starving sleeper goby?

[lilgirl]

I recently added a yellow headed sleeper goby to a 6 month old marine fish tank. He seems to have adjusted well and gets along with all his other tank mates. However, I am worried that he is not getting enough food. He sifts all day long. He also comes out to get the food we drop into the tank, however, the food seems to just come out of his gills the way the sand does! I'm not sure if he's getting thin. He definitely doesn't have a fat belly. I hate to see a fish starve. Any advice?

[billsreef]

[welcome]

Sadly this fish is known for starving to death in captivity. They need lots of food and thier diet is the critters in a sand bed, which never can establish a good enough population with a sleeper in the tank. The best bet would be to establish a refugium and supplement the diet with brine shrimp, mysid shrimp (the best bet) and sometimes sinking food pellets. Do a search on refugiums using the search link at the top of this page.

[lilgirl]

Thanks for your reply. I'm so mad because the fish store guy said that they are easy to keep! A refugium may not be an option for me (at least not immediately) because of $. Also, I would imagine that it would take a few weeks to get a refugium up and running. Can the sleeper live off of suplemental shrimp? Does it need to be live shrimp? Should I return him to the store?

I just want what's best for the fish!

[FMarini]

Hi:
for an immediate boost you can plant(hide) frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp in the sand where they dig. While it might not be sufficent nutrition is certainly will help. Does you fish take any food from the water coulmn?
Any sand chewing(or stirring) fish is doing so to eat the worms and crawlies out of your sand bed, and unless you have yards of live sand, these fish will deplete the life out quickly, and hence they starve.
Your call on returning him
frank

[Merlin]

Hi,
I have a pair of these. Both of them started to get thin after I first bought them. Then one of them discovered that the 'stuff' I put in the tank is actually good to eat. A short while later the other one figured it out. Now they've fattened up, and they'll eat anything. They've even stopped sifting the sand as much. I think one of the keys was having only a pair of perculas with them. All 4 of the fish frequently hang out together, and I think the goby learned how to eat from them. I think if I had had more aggressive fish, they wouldn't have made it. The first food that I got them to eat was daphnia. I think because its so small. I also noticed that if you keep lots of current going in the tank when you feed, that helps as well. When he first started eating, he went after the pieces most active in the water column.

ON a side note, does anybody know if there is any sex differences between them?

Merlin

[lilgirl]

Thanks for the advice. The goby does take food from the water. However, it always seems to come right out his gills like the sifted sand does. Does this mean he's rejecting the food?

I'll try the stuff that Merlin got his sleepers to eat... and I'll try hiding some shrimp in the sand. He's not shy at all and the tank's completely non aggressive, so nobody bothers him.

Thanks again.

[Merlin]

If its going through his gills, it does mean he's rejecting the food - essentially he doesn't realize it is food. Of course another good option is to try live BS.

[lilgirl]

Thanks for all your advice. I went and bought some mysis and brine shrimp to bury in the tank. Before I even got it into the sand, the goby devoured it. I guess the shrimp I bought yesterday must be more tasty than whatever is in the Formula 1 multipack cubes. 2 shrimp meals later, I think he's fattening up a bit. I realize I will need to suplement his diet a bit, but this is a big improvement.

Thanks!!

[billsreef]

:cool: