Masked Goby Spawning + Aggression

[SauceyReef]

I have a pair of Masked Gobies in my 13.5 evo. They have been a great addition for over the year I have had them, but lately they have started breeding! The one has been making a burrow and cleaning an area in the rock for the past month. The other one kind of guards the entire rock and if any of the other fish get close, it chases them away.

I am thinking it is time to put the masked gobies in another tank as I have many very peaceful fish who are not used to this behavior - Pink Streaked Wrasse, HellFrichi Firefish. I have no idea how I am going to catch the Masked Gobies! Any advice?

 

[i cant think]

I have a pair of Masked Gobies in my 13.5 evo. They have been a great addition for over the year I have had them, but lately they have started breeding! The one has been making a burrow and cleaning an area in the rock for the past month. The other one kind of guards the entire rock and if any of the other fish get close, it chases them away.

I am thinking it is time to put the masked gobies in another tank as I have many very peaceful fish who are not used to this behavior - Pink Streaked Wrasse, HellFrichi Firefish. I have no idea how I am going to catch them!

Aggression generally only occurs during breeding, you may find they will breed at a specific time in the year and not all year round, I believe Masked Gobies come from Indonesia/Australia in which case this is generally their breeding season as the cooler temperatures are better for the eggs if they get caught in a low tide.

 

[SauceyReef]

Aggression generally only occurs during breeding, you may find they will breed at a specific time in the year and not all year round, I believe Masked Gobies come from Indonesia/Australia in which case this is generally their breeding season as the cooler temperatures are better for the eggs if they get caught in a low tide.

So should I just wait it out you think? I know this sounds horrible, but if I disrupt the burrow / area they are protecting will that stop them from being so aggressive?

I love these two fish and am extremely honored they are breeding, but from my experience Pygmy Wrasse and Firefish really dont take to aggression well. Just them being chased a bit is very worrying to me.

 

[i cant think]

So should I just wait it out you think? I know this sounds horrible, but if I disrupt the burrow / area they are protecting will that stop them from being so aggressive?

I love these two fish and am extremely honored they are breeding, but from my experience Pygmy Wrasse and Firefish really dont take to aggression well. Just them being chased a bit is very worrying to me.

If your pink streak and fire fish have been in the tank for a while and are established you shouldn’t face any issues.
IME aggression with pink streaks is only worrying when they’re new to the tank. My pink streaks get pushed away by my Clown Goby and they don’t care too much.

 

[SauceyReef]

If your pink streak and fire fish have been in the tank for a while and are established you shouldn’t face any issues.
IME aggression with pink streaks is only worrying when they’re new to the tank. My pink streaks get pushed away by my Clown Goby and they don’t care too much.

Unfortunately they're both new to the tank the past month. The masked gobies were fine with my Possum Wrasse. But I traded it for a HellFrichi a bit ago, than added a Pink Streaked 1/4 the size of the Possum, and they dont seem to like it. I havent seem them bother the HellFrichi, but it stays in its PVC pipe most of the time. I am wondering if that is caused by any aggression.. I originally assumed it was just the fish getting used to the new tank.

Looks like I gotta grab a drink/snack, and sit next to the tank for 30mins and observe!

 

[SauceyReef]

I’ve been sitting here for over 30 mins now watching. It’s not to bad. An occasional chase from the larger masked goby protecting the burrow. Idk why the new pink streaked wrasse insists on going back over to their area instead of hanging around new spots lol.

Hoping the firefish isn’t being bothered though, and is just living up to its very shy nature.

 

[i cant think]

Unfortunately they're both new to the tank the past month. The masked gobies were fine with my Possum Wrasse. But I traded it for a HellFrichi a bit ago, than added a Pink Streaked 1/4 the size of the Possum, and they dont seem to like it. I havent seem them bother the HellFrichi, but it stays in its PVC pipe most of the time. I am wondering if that is caused by any aggression.. I originally assumed it was just the fish getting used to the new tank.

Looks like I gotta grab a drink/snack, and sit next to the tank for 30mins and observe!

A month is generally enough time to establish a pink streak, as for the firefish it’s likely still establishing and not being aggressed on. I’ve found that Firefish and Grammas can take a while to establish into the tank and get used to coming out around us.

The other thing is Masked Gobies aren’t generally going to leave their young just to be aggressive to a fish larger than it.

 

[SauceyReef]

A month is generally enough time to establish a pink streak, as for the firefish it’s likely still establishing and not being aggressed on. I’ve found that Firefish and Grammas can take a while to establish into the tank and get used to coming out around us.

The other thing is Masked Gobies aren’t generally going to leave their young just to be aggressive to a fish larger than it.

The strange thing is it is a bit flipped. The Helfrichi has been here for a bit now, the Pink streaked was added a few days ago. The Helfrichi has been hiding since I got it in a PVC pipe I added for it. It will come out a bit and eat. The pink streaked almost seemed like it didn't realize it was in a new tank - it was swimming all around the DT since the next day. I must have picked a good one with some spunk!

Oh and good point. The Helfrichi is surprisingly very large.. Probably 2x-3x the size of the masked gobies while the pink streaked is like 1/3 the size of the masked goby. Luckily the the firefish is opposite side of the tank. The pygmy wrasse also likes to go near his PVC and check him out. Such an inquisitive fish.