Loaches and Rhinogobius duospilus in the same tank?

[JWhipple]

My LFS got a shipment of ghost shrimp in - based on one of my recent posts, sounds like they would be a tasty snack for the loaches! 10 cents each, minimum of 35 ...

In the same shipment, in fact in the same bag, they received 7 of these freshwater gobys:

http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aqua ... spilus.htm

I asked how much they wanted - the same price as the shrimp - 10 cents each... HUH!?!?! WHAT!?!?!? Yes - they didn't want anything more than that, and they would be counted towards the minimum of 35.

Can anyone advise whether or not it would be safe to put them in my loach tank? They were cool little fish - I think they would compliment the loaches nicely!



Thoughts?

[Martin Thoene]

Yes, they're perfectly ok with other fish, but really require the same conditions as Hillstream Loaches. They live in the same type of fast-flowing streams.

Jim Powers has kept them, he can probably advise on specifics.

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

If these fish came in with ghost shrimp as contaminants they are probably native darters and not gobies. I have seen them before in such shimpments.
I believe they are the Swamp darter Etheostoma fusiforme
or a similar species. They are native to the U.S. Gulf Coast which is the source of most ghost shrimp. They look VERY similar to Rhinogobius duospilus.

http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/ser ... +fusiforme

[JWhipple]

Jim,

Any idea how large they get?

[Jim Powers]

According to my Petersen Field Guide, if they are, in fact Swamp darters, they will grow to about 2.25". I would suggest you try to feed them brine shrimp and bloodworms.

Here's more info:
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... hp?id=3424

[JWhipple]

I just picked them up and have them in the tank now.. The actually took right to the flake food!

[Martin Thoene]

Good reading:

http://www.nanfa.org/articles/acdarteraquariums.shtml

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

Its interesting that they took to flakes so easily. I wouldn't have expected that. That certainly simplifies feeding.

Martin: That is good reading. You always find the cool stuff

[Graeme Robson]

Interesting Nipper!

[Jim Powers]

Reading that article makes just fuels my desire to one day, set up a river tank for local darters such as this jewel.

http://www.nanfa.org/fif/orangeth.shtml

[JWhipple]

Jim,

Thanks for pointing me into the right direction!

After going down the "darter" path, I found out they are Black Banded Darters.

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... hp?id=3500

Also, a little pricing on the web - they run $11 each at the cheapest places I could find !

These little guys are great additions to my loach tank - plus they are extremely interested in everything that goes on around the tank!

They hang out with my sumo loaches all day long, except when I come and sit in front of them tank, I think they are actually more interested in seeing me than I am them ! They come to the glass and watch everything I do!

It's like taking a laser pointer and putting it on the ceiling - then watching your cat's head follow it back and forth. They do the exact same thing when I put my finger by the glass and then move it back and forth in front of the tank .

They are very much non-aggressive, and continue to eat the flake food, as well as bloodworms and tubifex worms that I put into the tank.

Great additions to the tank - even if they were to have cost me $20 each instead of the 10 cents each that I paid!