# Red Neon Goby - Eats BBA



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

those fish are cool. I might have to pick up myself a few soon.


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## S&KGray (Nov 12, 2008)

Yep, they do eat BBA and other types of algae. roud:


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

I have some in my tank and have pics on the forum somewhere of them eating cyano also.


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## o snap its eric (Jan 12, 2004)

what are the care requirements of these guys?

more importantly, how well will it do with shrimp, and co2.


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Mine are kept with shrimp and CO2 with no problems. They munch on algae all day long, I've never seen them eat anything else so I'm not certain if they actually eat any fish food.


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## ezcry4t3d (Apr 24, 2009)

o snap its eric said:


> what are the care requirements of these guys?
> 
> more importantly, how well will it do with shrimp, and co2.


I imagine they're fairly similar in care to ottos, although I haven't kept ottos because I can't find a good source for them. I've seen mine eating both kale and zucchini. They're active during the day, and they're not at all shy (Although sudden movement does startle them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they get used to me walking by eventually). Mine spend the night hiding in my rocks. (Just the opposite of most plecos, although my BNPs are pretty active 24/7)

Mine are in a 90g full of cherry shrimp, and they completely ignore the shrimp, don't even look at them at all.

No clue about pressurized CO2, and my DIY system is still in the works.

They interact with each other a lot, I have one male that is much larger than the rest and clearly dominant. (They never really fight, just bump positions.) I have seen the females sometimes lay directly on top of the males, no clue if this is some kind of courtship behavior or what. Their odd Goby body shape makes their tails drop downwards when they hover in one spot, makes them look like pixies to me, very entertaining.

Blurry as hell, but it makes the point...










Even after staring at them for hours I still can't quite figure out how their mouths work mechanically. It's such a tiny thing and they move it SOOO fast when eating. It doesn't seem very sucker like at all, not at all similar to plecos or cories, and yet they seem to have no trouble getting algae off of surfaces with it. There will definitely be an autopsy if I ever lose one just to solve this mystery.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

ezcry4t3d said:


> I got 3 pairs of Red Neon Goby (Stiphodon sp) from Invertz Factory to put in my algae tank and I wanted to share that I have watched them eat both Spirogyra (Silk Algae, Water Silk) and BBA (Black-Brush Algae, Red-Brush Algae). They are dainty little fish though, so don't expect them to clean up a huge mess of it.
> 
> Pic of a couple of the males right after introduction to the tank:



They eat BBA? That would be to good to be true. Would they eat it off of the gravel? That's the only place that I get it.


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

they eat bba, but are not the most efficient cleaners. they are more like nibblers and jump from clump to clump of algae. they are shrimp safe as far as i can tell, and fun to watch. just dont expect them to clean a tank spotless like a good pleco would with GSA. i keep mine in a co2 tank with no problems.


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## smoq (Feb 19, 2008)

They are beautiful! Unfortunately, I can't find any more info regarding these gobies. My questions are:
-are they aggressive to other fish in the tank?
-can they thrive in temp ranges of 79-82F
- will they compete with other bottom dwellers for food?

They could be a nice alternative to SAE in the future, don't you think?


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## S&KGray (Nov 12, 2008)

smoq said:


> -are they aggressive to other fish in the tank?


Not ime


> -can they thrive in temp ranges of 79-82F


Yes, my tanks get up to 83F and I also had them above 88F when treating ich and they were fine


> - will they compete with other bottom dwellers for food?


Not ime


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## ezcry4t3d (Apr 24, 2009)

smoq said:


> They are beautiful! Unfortunately, I can't find any more info regarding these gobies. My questions are:
> -are they aggressive to other fish in the tank?


No way. They're not very big, couple inches long and as big around as a pencil. They even defer to my juvenile bristlenose plecos which are no bigger than they are. They do defer to the largest male in their group, but I've never seen any actual contact involved.



smoq said:


> -can they thrive in temp ranges of 79-82F


My tank is in the garage and can hit 88-90 degrees F on hot days. So far I've had no trouble with them. They're active, eating, and seem happy.



smoq said:


> - will they compete with other bottom dwellers for food?


While I have seen them occasionally sit on the bottom, they don't eat off the bottom like catfish. They clean leaves, driftwood, glass, and tear off pieces of BBA and Spirogyra. They also can't seem to hold onto surfaces that are beyond vertical like a pleco can. (I've never seen one even a tiny bit upside down)


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## smoq (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks guys for helping me. I think I may order them from invertzfactory soon. I don't want to overstock my 75g, but I think they won't add much to the bioload. I forget to ask one crucial question- do they suicide- jumpers? I have an open-top tank and wouldn't want to lose them right after buying them.


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## ezcry4t3d (Apr 24, 2009)

smoq said:


> I forget to ask one crucial question- do they suicide- jumpers?


I have a sump. I've not seen them come anywhere near my overflow (or really anywhere near the water surface) thus far.


(Hope this kind of tip is allowed on here) you may want to check aquabid, I saved significantly winning an invertz factory auction on these.


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## Xcomx5 (Mar 24, 2009)

How large do they get? Do they generally stay the same size as an otto or do they get pleco size...Whats the average tank size you can keep them in?


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## S&KGray (Nov 12, 2008)

ezcry4t3d said:


> They're not very big, couple inches long and as big around as a pencil.


Mine are only about 3 inches long.


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## milalic (Aug 25, 2005)

around 3" long is their size.


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## niko (Mar 8, 2006)

From our experience these fish are very hardy and undemanding. I don't recall seeing a single one of them jump out and we have had them for a few months now.

They are not interested in any other fish. Pedro has them with somewhat shy CPDs and all his fish come out to eat together. 

I had one of these gobies in a 6' long tank. She seem to stay in loosely outlined territories and not go much beyond. She lived on a tuff of moss about 9 sq. inches in size. The moss was covered with mostly BBA and also short green fuzz algae. It took the fish about 5 days to completely clean it. It was the only bright green and clean plant in the tank. The fish did not harm the moss's leaves. I added some wildcaught fish to the tank and they brought a disease that killed the goby. After she was gone the moss again got covered with fuzz and BBA algae in about 7 days. So I do have reasons to believe that these fish are excellent algae cleaners.

--Nikolay


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

Do they prefer soft, slightly acidic water?


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