Brownbarred Goby starving?

My Brownbarred Goby (Amblygobius phalaena) is not doing well. :-[

RE: "WhooHoo....New fish!"

FOTM - Apr '08 - Brownbarred Goby (Amblygobius phalaena)





Was a fat little sausage when I first got it, but is now clearly slowly starving to death (shrunken belly)...

This is despite fact it spends almost every waking moment sifting sand.

Have never seen it eat any other food during feeding times, unless it is picking up debris on sand shortly after. But even then would have a hard time competing with very busy hermits doing same. :-/

No way to catch because of its odd eating habits. At least not in ways used in past.

Afraid I do not have the sand bed to support.

Anyone else having better success with one of these guys...?


Any suggestions?

Is a nice fish and am willing to do about whatever it takes to keep it alive. (short of pulling entire tank apart to catch it.

Likely to be crab food before long from appearance.


(Wildreef...how is yours doing?)


(Brownbarred Goby Pics)

 

how long have you had him ? i dont like to hear that.. lol
I seen yours and i thought. hmmmmmm i wonder, and i be damed if i didint see one 3 weeks ago and bought one as well i liked him so much ( it p-'s me off though spiting sand every where )
And it constantly sifts sand , i mean constantly !


You have a 125 gallon correct ?, and had the fish sinch april/08 , is it possible its' running out of fauna/food sources from the sand ?.
My tank not much bigger than your's scott, so am i too assume mine will suffer the same fate ?

 

I also have one and he seems to look the same way. Mine eats off the rocks also, i have thought about putting some food on the sand bed for him to eat just to see. But let us know if you have any good news on eating habits and such.

 

what about putting food pellets in the sand for him? When he sifts it he should gobble them up.
Not to sure what the actual name for them is, but its the same ones you use for coral catfish etc...

Just an idea

 

I have never had luck keeping sand sifting gobies alive, even when I was able to supplement their diet with mysis shrimp. Just for giggles, try squirting some enriched brine or mysis shrimp into or near the fishes burrow and see if it eats any?

 

No burrow I know of...Don't know where he/she disappears to.

Kind of shy...always hides out when other fish in feed frenzy...:-/

Am thinking I better bulk up on hermits next trip to LFS...looks like tank is going to need them soon. :-[

 

how did this story turn out? I've had one for a few days and I've been spiking the sand bed near the burrow with mysis, brine and some singing pellets it seems to be doing OK. The first couple of days it was sifting constantly after loading up more food on the sand bed it does so with less of a frantic pace my thinking is that it's getting it's nourishment.... could be wrong.