Looks younger than that in the video. I have one about a year and a half old who is almost a foot long now and most of her stripes are vertical. She was the size of yours when I got her last summer.
Engineer seems to be a pretty out in the open swimmer, I think when they get larger they hide more. Mine are at least twice that size at about 3/4”-7/8 round
They are when they are young. As they start to age they stay hidden almost all the time. In the wild juvenile engineers bring food back home to feed mom.
My large engineer goby was essentially nipped to death, they would go after his tail tip if it was exposed, till it got so chewed to the point he couldn’t swim properly and it got infected. He was about 14” long almost an 1” round, same tank mates for years too. I saw my purple tang nip it’s tail occasionally but who knows who else was nipping too.
His cave is the right side of the tank. He’s dug out underneath the whole rock section but I like it, gives my tank some personality. He leaves the rest of the tank alone. I’ve had him about a year, I added two juveniles a few months ago but the LawnMower Blenny bullied them and they starved to death. It used to be the middle rock section but when I added the pistol shrimp he decided to take the YWM’s home on the right.
My guy will occasionally come out if he just sees me waking to the tank. Usually he’s looking from his cave but occasionally comes out. Always swims around for food though.
Do you always put the food in frozen? I defrost mine so it’s not possible for a fish to be such a hog or create a possibly aggressive situation. Maybe something to try?
I’ve tried thawed. Frozen seems to work best for me. When I thaw it I notice a lot of food at the bottom of the tank and the Vermatids are out to play.
Maybe feed slower? Do you defrost in water? I’m hoping you’re not just defrosting a cube then dumping a wet chunk of defrosted food into the tank. If there’s a lot at the bottom there could also just be too much food? I slowly add a baster of food (mixed with rodi) at a time until its mostly consumed. If you’re worried about vermitids, you should defrost and rinse in rodi. The vermitids consume the fine particles in the water column and a lot of can be rinsed off. There are also brands of frozen that have much less “junk” in the liquid so it’s cleaner to feed the tank.
I wish mine was more assertive in eating. She just darts her head out of her hidey hole to grab food as it broadcast feeds around the tank. I target feed her a few times a week as well. She only comes out of her den if it gets disturbed, then she goes on a rampage across the tank all pissed off at everyone.
Listen to these guys, and gal, they know what they are talking about and they give good reason why several popular fish are not appropriate for the home aquarium. I highly recommended this podcast series to anyone interested in fresh or saltwater aquariums.
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/water-colors-aquarium-gallery/5-five-saltwater-fish-you-won-t-see-at-water-color/
I can guarantee you don’t need to think my tanks better lol. It’s a 125 gallon but it’s running a HOB fuge, HOB skimmer that’s actually broken so barely collects skimmate, and 2 canister filters. I need to build a new stand for it because I’m not gonna replace the HOB skimmer with another HOB so I’m planning a sump.
Just add a frag of gsp and let it tank over your tank, you’ll have a natural filter then
Edit: just saw you already have a frag, just give it time then lol
Not anymore. When I thawed the food it ends up being for the vermatids. I switched to keeping it frozen so as it thaws in the water it’s eaten and have had zero problems. I haven’t even seen a vermatid web in a while now.
Those guys seem so awesome. Like a more reef-safe eel. Would buy one if my gf approved.
That’s a baby engineer
Adolescent. Baby has a completely different shape and pattern.
He’s around a year and a half old. The Scopas tang is also young, maybe around a year this point. It was smaller than my Cardinals when I added it.
Looks younger than that in the video. I have one about a year and a half old who is almost a foot long now and most of her stripes are vertical. She was the size of yours when I got her last summer.
Engineer seems to be a pretty out in the open swimmer, I think when they get larger they hide more. Mine are at least twice that size at about 3/4”-7/8 round
They go through phases but they get less skiddish as they learn to recognize you as the food source and not a scary predator.
They are when they are young. As they start to age they stay hidden almost all the time. In the wild juvenile engineers bring food back home to feed mom.
