Amazing Goby Disappearing Act - He's Alive!!!! - Page 2

christyf5 · #11 08-14-2003, 01:13 AM

Those little buggers are amazing eh? I can't even count the number of times my bicolor blenny has done the waterslide. He gets into a different sump chamber every time despite my attempts to gate off the overflow. He must think he is at Playland or something

Christy

three dawgs · #12 08-14-2003, 03:52 PM

Name your Goby Houdini, I had a Fire Fish who went missing for 2 weeks. Couldnt find him and suddenly he appeared. Disappears for days at a time. My Goby does the same thing. Gone for days on end. Think he is going on one of those Australian Walk abouts.
3 Dawgs

Quinn · #13 08-14-2003, 11:57 PM

Well he made it into the sump yet again last night. I have no idea what drives him to do it.

Delphinus · #14 08-15-2003, 12:47 AM

What does your overflow look like. Can you add an extra layer of eggcrate maybe?

I found when setting up my 72g, I was absolutely paranoid of fish getting into my overflow. I siliconed in a piece of plastic over the extra cut-out (I can have my sump return in one of two positions), and I cut a piece of eggrate to fit the curve of the curved wall (it's a curved overflow). But eggcrate alone will not stop slender bodied fish such as gobies, jawfish, firefish (who are all notorious jumpers, too), so .. I sewed some fiberglass window screening onto the eggcrate.

Doesn't really matter what drives them to do it ... what matters is what happens when they try. Maybe he's being chased, maybe he's looking for food, maybe it's just fun like a waterslide. Who knows.

I remember I once had a fish that Big Al's called "The World's Greatest Algae Eater" (which, incidentally, I thought was The World's Dumbest Sounding Fish Name Ever, and also indicentally, ironically, whatever, was WRONG ... unless .. maybe I just somehow ended up with The World's Worst, The World's Greatest Algae Eater ... anyways I digress. Although he never touched algae, he had a really hilarious personality). Imagine a fish that looks a little like a shark (only about 2" long). He can blink his eyes which I thought was neat. Anyways when he thought I wasn't looking, he'd sometimes swim back and forth through the bubble wall in the back of the tank. I could swear he was doing it for fun. I couln't really see any other reason why he might have done that. Probably like running though a sprinkler or something. Anyways I guess all my point is, I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me that fish sometimes do some certain things, because it beats doing other certain things (i.e., maybe it's more enjoyable than bumping into the glass or something). Anyways it's just my thoughts ... I'm for sure no fish psychologist so I could just be way off base...

Quinn · #15 08-15-2003, 02:25 AM

Excellent Tony. Thank you for that. How does this fibreglass window screening work? Is this the stuff that one would normally have in their windows? Does algae and such get caught in it, forcing the aquarist to clean it?

Delphinus · #16 08-15-2003, 03:01 AM

Actually it just seals the top of the overflow so it's above water. It's basically there to stop any potential jumpers from jumping into the overflow. My overflow teeth are small enough to stop most things (Catalina gobies maybe would fit, but then, I don't keep any of those). It just sits on top.

I think you could do the same for the top.

As for the teeth though. I don't remember how your overflow looks, is it teeth though plastic or is it glass and thus a piece of eggcrate? If the teeth are eggcrate I wonder if you could get away with doubling up on it. Unfortunately window screening is pretty fine mesh so I think it would totally clog in no time if any of it were submerged (or had water running through it). But doubling up eggcrate might be enough to prevent a fish from swimming through it...

Quinn · #17 08-16-2003, 12:36 AM

I get you now. I have eggcrate, so I will try doubling it up and then put the screen above that. He's in the sump right now, yet again.

Quinn · #18 08-16-2003, 01:42 AM

My dad receives lily bulbs in plastic crates that have slats about 2/3 as wide as eggcrate holes, so I made a cover and sides for the overflow out of that. It looks much more inpenetrable now. We'll find out for sure tonight.

Delphinus · #19 08-16-2003, 02:28 PM

Cool! Good luck and let us know tomorrow (or is today tomorrow already?? I didn't look at the timestamp of your post).

Hang onto that stuff, that could be useful. What to get rid of some of it to me maybe??

Quinn · #20 08-16-2003, 07:14 PM

No worries Tony, I've got more than enough lying around. Actually I'll throw it in my car today and maybe Jon will hold onto it until you get back. I just used a power saw to cut it, you could do it with side cutters but it's easier with the saw.

As of this morning, the goby is still in the display tank, so I think it worked.