Sand sifting gobie

[whiteshark]

OK, I got this ladder glider goby (AKA six spot gobie) about three weeks ago to help keep algea from growing on the sand. He was a little thin in the store, but was the best looking one they had. He wouldn't eat any food for about a week ( I know they are picky pod eaters). He got pretty skinny and in about a week he began eating the food I fed the other fish. I feed them mysis, omega 3 enhanced brine shrimp and Prime Reef (also nori for the tangs). He eats the all the foods but the nori, of corse, and I can see the bulge in his belly when he eats. Its been about 3 weeks now and he never seems to fill out. He eats, gets a bulge, then is skinny the next day. Is he getting the correct nutrients from these foods?

 

[ACBlinky]

I have a pair of these guys, they're a challenge to feed to say the least. I use a pipette (from a Hagen test kit) with a 24" piece of rigid tubing attached to place food under the sand so they can sift it out. They're about 2" and 3" long, just little guys, and between them can put away two cubes of frozen food in a day, easily. I feed them things like brine, mysis, marine formula, and plankton. If I skip a day, they start to look thin. Just keep stuffing your goby and feed him several times daily, it's hard to keep weight on sleepers.

Here's Jack and Jill; this is about as fat as I can get them between feedings

 

[Javeo]

I think these fish are like hummingbirds, they eat to have enough energy to find more food and so on. I feed mine pieces of mussel and shrimp and also silverside, fills it up quicker.

 

[ACBlinky]

I feed live mussels to my angel, I forgot to mention that one of my gobies steals huge chunks but the other isn't interested at all. Never thought of silversides, nice idea! I do know that the primary diet of these fish in the wild is crustaceans, so I imagine the shells are important to them (maybe for roughage?). I make sure they get something with an exoskeleton every day but they do love bloodworms as a treat

 

[whiteshark]

Interesting idea about the pipette. I've tried it, but I have a hippo tang that smells food from a mile away. He sweeps his tail across the bottom, stirs the food out of the sand and eats it himself.

 

[Javeo]

I just attached a bit of airline to a baster and feed it directly to the fish from there.

 

[whiteshark]

I'll have to give that a try, thx.

 

[NexDog]

I've had one of these for a year and he's been in a sandless tank for 4 months now. Never had a problem with getting him to eat. He just forages constantly. Going to get another smaller one this month as I'll be adding sand soon.

 

[Rothie]

It's possible that the goby has intestinal worms.You may want to ask in the disease treatment form.I'm sure someone there can give some suggestions on deworming.