Getting clown goby to eat

[rbaldino]

I've got a relatively new clown goby that doesn't seem to show a lot of interest in food. I've tried brine and mysis shrimp, and even flakes. He'll get excited when the food hits the water, nibble on a couple of bits, and just stop, like he doesn't like it. He's really small, so it's hard to tell, but it looks like he's starting to waste away. Any suggestions?

 

[cadillac swang]

Live Rock Is The Key To Your Success My Friend Live Rock And Lots Of It

 

[tiberius]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
I've got a relatively new clown goby that doesn't seem to show a lot of interest in food. I've tried brine and mysis shrimp, and even flakes. He'll get excited when the food hits the water, nibble on a couple of bits, and just stop, like he doesn't like it. He's really small, so it's hard to tell, but it looks like he's starting to waste away. Any suggestions?
What were they feeding it at the store? How long was it at the store and please don't say 1 day!

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Cadillac Swang
Live Rock Is The Key To Your Success My Friend Live Rock And Lots Of It
Yeah, I've got lots of that. Last I heard, though, clown gobies don't eat live rock.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Tiberius
What were they feeding it at the store? How long was it at the store and please don't say 1 day!
He was at the LFS for a while and looked like he was doing well. As far as I know, they just feed brine shrimp.

 

[tiberius]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
He was at the LFS for a while and looked like he was doing well. As far as I know, they just feed brine shrimp.
I really hate it when a LFS feeds brine shrimp to get you to buy the fish. They can not live on brine shrimp. They have no nutritious value. I like to go to a store where they feed frozen foods. The best thing is to get a variety of foods for him to try. Or, if you know someone else that has a tank near you, get some of their foods so it won't be such an expense for you.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Tiberius
I really hate it when a LFS feeds brine shrimp to get you to buy the fish. They can not live on brine shrimp. They have no nutritious value. I like to go to a store where they feed frozen foods. The best thing is to get a variety of foods for him to try. Or, if you know someone else that has a tank near you, get some of their foods so it won't be such an expense for you.
I've feed fish nothing but brine shrimp for years, so I'm not sure where you get the whole "no nutritious value" thing. Several of my fish are over ten years old, all on a diet of brine. I only started adding the mysis to see if the goby would like it more. He seems to, but not so much that he wants to eat a lot of it.

 

[poniegirl]

It is true about the brine shrimps nutritional value..just about nil. If you feed pellets/flake as well, that is probably what is sustaining your livestock.
How big is the goby?
BTW
"Yeah, I've got lots of that. Last I heard, though, clown gobies don't eat live rock."

 

[darthtang aw]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
I've feed fish nothing but brine shrimp for years, so I'm not sure where you get the whole "no nutritious value" thing. Several of my fish are over ten years old, all on a diet of brine. I only started adding the mysis to see if the goby would like it more. He seems to, but not so much that he wants to eat a lot of it.

I could sustain myself as well on a diet of only potato chips, Mountain Dew and popcorn.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Darthtang AW
I could sustain myself as well on a diet of only potato chips, Mountain Dew and popcorn.
Believe it or not, all those things have nutritional value of some sort.
I took exception to the idea that brine has no nutritional value because he makes it sound like the goby is eating it but it's not doing anything for him. I've had fish eat nothing but brine and they grew up and lived long and happy lives. In the case of the goby, he's just not really eating.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by PonieGirl
It is true about the brine shrimps nutritional value..just about nil. If you feed pellets/flake as well, that is probably what is sustaining your livestock.
How big is the goby?
The goby is about 3/4 of an inch.

 

[darthtang aw]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
Believe it or not, all those things have nutritional value of some sort.
I took exception to the idea that brine has no nutritional value because he makes it sound like the goby is eating it but it's not doing anything for him. I've had fish eat nothing but brine and they grew up and lived long and happy lives. In the case of the goby, he's just not really eating.

The average life span of a fish is 20-50 years in the Ocean, so your diet of brine shrimp may have in truth shortened the life of the fish....Just a thought.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Darthtang AW
The average life span of a fish is 20-50 years in the Ocean, so your diet of brine shrimp may have in truth shortened the life of the fish....Just a thought.
Given that I manage to keep fish alive a lot longer than most people I know, I doubt that. I also seriously doubt that the average life span of a fish in the ocean is 20-50 years; most of them get eaten long before that.
None of this is answering my question. It's not that the goby is eating brine shrimp and it's failing to meet his nutritional needs, it's that he doesn't seem to want to eat anything (be it brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, or flakes). So far, other than picking on brine shrimp (and I seriously doubt any of you are really qualified to speak to the nutritional value of brine shrimp) no one has offered any useful advice.

 

[firefish_48]

Try Frozen cyclop-eeze. Clown gobys mouth are very small so the food needs to be small.
Mike

 

[poniegirl]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
Given that I manage to keep fish alive a lot longer than most people I know, I doubt that. I also seriously doubt that the average life span of a fish in the ocean is 20-50 years; most of them get eaten long before that.
None of this is answering my question. It's not that the goby is eating brine shrimp and it's failing to meet his nutritional needs, it's that he doesn't seem to want to eat anything (be it brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, or flakes). So far, other than picking on brine shrimp (and I seriously doubt any of you are really qualified to speak to the nutritional value of brine shrimp) no one has offered any useful advice.
It is said that newly hatched brine shrimp, with the yolk sak not yet depleted, have significant nutritional value. Once the yolk is "consumed" by the hatchling, well pardon me, but it might be similar to trying to eat a seahorse ( :scared: ) or a spare-rib (yuk!). Mostly skeleton. You would have to eat a herd of seahorses or a rack of spare-ribs!
No marine biologist here, by any stretch.
The goby family are carnivores. They crave and hunt for protein. The brine shrimp will not satisfy the fish, IMHO. As stated, because of size, try the cyclopeeze and any other meaty (tiny bits of silverside?) food you can find.
The brine, in the mean time, and if the fish will eat it, is better than nothing.

 

[petjunkie]

What kind of clown goby is it? I've read quite a few stories of clown gobies refusing to eat and starving, sometimes yellows, mostly the greens. Mine took food right away. Have you tried adding any Selcon or Garlic to your food? Also are you feeding frozen or dried brine as mine won't swim far for food especially not at first.