Razorbacks
Active Member
When I first started planning out my stocking list originally I was gung ho that the yellow watchman goby was the one I wanted. I loved the bright yellow color. Then it was brought to my attention that they are neither guaranteed to come bright yellow or stay that way. It seems they can fluctuate in color back and forth from bright yellow to virtually brown or go brown and stay that way indefinitely or a number of shades in between. Given how small my tank is (20 long) and how few fish I'll be keeping I don't really want to gamble and end up with an unattractive brown fish so I've all but ruled out the yellow watchman, and need to pick a replacement.
My next favorite was the diamond goby and a few other sand sifting gobies (just based on appearances) but after learning more about how many starve and the fact that they get a bit larger than the others I ruled them out.
Next up were orange spotted goby and Randall's. I somewhat hate to get an orange fish though because I have 2 clowns already so to only have 4 fish and 3 of them be orange seems a waste, but I lean towards the Randall between the two if I went with one.
Somewhat late hitting my radar is the Wheeler's Goby. What I love on this one is there are not a lot of red, readily available, inexpensive fish for a nano that don't harm anything. I also like that supposedly it does better in pairs or groups whereas for most fish that's a no go.
Last up is the Pink Spotted Watchman. I'm slightly leaning towards this as my front runner at the moment, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information on this fish. I've seen it listed by Liveaquaria as peaceful, but all other outlets as semi-aggressive. I've seen the max size listed on different sites as 4", 5" and 6". I've also heard and read that it sifts a lot of sand despite not being a technical sand sifter while others refute that. One website claims they eat ornamental shrimp but I saw this nowhere else and since they pair with pistol shrimp this was a little surprising to read so not sure what to think on that part. Lastly, one site said it eats bristle worms which if true is an added bonus, but not a big deal if not.
Pros: The coloration seems to be great in some photos if understated in others, but I get the sense that photos don't do this fish justice. It definitely is quite distinct color wise from my other fish (clowns and RG) and from most other fish in general. There were enough reports on the heavy sand sifting behavior that I suspect this part is true and if so is an added bonus.
Cons: Slightly concerned with some of the comments around aggression, but I haven't read any reports on it actually killing a fish. Most of the issues seem to be with hermit crabs which I neither have nor ever plan to keep. The fish does seem to be slightly hard to find at the moment. Not sure if it has seasonal swings in availability. I don't think I've ever actually seen one in person. ORA appears to have produced it in the past captive bred, but are not doing so currently. Usure if they cycle things in and out across the year or if there just isn't enough demand so they discontinued indefinitely.
What are your thoughts? Cast your vote!
My next favorite was the diamond goby and a few other sand sifting gobies (just based on appearances) but after learning more about how many starve and the fact that they get a bit larger than the others I ruled them out.
Next up were orange spotted goby and Randall's. I somewhat hate to get an orange fish though because I have 2 clowns already so to only have 4 fish and 3 of them be orange seems a waste, but I lean towards the Randall between the two if I went with one.
Somewhat late hitting my radar is the Wheeler's Goby. What I love on this one is there are not a lot of red, readily available, inexpensive fish for a nano that don't harm anything. I also like that supposedly it does better in pairs or groups whereas for most fish that's a no go.
Last up is the Pink Spotted Watchman. I'm slightly leaning towards this as my front runner at the moment, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information on this fish. I've seen it listed by Liveaquaria as peaceful, but all other outlets as semi-aggressive. I've seen the max size listed on different sites as 4", 5" and 6". I've also heard and read that it sifts a lot of sand despite not being a technical sand sifter while others refute that. One website claims they eat ornamental shrimp but I saw this nowhere else and since they pair with pistol shrimp this was a little surprising to read so not sure what to think on that part. Lastly, one site said it eats bristle worms which if true is an added bonus, but not a big deal if not.
Pros: The coloration seems to be great in some photos if understated in others, but I get the sense that photos don't do this fish justice. It definitely is quite distinct color wise from my other fish (clowns and RG) and from most other fish in general. There were enough reports on the heavy sand sifting behavior that I suspect this part is true and if so is an added bonus.
Cons: Slightly concerned with some of the comments around aggression, but I haven't read any reports on it actually killing a fish. Most of the issues seem to be with hermit crabs which I neither have nor ever plan to keep. The fish does seem to be slightly hard to find at the moment. Not sure if it has seasonal swings in availability. I don't think I've ever actually seen one in person. ORA appears to have produced it in the past captive bred, but are not doing so currently. Usure if they cycle things in and out across the year or if there just isn't enough demand so they discontinued indefinitely.
What are your thoughts? Cast your vote!