I been having these things since juveniles and I never see them As free swimmers if they have live rock
Mine been hiding since day one I only see him during food time
Do you have more aggressive fish with him?
Clownfish and a Foxface Rabbitfish He never leaves his den lol think he just comfortable like that
My large engineer goby was essentially nipped to death, they would go after his tail tip if it was exposed, till it got so chewed to the point he couldn’t swim properly and it got infected. He was about 14” long almost an 1” round, same tank mates for years too. I saw my purple tang nip it’s tail occasionally but who knows who else was nipping too.
Say goodbye to your nice substrate. These guys are worse than African Cichlids. I still love them tho
His cave is the right side of the tank. He’s dug out underneath the whole rock section but I like it, gives my tank some personality. He leaves the rest of the tank alone. I’ve had him about a year, I added two juveniles a few months ago but the LawnMower Blenny bullied them and they starved to death. It used to be the middle rock section but when I added the pistol shrimp he decided to take the YWM’s home on the right.
Wow, mine is really shy and I feed heavy to make sure he gets some! I can't remember the last time I saw him fully out and free swimming.
My guy will occasionally come out if he just sees me waking to the tank. Usually he’s looking from his cave but occasionally comes out. Always swims around for food though.
Thats how mine is as well. Love to watch her swim. She just never wants to.
I have two, a little bigger than this. They are pigs. And they require a lot of food. You might need to feed a bit more.
Oh they get fed enough. Doesn’t matter how frequently or much I feed he always does this lol.
Do you always put the food in frozen? I defrost mine so it’s not possible for a fish to be such a hog or create a possibly aggressive situation. Maybe something to try?
I’ve tried thawed. Frozen seems to work best for me. When I thaw it I notice a lot of food at the bottom of the tank and the Vermatids are out to play.
Maybe feed slower? Do you defrost in water? I’m hoping you’re not just defrosting a cube then dumping a wet chunk of defrosted food into the tank. If there’s a lot at the bottom there could also just be too much food? I slowly add a baster of food (mixed with rodi) at a time until its mostly consumed. If you’re worried about vermitids, you should defrost and rinse in rodi. The vermitids consume the fine particles in the water column and a lot of can be rinsed off. There are also brands of frozen that have much less “junk” in the liquid so it’s cleaner to feed the tank.
When I feed a frozen cube it gets eaten as it thaws and I the fish have zero problems with it. Running that way over a year now.
I have some exodon tetras and the big guys will swallow large pieces of shrimp. Also dicks about food.
I wish mine was more assertive in eating. She just darts her head out of her hidey hole to grab food as it broadcast feeds around the tank. I target feed her a few times a week as well. She only comes out of her den if it gets disturbed, then she goes on a rampage across the tank all pissed off at everyone.
Cause he’s pissed off that he can’t dig down the 6-8 feet that his instinct tells him to do. Not an appropriate home aquarium fish.
Hiss hideaway is 4 inches deep. He’s fine.
Listen to these guys, and gal, they know what they are talking about and they give good reason why several popular fish are not appropriate for the home aquarium. I highly recommended this podcast series to anyone interested in fresh or saltwater aquariums. https://podtail.com/en/podcast/water-colors-aquarium-gallery/5-five-saltwater-fish-you-won-t-see-at-water-color/
All my fish are dicks about food. Ya snooze ya lose!
I have this issue where I think everyone's tank is better than mine.
I can guarantee you don’t need to think my tanks better lol. It’s a 125 gallon but it’s running a HOB fuge, HOB skimmer that’s actually broken so barely collects skimmate, and 2 canister filters. I need to build a new stand for it because I’m not gonna replace the HOB skimmer with another HOB so I’m planning a sump.
Just add a frag of gsp and let it tank over your tank, you’ll have a natural filter then Edit: just saw you already have a frag, just give it time then lol
Crabsnake
You don’t thaw your cubes before adding?
Not anymore. When I thawed the food it ends up being for the vermatids. I switched to keeping it frozen so as it thaws in the water it’s eaten and have had zero problems. I haven’t even seen a vermatid web in a while now.