Catalina Goby Info

[Wingnutt021]

Mat,

In your fish for nanos sticky thread, you said that the Catalina Goby will die in tropical temps, and needs temps in the high 50s to low 60s, but Dr. Foster and Smith's profile of the species states that it will olerate up to 75 degrees.

Do you have personal experience with it dying in warm water, or did you read it somewhere? And if you read it, where? (I'm not being accusative, I just like having as much info as possible for my reef inhabitants!)

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/goby_ble/CatalinaGoby.php

 

[Anonymous]

Mat,

In your fish for nanos sticky thread, you said that the Catalina Goby will die in tropical temps, and needs temps in the high 50s to low 60s, but Dr. Foster and Smith's profile of the species states that it will olerate up to 75 degrees.

Do you have personal experience with it dying in warm water, or did you read it somewhere? And if you read it, where? (I'm not being accusative, I just like having as much info as possible for my reef inhabitants!)

Thanks

The southernmost extent of their range is Guadalupe Island. From what I can find with a quick search 75 is the highest temp there in the summer. Maybe that's where they're getting the number from.

I'd consider 75 to be the upper temporary limit, but I'd certainly want to keep them lower than that long term for a cushion. Consider that corals can be found in areas where the temperature hits the high 80's; nobody that I know of considers that an acceptable temperature to keep a tank containing shallow water tropical corals.

When I was at UCD we kept them at 55-60 and they always seemed to do fine. We did have a chiller issue and then they subsequently died--unfortunately I cannot tell you whether their deaths were from temperature shock or from other issues associated with the temperature spike (possibly, ammonia spike from other animals dying).

Hope this helps,
Matt

 

[Anonymous]

(I'm not being accusative, I just like having as much info as possible for my reef inhabitants!)

It didn't come across as accusative to me.

 

[Wingnutt021]

Thanks for the info... My water is 76 to 78 and he's still kicking after a week. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info... My water is 76 to 78 and he's still kicking after a week. I'll keep you updated.

Cool! I'm curious how he does, and if you can keep close track of your temp ranges please do that too.

 

[jhemdal1]

Thanks for the info... My water is 76 to 78 and he's still kicking after a week. I'll keep you updated.

Wingnutt,

Matt is correct, Catalina gobies really should be kept below 70 degrees long-term and below 73 degrees short-term. The high temperature won't kill them outright, but after a month or two, they'll tend to fade and often time die long before they should. The people you see saying they can handle higher temperatures are the ones selling them(grin).

Here is an excerpt from my Advanced Marine Aquarium Techniques book:

Catalina (bluebanded) goby
Lythrypnus dalli
Maximum size: 6.2 cm
Habitat: Rocky reef crevices
Range: Eastern Pacific, Central California south to Baja Mexico
Although frequently offered for sale in large numbers by west coast marine wholesalers, this species does not do well at warmer tropical temperatures. They really should be kept below 73 degrees. In addition, it is suspected that due to their localized range, that over-collecting for the pet trade could become a real issue in the future. Lythrypnus zebra is a related species that differs by having thinner and more numerous blue stripes. Husbandry is the same as for any other small goby species.


JHemdal

 

[Wingnutt021]

Thanks for your help guys...

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning to my crab snacking on what used to be my catalina goby...

I'm usually very good with researching the species I put in the tank, but I dropped the ball on this one. I guess I'm relying too heavily on Dr. Foster and Smith's website detailing each species, but like you said, they are the ones selling them. Do you have any suggestions of other sites or books to pick up to check species facts in the future?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help guys...

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning to my crab snacking on what used to be my catalina goby...

I'm usually very good with researching the species I put in the tank, but I dropped the ball on this one. I guess I'm relying too heavily on Dr. Foster and Smith's website detailing each species, but like you said, they are the ones selling them. Do you have any suggestions of other sites or books to pick up to check species facts in the future?

I would not rely on any commercial site for husbandry information.

You can always ask here, or in the Fish Forum. I search for species information at www.fishbase.org That will typically give you habitat, depth, and range data, and from there you can glean proper temperatures.