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For the Love of Gobies |
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The starfish seemed to do fine, but as they are so shy, I was again looking to add something new to my tank, wanting some movement and something more to observe. Not quite finding anything that I wanted to bring home yet, I decided to search for more live rock. My yellow sponge hadn't gotten any larger, in fact hadn't changed at all. When I sat in front of the tank it seemed so bare, so this was another way to fill it up. While browsing the tanks at work, I kept my eyes open for any interesting pieces of rock that were small and stackable. Gobies need caves, so this will allow me to create as many as possible for him to play and hide in. I found another piece that I found interesting. It was really small, but it had a growth on it that I didn't recognize. Jeff was on shift with me that night, so I had to ask him what it was. He wasn't positive at first glance, so he went in search of a book. (reading can be so rewarding!) When he returned a few minutes later, he announce that it was a "sea squirt". The name intrigued me, but was it something difficult to care for and would my goby have a problem with it? "No" was the surprising answer to both of these questions. Jeff then explained that the sea squirt is a filter feeder, and just grows on the rock. It doesn't bother anything, and the fish shouldn't bother it. It catches it's nourishment from the water that flows through it, filtering out the particles it can use to feed from and thus digesting it while the rest washes through. |
Of course, that's all I needed to hear, and it came home with me. Another piece of Haitian live rock with a side fossilized with something of an invertebrate nature, in a scalloped pattern caught my eye, so I added that piece too. Now you may ask, why not bring my goby home now? Good question. Everything seemed to be fine, but I wasn't sure yet as to being cycled enough for him. We are only a couple of weeks into setting this tank up, with the slight "jump-start" of live sand in an attempt to hurry things up. After consulting with Rob and Adam, I had decided to wait one week after adding my starfish, then if all was still well, my goby would come home on my next day off. |
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