Engineer Goby - WOW!!!

[DeletedAccount]

I am trying to get a picture of my engineer goby - but he is a fast little bugger! I bought him at Austin Aquariums at the August meeting there. He was mislabeled as a Neon Goby and looked a little weird, so I got him. He was very small and definitely in his juvenile coloration, so he looked just like a neon goby with a wavier tail. Last night I saw him for the first time in quite a while. He is well over 6 inches long now (and I could not see all of him!) and has his adult coloration (stripes changed directions). He is the coolest critter! He reminds me of an eel, only much nicer! He looks out his hole and moves his "head" looking around like an eel, not like a fish. It is like he has a neck! His body remains still and the heads cocks around! I now have a new favorite fish - and to think he has been in my tank since August!

[bprewit]

I have one of those little guys in my tank too. I only see it about once a week if im lucky and it has been in my tank for several months now. I have CC substrate and that little guy is a working fool moving the CC around digging tunnels. It amazes me the amount of stuff that guy can move!

[alexwolf]

we really want a pair of those......they are so cool1!!

[Isis]

Engineer gobies are my favorite fish!! They are fast little buggers when they don't want to be seen, but if you can get their favorite food to float far enough out in from of their hiding spot they will come out, but only as far as the end of their tail. They are VERY particular about coming all the way out. My goby got to about 12 inches when he died. It is important to make sure your rock work is sitting on the bottom of the tank and not resting on just sand because they do so much substrate moving that your rocks can shift. Otherwise they stay to the back of the tank where they are hidden. If you have an open bottom stand and you can look at the bottom of your tank, usually you can see how long they really are since they usually clear all the substrate out in they home area.

[DeletedAccount]

He has a layer of sand under him, just enough to make it extra difficult to see the details. And, thank goodness, I did rock work first and then sand. Otherwise I would be having some problems. The hole that he comes out of is 6 inches from the glass. He has been face to face with the glass and I could not see his tail, but from the shape of what I could see it was almost out.... Definitely a great fish.

[Ed]

Misti,

Glad your Engineer is doing well. They are extremely neat fish!

I have an adult pair in my 135g that I have had since they were juveniles. They rarely venture all of the way out of their home, but it is a treat when they do.

Look forward to seeing your photos.

-Ed