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The aquarium for pygmy gobies<br />
The perfect home for pygmy<br />
gobies: a nano reef aquarium<br />
with a volume of around 8<br />
gallons (30 L).<br />
TOP: I, KRAUSE; BOTTOM LEFT: E. THALER; RIGHT: D. KNOP<br />
There is, of course, no fish that<br />
cannot be housed in a large<br />
aquarium—after all, there are no<br />
restricting sheets of glass in the<br />
natural habitat. If a large reef aquarium<br />
can be so designed that tiny<br />
pygmy gobies are neither eaten by<br />
larger tankmates nor “swallowed”<br />
by equipment (overflows, siphons,<br />
pumps), then they can do very<br />
well in an artificial biotope of<br />
this kind.<br />
The fact is, however, that the<br />
proud owner will be able to see<br />
his rather timid charges regularly<br />
and study their behavior only<br />
if they are kept in a fairly small<br />
aquarium. There are also practical<br />
reasons for accommodating these<br />
fishes in small tanks: feeding, in<br />
It is important to feed several times<br />
per day: two Stonogobiops yasha, one<br />
well nourished, left, and the other<br />
half-starved, right.<br />
particular the feeding of demanding<br />
species, can be performed in a more<br />
targeted manner, with less effort<br />
and hence more efficiently.<br />
There is also a lot to be said for<br />
keeping pygmy gobies primarily in<br />
a nano reef aquarium. A “classic”<br />
nano reef aquarium of around 4–8<br />
gallons (15–30 L) can accommodate<br />
one pair of a single suitable species.<br />
Anyone who would like to try keeping<br />
groups, which can be very interesting<br />
with Eviota or Coryphopterus,<br />
for example, would be well advised<br />
to use an “XXL nano” of around 15<br />
to 30 gallons (57 to 114 L). Several<br />
pairs of different species can be<br />
housed in an aquarium of this size.<br />
CORAL<br />
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