoas, sps, copapods.. Your sanity.. Stay the F away.. I know it's mean but I hope they starve. RESEARCH your fish before you buy um. Damn it...


Thank you for providing me a place to rant.

 

I am thinking of getting a diamond watchman goby and a pistol shrimp pair.

Will I run into the same problems as you?