sand sifting diamond goby

goochesfish

New member
Are these fish difficult to keep? I have 150 gallon tank and this fish is losing weight. I can only feed my fish once a day and during this feed, i target feed the goby. My auto feeder food never reaches the bottom.
 
Unfortunately this is what happened to the 2 I have had in the past. They constantly search for food in the sand bed and can quickly eat all the food in there.

I had mine in a 180 and it still starved to death, have you ever seen it eat pellets? if it does you may have to feed more to make sure some pellets get to the bottom.
 
This is a common problem with sandsifting gobies....If you can,you should feed hem pellets before the lights go on so he can sift them out the sand when he wakes up and get's some good food
Are these fish difficult to keep? I have 150 gallon tank and this fish is losing weight. I can only feed my fish once a day and during this feed, i target feed the goby. My auto feeder food never reaches the bottom.
 
... NLS pellets will float for a while. Try Formula 2 with garlic micro pellets. They sink straight top the bottom.

hope it helps,
MaLi
 
Mine is a pig. At times I think he gets more than the other fish. On the days that I feed flakes he comes to the surface with everyone else.
 
I think an issue that many sifting gobies have are internal parasites. Also, they are jumpers that sometimes injure themselves trying to make that leap and we are none the wiser. After that, they are quite hardy (at least the diamond is).

+1 on sinking pellets. You mentioned that the auto feeder food doesn't make it to the bottom... is it the type of food (flake) or are the other fish just getting to it too quickly? You may be able to strategically aim the power heads and place the feeder to help get the food to the bottom at a faster pace. Mine is in a 125 gallon and only gets fed once a day with pellets and is fat and happy.

IMO, I would remove the fish and put into qt to treat for internal parasites and to fatten him up before returning to DT. Hope this helps and good luck.
 
I'm on my third diamond back goby:

First one starved to death over a period of 6 months
Second one jumped out of the tank the first night i had it (I made my tank jump proof after that).
Third one is a success. To make sure the goby gets enough food, I individually spot feed him with a turkey baster daily. I just shoot a good number of formula 2 pellets onto the sand and he hungry hippos them up pretty quickly.
 
He eats plenty when target fed but I think it is not enough because his stomach has become concave. there is a fine line between trying to fatten up the fish and causing a nutrient problem.
 
I've noticed my diamond goby will often be out in the middle of the night; it may be worth checking to see if yours is as well. If so, a nighttime pellet feeding with the auto feeder may do the trick.
 
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