Are Trimma Gobies related to Lemmings?

[Anonymous]

Sad story. As some may be aware, I recently bought a couple of Trimma gobies from my LFS. Both about 1" long, but one a little weaker than the other. Well, on being released into my tank, the smaller one headed straight for the Maxijet in the tank, got too close and proceeded to get stuck to the intake grill. Cue me hurriedly unplugging the Maxijet. Still breathing, the goby moves away and for the rest of the day moves occasionally. Doesn't feed however.

Anyway, I thought the drama was over, but came home last night to a tank with only one trimma (the larger) and the firefish I'd bought at the same time. Well, with a little investigation, I found the little fellow in the sump, trapped in the filter wool and quite dead.

Does this mean these little guys are not best suited to an overflow system or just that this guy was weakened by his experience with the powerhead/had a death wish?

Here's the bigger guy.

 

[brandon4291]

yes they can wind up in these unpredictable places because they are free-roamers, and given the small confines of our tanks it only takes a few random flicks of the tail and an aggressive water flow to wind them up in a dangerous spot. The fact that some keep these very fish in identical setups, with overflows/sumps, and haven't had that problem is just another testament to random choice in the tiny aquarium fish

What ways can you alter your setup to accomodate these tendencies? How about going to Walmart or Michael's crafts, and buying some cheap plastic grating used for hook-and-loop yarn craftwork. You could fashion and glue an outcropping that makes the jump across your overflow impossible unless he gets a running leap! You know, a rim that sticks forward around the edges of the water flow, resting just on the water's surface but glued/fastened to the overflow lip in some way, to prevent the rush of water from carrying his carcass-to-be over the flow threshold. If a snail got into it, there'd be enough passage through the grating to prevent a back up. That would work, and then maybe some foam pre-filters (cleaned regularly) to prevent suction in the powerhead?

Glad to have you on our forum Burntom

B

 

[Anonymous]

Thank Brandon. I think I'll be on here a lot from now on, given my recent engagement and future related costs are going to put paid to the big tank dreams (and that I'm really starting to enjoy the intimacy of small tanks).

Those are really helpful ideas on both counts. I'll try both of them. I must admit after losing "Pumpy" (so named by my fiancee after the powerhead incident), I don't want to lose "Aniki" as well (lit. trans. "Older brother" the nickname of a popular baseball player here - so named because he was the stronger fish).

To add tragedy to tragedy, we also lost "Sparky" the firefish last night. He managed to get stuck behind a rock last night (we figure it must have shifted a little as he was wriggling through) and by the time we got home from work, he was dead. I'd forgotten how upsetting it was to lose a fish until these incidents. I think we'll wait a while before finding a companion for "Aniki".

BTW, about the next fish question. Would one of the more peaceful damsels bully the remaining Trimma if introduced in a few weeks? My fiancee wants "something blue that moves around a bit more" and I was wondering if the fact that the Trimma mainly stays still on a rock means the damsel wouldn't feel the need to attack it? On the other hand, I don't want to take any risks with Aniki...

PS: I swear I've never had fish with names before in my life. Love makes you do strange things...