Flaming Prawn Goby **WOW**

[EllisJuan]

I have wanted one of these since I first saw a picture years ago. I got chance to get one a couple days ago and jumped at it. This guy arrived today and I figured I better get a few pictures before he disappeared in the rocks never to be seen again. He is in my 30 gallon shallow tank.

 

[Jonvo324]

How are you going to feed it? I'm also planning to get a few but I'm worried about what kinds of food they'll eat since they look so small. I wish you the best of luck with this wonderful fish!

 

[EllisJuan]

How are you going to feed it? I'm also planning to get a few but I'm worried about what kinds of food they'll eat since they look so small. I wish you the best of luck with this wonderful fish!

Thanks. I have done a lot of reading over the years on these fish. I have gathered that they are rarely seen eating, but rarely starve. They only grow to a little over an inch and are low energy fish. From what I understand they survive mostly as scavengers picking leftovers off the sandbed and rocks.

 

[WiDataTech]

Wow, neat fish. I've never seen one of those. Congrats on your new addition, and good luck!

 

[GimpyFin]

Really cool looking fish. I've always wanted a small nano tank at work with one of these guys in it. Liveaquaria seems to have them in stock off and on for about $100. Congrats.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Thanks. I have done a lot of reading over the years on these fish. I have gathered that they are rarely seen eating, but rarely starve. They only grow to a little over an inch and are low energy fish. From what I understand they survive mostly as scavengers picking leftovers off the sandbed and rocks.

IDK what you were reading but thats completely false. These gobies are carnivorous and need small live foods like brine shrimp nauplii. Small fish have fast metabolisms for their body size and these gobies especially are not low energy fish. They are almost constantly moving around and flicking their dorsal fin. They need to eat at least two times a day but more is better. It's likely that the people who manage to keep them without directly feeding them are getting lucky and the fish are able to find enough copepods to eat. It is for those reasons that generally they should be kept in much smaller tanks so they are easier to feed.

FYI If you put them in a smaller tank you can observe them eating all the time.

 

[EllisJuan]

IDK what you were reading but thats completely false. These gobies are carnivorous and need small live foods like brine shrimp nauplii. Small fish have fast metabolisms for their body size and these gobies especially are not low energy fish. They are almost constantly moving around and flicking their dorsal fin. They need to eat at least two times a day but more is better. It's likely that the people who manage to keep them without directly feeding them are getting lucky and the fish are able to find enough copepods to eat. It is for those reasons that generally they should be kept in much smaller tanks so they are easier to feed.

FYI If you put them in a smaller tank you can observe them eating all the time.

Interesting. This is from a Coral Magazine article November 2010...

http://coralmagazine-us.com/content/myth-shrouded-spikefin-goby

However, the least complicated method of feeding the Spikefin Goby is to not actively feed it at all!

This suggestion may appear risky at first glance, if not completely irresponsible, but it isn’t: because D. griessingeri lives on benthic zooplankton such as is available in abundance in any healthy aquarium biotope, and because the nutritional requirements of these tiny fishes are comparatively small, then given suitable conditions this little goby can be nourished extremely well using what its environment provides.


I guess this is one of the things I remembered reading, although not accurately. It does not sound like a real scavenger, but it also does not sound like it needs to be directly fed.

 

[Jeremiah_Conway]

I have wanted one of these since I first saw a picture years ago. I got chance to get one a couple days ago and jumped at it. This guy arrived today and I figured I better get a few pictures before he disappeared in the rocks never to be seen again. He is in my 30 gallon shallow tank.

Nice fish

 

[fbodykiller]

Beautiful fish! On my list!

 

[Honeygs]

What a wonderful fish! Good Luck and keep us posted!

 

[LIFishGuy]

That is one nice fish!!!

 

[zoobie88]

Awesome fish.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Interesting. This is from a Coral Magazine article November 2010...

http://coralmagazine-us.com/content/myth-shrouded-spikefin-goby

However, the least complicated method of feeding the Spikefin Goby is to not actively feed it at all!

This suggestion may appear risky at first glance, if not completely irresponsible, but it isn't: because D. griessingeri lives on benthic zooplankton such as is available in abundance in any healthy aquarium biotope, and because the nutritional requirements of these tiny fishes are comparatively small, then given suitable conditions this little goby can be nourished extremely well using what its environment provides.


I guess this is one of the things I remembered reading, although not accurately. It does not sound like a real scavenger, but it also does not sound like it needs to be directly fed.

Yeah so that's assuming the necessary type and quantity of benthic zooplankton is present and that the population is able to keep up with the constant feeding from the fish. Having kept these guys multiple times in the past I can tell you that not adding additional foods such as copepods or artemia nauplii will eventually lead to the declining health of these fish.

 

[EllisJuan]

Yeah so that's assuming the necessary type and quantity of benthic zooplankton is present and that the population is able to keep up with the constant feeding from the fish. Having kept these guys multiple times in the past I can tell you that not adding additional foods such as copepods or artemia nauplii will eventually lead to the declining health of these fish.

OK. They advise that it should naturally be present in any healthy aquarium and 5 1/4 gallons should be able to naturally support a pair. I would hope that my30 gallon tank could keep a single fed. But, seeing as how you have first hand experience I will proceed with caution.

That being said it seems to be a large difference in your advising they should be direct fed multiple times a day and Coral Magazine advising they have low nutritional needs and can often live on what naturally occurs in a small tank.