There's a Swarm of Bumblebees in my Tank

[JRC3]

I had 2 BBGs and I bought six more and boy were they small. They are out of QT and loving their new home.

It's a little grainy and I moved the light forward which really highlight some scratches on my front glass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu6_2n2vzRY

Her are some pics of when I first got them.



I really dig these little fish.

[J-P]

love that tank!!
and the fish!! very will done!

Id that tree in there real or plastic?

[JRC3]

Thanks.

The wood is a piece of $8.99 Petsmart real mopani. It has a nice branch on the back that holds it out about 2- 2.5" so it hides the filter tube and heater as ell as gives some passing room for my F8. I have several other pieces of mopani and for 9 bucks you can't go wrong. The wood in the QT pic is a piece of grapevine that I removed a short time later. Some people say it works and many other say it won't...It doesn't work in the aquarium. I could tell that it was gonna start to rot.

[melbell86]

aww those are so cute!!!

[xrayjeeper83]

those are cool, id love to have some if they werent BW only

[xrayjeeper83]

to bad these guys are BW, Id love some

[JRC3]

I really like this person's BBG setup. http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=3087

I would like to emulate his BW biotope setup when all these guys get transferred to their 46g...But with more fake plants. I can just imagine my BBGs sitting on the twigs as my F8 hunts for snails on other twigs.

[jtbadco]

I've got a bunch of them in with my F8, dragon goby and some guppies. They are the perfect combination of cute and vicious.

They all hang around in the branches of the water sprite...when the guppies have babies, they swarm!!!

[JRC3]

...when the guppies have babies, they swarm!!!

Do they eat all of the babies. I'm considering adding a trio of lyretail mollies but I don't want any babies running around and adding to their numbers. It's funny, when I just had the two BBGs in my tank I rarely got them to eat anything and I was getting worried but they were always nice and fat. Then I realized what was going on...The ghost shrimp were were having babies.

Now they all gather at feeding time and get their share and I love how they "hit" the bloodwrms like little pit-bulls. One of the smallest lets everybody else know to keep away from his food and he's a little "tough guy".

[RTR]

Great setup for SAPs! It is pretty close to ideal. with a bit more current along the front glass it would be ideal.

But, why is the F-8 in there? That is not a FW fish IME.

[JRC3]

You know better than anybody else that a F8 is brackish. And that is why he is in a brackish tank with an SG of 1.005. I also had the filter turned off to feed the BBGs and normally the AC70 does give steady current on the front glass and he does like cruising it it sometimes. There are a few FW BBGs but these are BW. From what I gather most are BW though most people wind up incorrectly keeping them FW.

It seem there are many different species that all look almost identical and are named BBG and several of those are sold in the trade. And the majority of those several are BW...At least from what I gathered searching online. Also, it seems that the only way to truely tell them apart is to count the rays on their fins.

I've spent alot of time...And I mean alot, and there isn't much info out there on these little guys.

[JRC3]

Here's a good summation.

Aquaria Central http://www.aquariacentral.com/faqs/brackish/FAQ6.shtml

(5b) Bumblebee and other gobies (family Gobiidae)
...
The Asian bumblebee gobies Brachygobius are probably the most widely seen non-marine gobies in aquarium stores. It is a pity that so many are doomed to short lives, being rather difficult fish to keep well.

To keep bumblebee gobies well, three important rules must be observed. First, keep them alone. These are small fish which are likely to be bullied or even eaten by bigger fish. Secondly, provide lots of live or frozen foods. They will rarely take flake. Bloodworms, Daphnia, brine shrimp, and Mysis are all ideal staples which can be obtained cheaply frozen or caught live. Finally, keep the water well filtered with a strong but not turbulent current.

Bumblebee gobies will adapt to a range of salinties, depending on the species. Since they are so difficult to tell apart, a middle range set of values is probably best. Try a water temperature of around 27 C (80F), a pH of 7.5 and a specific gravity of 1.005. Keep the water hard using either chemical buffers or by incorporating shells or coral sand into the filter.

The best sort of aquarium for bumblebee gobies is of moderate size but thickly planted with either salt tolerant plants or plastic plants. Useful plants include Java Fern Microsorium pteropus, giant hygrophila "Nomaphila stricta", and onion plants Crinum thaianum. Allow these plants to form a thick tangle, which will help the gobies to feel comfortable. Driftwood and blackwater extract can be used (provided the filter is buffered to keep the pH high) to lend the water the peaty, dark quality characteristic of their swampy habitat. Decorate the bottom with large snail shells, such as those from apple snails Ampullaria.

Although bumblebees are best kept alone, in a good sized tank they can be mixed with other small fish. Ideal companions would be pipefishes, which also need live food.

There are a number of species of bumblebee goby, found from fresh to marine conditions. Three are imported regularly. The key diagnostic features are the "fin ray" counts and colouration, although the latter varies somewhat. Listed below are the three species most likely to be seen in tropical fish shops:



* Brachygobius aggregatus is more restricted in range to the islands around the Phillipines and Borneo. It is found in fresh, brackish and salt water. The anal fin has one spine and six rays. In colouration it is basically yellow with four thick black bands, although the bands are not complete over the belly. The first dorsal fin is black. The second dorsal and the anal are transparent. This species should not be kept without salt in the water (a specific gravity from 1.005 to 1.010 recommended). It will even adapt to marine conditions.
* Brachygobius doriae is a widely distributed fish found in fresh and brackishwater. The anal fin has one spine and seven rays. Unlike Brachygobius doriae both the second dorsal and the anal fins are dark save for pale patches at the base. This species adapts best to freshwater, providing the pH and hardness are relatively high. This may be the same fish as the very similar Brachygobius nunus.
* Brachygobius xanthozona is from Indonesia and Borneo and is found in fresh and brackishwater. Similar to the previous species except that the anal fin has one spine and eight rays. Both of the dorsal fins and the anal fin are black except for small transparent triangular patches at the base of the second dorsal and anal fins.
...

[jtbadco]

Great setup for SAPs! It is pretty close to ideal. with a bit more current along the front glass it would be ideal.

But, why is the F-8 in there? That is not a FW fish IME.

What??? Better re-read the post....


and yes,...the BBG's will eat up all the babies if u let em.

[JRC3]

Update one my BBGs. I talked to the manager at a LFS about BBGs some time back and she kept trying to order in some and never could. Well they sent her 3 a couple weeks ago so I went ahead and bought them before someone else put them in FW. They were nearly adult size and excellent looking little fish.

Here are the 3 new arrivals fresh from the lfs. I hung them on the DP tank to get a pic and the DPs were curious. I wish they could be housed together.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... CI0227.jpg

They all know when the filter is turned off and I tap on the brim of the tank it is time for food and they all come out at to eat plenty. .

What a fatty.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... CI0394.jpg

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... CI0384.jpg


I just picked up a 55g for my small community fish so they will be donating their 46g to my F8 and 11 BBGs.

Here's another current vid of them. It's not too exciting but it really shoes the activity of the BBGs.
http://www.youtube.com/user/borderlinea ... F9UdLr4mgk

I had to remove the big piece of mopani wood that I had in there before but I did add a fake piece, a nice rock, and some more fake plants.

[J-P]

nice pics and vid. Watching that last one, I had the "Jaws" theme song going through my head