New goby is an escape artist!

[justanotherfishhead]

A few weeks ago I added a yellow watchman goby. Two days passed with no sign of him and then I found him in the sump. I had a space between the top of my overflows and the tank top so I super glued gutter guard over that and put him back in thinking there was no way he'd get out now. Over a week later I hadn't seen him and last night found him in the sump again! The only possible space he got out is the "teeth" of the overflows that are probably less than the width of a firefish. His head looks to big to fit through it but I guess he did. So what do I do now? If I glue some type of screen over the overflow, won't it restrict water flow too much and not allow debris to go down to the filter? Anybody find a somewhat larger plastic screen that they can recommend?

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

can you put a cap on the pipe and drill little holes to allow for flow?

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Oops. I was thinking of the down pipe. Wow, small holes there....

Window screening?

 

[justanotherfishhead]

My concern with screen too small is that it would quickly become gunked over with food. Also would the screen being in the water leach bad stuff, or disintegrate? You'd think fabric screen would eventually fall apart...can't use metal...I was thinking plastic coated large metal screen, but wherever I cut it the metal would be exposed. Maybe I need to set up a small tank just for this goby ;) Or just keep throwing him back in, hope he doesn't get stuck somewhere on the way down one of these times :( Or just keep him as a sump pet. I have refugium lights on 24/7, bet he wonders when the sun is finally going to go down, that can't be good for a fish.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

The new screening is a plastic polymer. I guess it all depends on how dirty your tank is? The screening is cheap, so you can always toss it away if it gets to hard to clean.

 

[AnthonyTheNewbie]

+1 Mario. Or, just let your Watchman enjoy the sump life? :mrgreen:

 

[Sakura2282]

I believe that goby is in love with your sump it always find his way to it lol.

Good Luck with him, hope you can find a way to keep it in your tank safely :).

 

[kbuser92]

The screen that folks use for the mesh tops should be fine. Dunno what kind that is, though.

 

[justanotherfishhead]

I guess it's worth a try, whatever plastic screen I can find. I was thinking maybe those plastic grids that people use for algae scrubbers. More fun with super glue this weekend! For now he's enjoying his private life in the sump.

 

[Civicdemon]

lol use to have this issue with my Blue Jaw ( Big Fish ) He would go missing and I would not find him, then I found him in the overflow box. took him out and a couple days later he was in there again, I finally had to make a cover for the box now he stays out lol. These crazy fish I tell you, also had a finding nemo moment ones, I was trying to catch the clown fish he jumped in the overflow box and went thru the u tube he did not go down the pipe do luckily.

 

[justanotherfishhead]

I just can't believe he fit through the slits that are only probably a half cm wide because his head looks bigger than that! My midas blenny went over the overflow once and then I realized it was the way I had adjusted the powerhead the day before that pushed the water and him up and over it (oops!) But never had a fish do this where it seems like it was on purpose, twice. It's so funny, I open the door to the sump and look for him and he pokes his head out from under the rock and I give him some pellets. Cute fish.

 

[FishyReef]

A few weeks ago I added a yellow watchman goby. Two days passed with no sign of him and then I found him in the sump. I had a space between the top of my overflows and the tank top so I super glued gutter guard over that and put him back in thinking there was no way he'd get out now. Over a week later I hadn't seen him and last night found him in the sump again! The only possible space he got out is the "teeth" of the overflows that are probably less than the width of a firefish. His head looks to big to fit through it but I guess he did. So what do I do now? If I glue some type of screen over the overflow, won't it restrict water flow too much and not allow debris to go down to the filter? Anybody find a somewhat larger plastic screen that they can recommend?

I cut a piece of the clear screening material made by BRS and rubberbanded it over the top of my overflow pipe. I've never had a problem with it getting clogged or trapping debris.

 

[justanotherfishhead]

I cut a piece of the clear screening material made by BRS and rubberbanded it over the top of my overflow pipe. I've never had a problem with it getting clogged or trapping debris.

So, you put it over the pipe so that in case a fish goes into the overflow it won't go all the way down? Is there some reason you wouldn't glue it over the sides of the overflow as a barrier so they don't get into the overflow at all? That was what I was planning to do.

 

[RockStacker]

So, you put it over the pipe so that in case a fish goes into the overflow it won't go all the way down? Is there some reason you wouldn't glue it over the sides of the overflow as a barrier so they don't get into the overflow at all? That was what I was planning to do.

They can sometimes jump over the railing, even if it is a couple of inches above the water line.
It gets frustrating, especially if the fish already has a few practice runs under its belt. They get it down to a science.

Put an impeller a few inches away from where the overflow water enters the sump. That will teach them the next time :D

 

[justanotherfishhead]

Yeah, I actually already glued something so that a fish can't jump over the overflow railing, so there is no space whatsoever. This fish actually squeezed himself through one of the slots where the water flows through! They are only about a quarter inch, about the width of a firefish.

I guess I'm going to try to glue some netting over it. I emailed bulk reef supply about the clear netting they have, and they said it's safe to use underwater, however they don't know if it will stick underwater with super glue because none of them ever tried it. Even with that, the squares not much smaller than the holes I'm trying to cover.

Maybe I'll give him one more try and see if he does it again. I'm just worried he could get stuck in a pipe - or is that unlikely? Anyone ever have a fish get stuck in a pipe?

 

[Pilotkev55]

My two spot goby has been missing for a few days, I wonder if he has not done something like this to. I was thinking maybe he is hiding under the rocks are maybe he died and got cleaned up by the crew. I'll have to check back there when I get home. Maybe there is some hope he is still alive.

 

[justanotherfishhead]

I have read other people saying their gobies went missing for a long time and they found them a few months later. Sounds like many of them never become a "community fish" and just want to hide. After I think I prevented him from escaping through the overflow, I saw him a couple of nights only after lights out. I hope he is getting some food that falls down and maybe eventually he'll start coming out.