Diamond Goby-Black mouth????

[MagReef]

Ok, I have not had the best of luck with these little Diamond Goby kritters. My favorite fish though. I have noticed that some have black under there mouths. What is this? Is it bad? I looked all over for one because my sand had the brown glaze of diatoms and needed cleaned....I had to settle for this pair that had the black under their mouths. I just got them today so we will see. But, I sure would like to know what that means. Thanks.

[MagReef]

ok, I did some research on the internet and even found pictures of this same thing.

Diamond Goby

underneath the bottom lip is what I am talking about. It just looks abnormal but so far these two are like peas and carrots. One was sand sifting earlier and sifted across my sand sifting star fish. The goby picked the star fish up and took it to the other side of the tank and then came back and started sifting. The other one started picking up the hermits and stacking them in a pile. Together they have sifted this huge mound of sand by the front door of their home. Too funny! I sure wish someone knew what that black stuff was. Is it just that some from different parts of the country are genetically like that? I dunno, just curious.

[amcarrig]

Wish I knew why your goby has a black mouth but I'm clueless. I don't suppose you could post a pic?

[Pmolan]

I just picked up one of these guys, I didn't think about pairing them. Got any info on pairing them with each other, or with a pistol shrimp?

[amcarrig]

I don't think diamond gobies pair with pistol shrimp?

[MDeth]

Definately not a symbiotic / prawn goby

Good luck sexing...you can try plopping another guy in the tank...but it usually ends with territorial dispute...if you want a pair you should find your guy a new home and get a true confirmed pair.

[MagReef]

I actually did read something on the internet the other day about diamond gobie pairs. I will look today and try to find it again. It said that they live better in pairs because they get lonely in solitary and end up dying. If they don't die from lack of food, they die from being lonely. Whether this is true or not I don't know but I read it online.

My two were not actually "sold" as a pair. I bought them however from the same place at the same time. At the time the lady told me that she had them in separate tanks beside each other and that the one jumped over to be with the other one. Since then they were inseperable. She bagged them in two different bags for me to bring home. In my tank, you can't get them apart. If one goes under a rock, so does the other one. They come out and sift at the same time. Last night, they were going around the front of the tank picking up the small hermit crabs. The one picking up the crabs would take them over to a rock and put them down. The other one was picking up sand and burying the crabs.

I don't really know anything per say about pairing two that aren't already paired. I would think that some of the smaller ones you could just buy two at the same time and see what happens. The site I read on said not to have a whole group of them, but pairs are fine.

I have noticed with these two though, that one is bigger and one is darker, they are not out right now so I don't know if it is the same one. I was wondering if they pair kinda like clownfish do.....the smaller/larger and lighter/darker thing. I don't know.

I am beginning to think that the black under the bottom lip as I posted in pictures below is a genetic thing in some.

[MDeth]

^Not disputing your theory about being a community animal, but most starve to death in a tank smaller than 55g. You wouldnt assume they can eat THAT much, but I assume all of those cases the goby ate itself out of house and home

I want pics! The diamonds are so cute, but I dont have room for them.

As far as I know only shrimp, clownfish and one other type of fish (it escapes me now) do the whole spontaneous hermaphrodite thing.