Engineer Goby Gone Wild!

[NEMESIS]

So before dinner today I walk pass my tank only to notice that my engineer goby had a fairly large zebra hermit crab with the shell in his mouth banging it upside the tank. There was really nothing I could do at this point as he already swallowed most of it but I got some pics! My Question is why all the sudden is he attacking my hermits and more importantly will he be ok now that he swallowed a whole hermit plus the **** shell? At least I believe he did swallow it all down I couldnt see him hiding behind the rocks. Hes never done this type of thing before so I dont know what has brought this on hes always been a really peaceful fish with everything in my tank. Heres the pics...Dont be fooled by his puppydog eyes hes a proven killer now


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...oliks/EG01.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...oliks/EG02.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...oliks/EG03.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...oliks/EG04.jpg

[Timoteo]

Don't know what to say about that but that is wicked! "And I ate the whole thing!" I wonder if they can digest calcium? Or pass shards of it anyway.

[NEMESIS]

I know I just hope he will be ok hes one of my fav fish.

[Creamhorses]

He must have been some hungry.......I'm guessing that he's not the first to consume a shell, but let us know how it all comes out. :^)


Our EG is ina 55g with a deep sand bed. He's a digger of course....I let him play until a frag or other coral begin to get buried....then I stir the sand back....always makes the filter feeders happy.

[deanp88]

I wonder if he sucked it into his mouth by accident.

[NEMESIS]

I wonder if the hermit maybe pinched him and made him angry? I really don't know I'm kinda at a loss for words over the whole thing myself lol. Just hope hes going to be ok.

Hes a funny fish thou lastnight my wife was looking down at the coral in the tank and he popped his head out from a small hole and spit out a "BIG" mouthfull of sand in her direction lol his is his way of being an attention seeker. Then he kinda just watches you too see your reaction lol. Not the first time he has done that.

[richkor]

Engineering gobies will start out peaceful, but small crabs and decorative shrimp are part of their normal diet in the wild....As they grow, this will begin to show itself. Mine made a snack out of a $25 shrimp They are both now digging tunnels in someone else's tank.

[NEMESIS]

Dang it I dunno what to do now then. Its basically one of my favorite fish I do only have 1 dancing shrimp thou and I dont think buying more hermits now and then to replace ones the EG would possibly kill be too bad. What about Emerald crabs and sally light foot crab, will they eat them when full grown too? Why didn't the guy at the LFS tell me this stuff lol.


And on another note if he becomes too problematic do you suppose a snowflake eel would be ok in the longrun? Or is there bad sides too them as well? So I hear only thing you need to worry about a snowflake eel is lid being secure so it wont jump out. From what I have read and been told they are generally reef safe eels.

[richkor]

Can't answer on the eel other than to say that all fish will have pros/cons associated with them. As for the crabs, I am not familiar with them going after crabs even if full grown, but I didn't let mine go to full grown.

[NEMESIS]

Well right now mine is roughly 8" long hes still growing I know he will fill out a lot more still too from the ones at the one LFS they have set up.

[thehoof]

My goby picks them up and uses them as a kind of wall but can't understand way they keep moving so yet again he goes chasing his moving wall brick picks it up and puts it back. I have now invested in some empty shells from my lps and ploked them in worked a treat. But if he is eating them ouch has on earth does he pass that through his digestive track

[richkor]

amazing what they can digest...you figure most fish eat other fish, bones and all. How do they process them? Many fish eat snails, shrimp, etc exoskeleton and all. Most animals don't have the "weak" digestive tracks of people

[NEMESIS]

Funny you mentioned the empty shells concept. I just the day before had removed most all of my empty shells out of the tank to help maybe lower nitrates a bit. Then BAMN he did this, hmmm kinda makes me wonder even more now lol.

[thehoof]

Yeah wait untill your hermit crabs take it out on you. Got a great little frag. Growing fab, then I was walking past my tank to grab a sandwich when I did a double take. My hermit crab called lector as he ate my snails had no joke picked up my frag off the bottom of my tank and was dragging it up my rock work. Bloody thigh I just guess my layout wasnt good enough for him.

[Random tank guy]

My goby is really annoying me right now so I'm giving him to my lfs