"Project Impossible" - the Twinspot Goby

The Twinspot/Crabeye/Signal Goby - a fish with many common names, and considered to be an impossible to keep species in aquaria. This goby is exclusively reliant on sifting micro-crustaceans and worms from the substrate, as its food source, and consequently often starves to death in "clean" reef tanks.
The longterm care of the Twinspot Goby is a challenge I'm accepting, and one in which I'm documenting in this series of videos.

[@apolloravindran]

Brilliant attempt at replicating the nature for the goby, you are clearly an advanced level aquarist. Cant wait for further updates 🤟👍

[@australianaquarist]

Thanks so much for your compliment. I just love to read and research, think about things, and give things a go. That’s the fun in this hobby for me. It’s all part of the joy of getting outside!

[@queencityreefs]

Great episode bud! Definitely enjoyed it and looking forward to updates. 👌💯✌

[@australianaquarist]

Thanks @queencityreefs! I’m eager , but definitely need to exercise patience on this one

[@apanhaesta]

This is an amazing and very well thought tank. Will stay tuned. 👍

[@australianaquarist]

Thank you!

[@uglymansreefing1862]

Love the tank.

[@australianaquarist]

Thanks!

[@toma1599]

Awesome video as always!

[@australianaquarist]

Thank you I’m really happy you enjoyed it!

[@australianbiotopes4563]

Great video! your going back to the days where we used to experiment with marine tanks, there seems to be to many rules these days when it comes to marine tanks, mainly focused on the reef aquarium, seeing those waratah anemone brings back some memories, when I was a young bloke I did a tank with them on black rock, it was a beautiful setup and went really well and easy to look after, you wouldn't do it these days as the laws are much stricter with collecting, experimenting with these types of things was the best part of marine keeping for me when things were more simple, these days we can still take the new technology and incorporate it into experimenting, we need more of it, I love watching your channel, it's very refreshing, it's also good to watch a channel with someone that knows their stuff, you are well read by the looks of those books, have you got the book on Marine Plants of Australia, I got it a little while ago, not a bad book, I love that they are making so many new field guides and books on these subjects, checking out these tidal zones is my second most favourite past times after the creeks, a good way to get through the winter when the creeks seem to be sleeping in the south east.

[@australianaquarist]

Thanks Jason I’m not really “going back “ as such, as I don’t think I ever really left ! It’s frustrating at times being a flower grower with shallow pockets, but it has certainly kept me grounded and out of the side line hobby to marine tanks - the collecting of rainbow corals and excessive gear. No I don’t have that book- I’ll have to look it up. I’ve been meaning to source a few others also - Dragon Behind the Glass is one. How’s the back going? When you’re fit and strong , and down in NSW next, I’m sensing a joint expedition is in order!

[@australianbiotopes4563]

@@australianaquarist Yeah that could be on the cards, maybe this summer, I've been meaning to venture down that way, I always go north for my videos, I have to get down south, some nice spots down there to, I left marine but when I get my studio up and running I'd like to keep some room for one or two again, I did leave it because it got to expensive for me with all the reptiles I used to have, but I'd like to try a few small ones again, back is about the same with ups and downs, you do get used to it and learn to work around it being more careful then usual.

[@frenzyfishfeeds]

Great video as always! We are proud to support you and look forward to seeing the new ideas that you are experimenting with 🐠

[@markfranklin8831]

This awesome ill definitely wait with you i hope everything works out for you and we get to see a beautiful little sand sifter goby thriving. Thanks for sharing ✌️👍💗💯

[@australianaquarist]

Nice one, thanks Mark. I’ve got a good feeling about this one!

[@rajgill7576]

I can't begin to tell you how envious I am. I went to a protected conservation site reef around here in California locally, and it was awful. So many rules and a park ranger watching/following you around, all for nothing. Snail city and anemones. Absolutely no diversity. You casually found some corals I would pay hand over fist for while tide pooling. P.S. I have one of these, and keep many other "hard" marine organisms with great success, multiple mandarins in a nano tank, NPS gorgonians. I would highly suggest culturing phyto and copepods at home as well. Phyto is the secret that helps all the hard stuff, and it's what copepods and most finicky NPS and filter feeders eat. Because I'm feeding phyto to my NPS so often, my sand and glass are a haven for micro organisms and my other picky eaters subsequently thrive.

[@australianaquarist]

Yes I definitely understand the benefits of phyto for feeding copepods. Great thought. I am enjoying how the tank is going with next to no input currently. I only ad some pellets to feed the sandbed every other day, and top up the dry seagrape leaves as needed. I’m finding the biofilms that grow on the leaves to be a meca for copepods and worms

[@GMoncrieff1]

Great vid as always mate - what tank dimensions are you working with here…?

[@australianaquarist]

The overall footprint is 800mm long x 600mm wide x 450mm high. The filtration compartment is 100mm wide, so it reduces the footprint to 500mm front to back. So roughly a 2.5 x 2 x 1.5 foot tank

[@MrWagawaga]

Hi, I really enjoy your content, but I'm just wondering how are you able to collect material from Aussie beaches?

[@turtleman190]

Probably has the right permits to do it. Wile everything is illegal here you can get a permit to to most of it legally

[@australianaquarist]

Hi MrWagawaga I do most of my collecting under a Section 37 Aquarium Collection Permit, as well as a Recreational Fishing Permit. The section 37 permit is only when I wish to use collection methods not covered by my fishing licence, or wish to collect outside of the bag/ size limits. I also had listed on my section 37 permit all the invertebrates/macroalgae/ whitebait, that I collect for the purposes of feeding my tanks. As far as I’m aware, there isn’t an issue collecting mud or sand from the beach. I did also get an additional permit to collect inside the Solitairy Islands Marine Park. These permits are all available to anyone wishing to collect for their personal aquarium- ie not commercial

[@MrWagawaga]

@@australianaquarist mate, thank you so much for such a detailed explanation. This is yet again, very valuable info. Keep it up, your content is so refreshing and informative. Cheers