Hector's Goby questions

[saltcats]

My LFS has got in a hector's goby and I'm quite tempted by him. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything before I pull the trigger...

Will he play nice with the rest of my (very tentatively) planned stocking? I believe he should, my only real concern would be with the shrimp goby since they seem to have a fairly similar niche, but it sounds like other people have been successful. I'm probably going with a hi-fin (yellow nose) goby, or maybe a randall's - would these be fine?
They should be going in a 50 gallon lagoon, although it's not actually set up yet. I figured I'd get a head start on the qt'ing.
Other fish I'm considering are:
- possum wrasse (already have him)
- shrimp goby - yellow nose or randall's most likely
- mccosker's or carpenter's flasher wrasse?
- neon blue goby or yellow line goby (or both if they can go together?)
- yellow assessor (if I can find one!)
- circus goby?

I have the carib-sea special grade sand; is this going to be too coarse for the hector's? I didn't find anything much about this in my research.

I'm planning to put him in an observational qt first - the tank he'd be going in has a lot of big amphipods which I think would be great to feed him up... unless they're too big? I'd say they're about 2-3mm long, and definitely carnivorous... any risk to a small fish?
There is some fiji pink sand in that tank but not a very deep layer, will this be okay for him since it's a temporary tank only? It's maybe 1/2" deep at the most. I can put a picture of the tank if that's helpful! It's a fluval evo 13.5 that has been set up with live (not from the ocean, but bought wet at my LFS) since November of last year.

Lastly - the particular fish at my LFS looks pretty skinny, which I know is not great. Is it worth the risk? I feel that since the tank he's going into has a very good pod population, he should have plenty to eat and get fattened up, vs the LFS tank which is small and sparse... but does the skinniness suggest something more serious that isn't easily fixed by just providing a calm environment with plenty of food? Planning to deworm him with metro if I see stringy poops, as well.

Thanks all!

 

[vanguard]

I LOVE my hector's goby. I quarantined him in a tank with fiji pink sand and now he's in carib special grade. In both cases he sifted it just fine, although now he sometimes spits it out his mouth rather than send it through his gills.

He's peaceful and has never bothered anybody. He's fat in my tank but I've never seen him eat frozen or pellet food. He just scavenges algae and micro fauna.

For such a small fish I get outsized enjoyment from watching him try to clean the rocks and sand. I have tangs cleaning the rocks and a bella goby cleaning the sand. Little Hector Salamanca vibes like Ralph Wiggins when he cleans one grain at a time.

 

[NCsalt]

I have had my Court Jester Goby with my aggressive possum wrasse for two weeks without issue.

 

[saltcats]

I LOVE my hector's goby. I quarantined him in a tank with fiji pink sand and now he's in carib special grade. In both cases he sifted it just fine, although now he sometimes spits it out his mouth rather than send it through his gills.

He's peaceful and has never bothered anybody. He's fat in my tank but I've never seen him eat frozen or pellet food. He just scavenges algae and micro fauna.

For such a small fish I get outsized enjoyment from watching him try to clean the rocks and sand. I have tangs cleaning the rocks and a bella goby cleaning the sand. Little Hector Salamanca vibes like Ralph Wiggins when he cleans one grain at a time.

I have had my Court Jester Goby with my aggressive possum wrasse for two weeks without issue.

Thank you both! Picked up the goby today and he's settling in well, exploring the tank and cleaning rocks and sand within an hour of adding him

 

[NanoMixer]

I know this is way after the fact, but wanted to add that I have a clownfish pair with nem, possum wrasse, and Hector’s Goby in my 20g nano, and everyone gets along fabulously! I’m surprised to hear about an aggressive possum wrasse, they’re usually so reclusive (which is one of my favorite things really, it feels special to see them out and about). The clownfish like the HG, they figured out pretty quickly that he sometimes stirs up pods and tidbits of food that they like, and the PW does a great job keeping the large amphipod population in check, which ensures they never take over the copepods. The Hector’s goby prefers smaller amphipods in the GHA patches or on rock work, or the copepods on the glass. Despite what some people think, they don’t actively consume algae, it’s more of a byproduct of grazing for pods (based on research and personal observation). The Hector’s goby has been surprisingly delightful. So busy and cheerful! If anyone is on the fence about one, do it!! You won’t regret it. A seriously underrated awesome little fish.