about engineer gobies

[burblefox]

I'm considering getting an engineer goby for my tank and I've come across conflicting info. Some people say they're pretty chill, while others claim they can be aggressive towards smaller fish and inverts. Can anyone clarify which is true?

[onyzza]

I've kept several engineer gobies, and while they're interesting to watch when young, they do tend to become more reclusive as adults. Aggression levels can vary between individuals, but generally, they're all bark and no bite. They'll eat anything that fits in their mouth, which is a common trait among many fish species. Given the size of an adult engineer goby's mouth, tiny fish like neon gobies and small inverts such as sexy shrimp or pom-pom crabs might be at risk. However, hermit crabs should be safe, even if the goby can fit the shell in its mouth, due to its relatively weak jaw. Engineer gobies usually only become defensive when their burrow entrances are disturbed or another fish tries to invade their burrow, in which case they might nip at a fin. They generally prefer to keep to themselves and avoid confrontations. I've never kept them with other sand-sifting fish, so I'm not sure how they'd interact in that scenario, but they've gotten along fine with free-swimming and non-burrowing species.

[burblefox]

My cleaner shrimp should be alright, they're a bit larger than the sexy shrimp onyzza mentioned, so I'm hoping that's big enough to keep them safe from my engineer goby. As for the firtideflow, I'm not sure, I've never kept them with an engineer goby before, but they're not sand-sifters and they don't burrow, so I'm hoping they'll be fine, I'll just have to keep an eye on them.

[onyzza]

I didn't catch this reply initially, my apologies for the delay. Better late than never, I suppose. I did keep engineer gobies with both cleaner shrimp and firtideflow in the past. Firtideflow aren't a concern since they're free-swimming and steer clear of the gobies' burrows. As for the cleaner shrimp, just make sure you get a decent-sized one - a couple of inches long should be fine. I had no issues with my engineer gobies and skunk cleaners, or the coflake banded shrimp I kept with them at the time.