Please help my Diamond Goby

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 11, 2022

Hello. I have a diamond goby which I've had for about a month or 2 now, and I noticed that he doesn't seem to be sifting through my substrate and eating like he used to. I'm not entirely sure why. He just seems to sit on the surface of the tank swimming around, but I haven't seen him sift through the substrate, and I'm getting concerned. Has anyone witnessed this before? What should I do? I don't want it to die, but I'm not sure why he's not eating. I know there's food in the substrate, but I'm not seeing him sift through it like he used to.

Tamberav · Mar 11, 2022

Mine never goes to the surface.

Can we get a photo under whites?

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 11, 2022

Tamberav said:
Mine never goes to the surface.

Can we get a photo under whites?

I mean he sits on the surfase of the substrate, I haven't seen him sifting through it for a few days.

Tamberav · Mar 11, 2022

does he eat prepared foods? Frozen? Pellets? Etc

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 11, 2022

he used to sift through the substrate quite a bit. I've only ever fed my tank freeze dried river shrimp, frozen reef nutrition, frozen seaweed blend, sinking pellets, freeze dried brine shrimp and flake foods

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 11, 2022

Drummingbaker2010 said:
he used to sift through the substrate quite a bit. I've only ever fed my tank freeze dried river shrimp, frozen reef nutrition, frozen seaweed blend, sinking pellets, freeze dried brine shrimp and flake foods

I use saltwater multi-pack and seaweed delight. It didn't used to be a problem.

EakTheFreak · Mar 11, 2022

I would consider hitting him with some live foods to see if it entices him!

Tamberav · Mar 11, 2022

Does he look fat? Mine has quite a belly.

I feed mine frozen LRS.

I do think your fish would benefit from better quality foods. Doesn’t seem like you are offering much that is fresh.

A pic under whites would help. Does he breath fast or anything?

These guys can easily starve to death but most will take frozen foods. They just need to get enough of it.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 11, 2022

You said substrate- Is it gravel or sand?
Diamond gobies like to sift sand through its mouth then filter out any small bits of food. If there is no food or lack of, they'll generally not sift. Chopped shrimp is a high member of their diet. Mysis shrimp is a good substitute.
How is its' breathing rate- moderate or rapid?

What is your nitrate level and what test kit are you using for nitrates?

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 12, 2022

Tamberav said:
Does he look fat? Mine has quite a belly.

I feed mine frozen LRS.

I do think your fish would benefit from better quality foods. Doesn’t seem like you are offering much that is fresh.

A pic under whites would help. Does he breath fast or anything?

These guys can easily starve to death but most will take frozen foods. They just need to get enough of it. I've been tryingb to feed my tank a variety twice daily/.

He is looking pretty thin, and when i was looking at him yesterday yes it looked like he was breathing a bit fast.

Tamberav · Mar 12, 2022

Drummingbaker2010 said:
He is looking pretty thin, and when i was looking at him yesterday yes it looked like he was breathing a bit fast.

It sounds like an issue with feeding. They need quite a bit if supplementation in most tanks.

Frozen LRS Is amazing stuff. Mysis is decent. Live worms is golden.

Less freeze dried and pellets imo. I swear some of that freeze dried crap is probably more like a treat then actual good nutrition.

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 12, 2022

Tamberav said:
It sounds like an issue with feeding. They need quite a bit if supplementation in most tanks.

Frozen LRS Is amazing stuff. Mysis is decent. Live worms is golden.

Less freeze dried and pellets imo. I swear some of that freeze dried crap is probably more like a treat then actual good nutrition.

I've been mainly feeding frozen brine shrimp and frozen mysis, frozen blood worms it comes as part of a frozen marine blend. Anyway, he died some point over night. I found 2 of my peppermint shrimp trying to eat it this morning when I came downstairs to check on the tank. I'll try again soon. Thanks

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 12, 2022

Drummingbaker2010 said:
I've been mainly feeding frozen brine shrimp and frozen mysis, frozen blood worms it comes as part of a frozen marine blend. Anyway, he died some point over night. I found 2 of my peppermint shrimp trying to eat it this morning when I came downstairs to check on the tank. I'll try again soon. Thanks

I really try to stay away from the freeze dried stuff if I can avoid it, maybe only feeding with it once a week.

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 12, 2022

Drummingbaker2010 said:
I really try to stay away from the freeze dried stuff if I can avoid it, maybe only feeding with it once a week.

I heard sinking pellets are best for them so other animals try not to get to it before he does.

Tamberav · Mar 12, 2022

Drummingbaker2010 said:
I heard sinking pellets are best for them so other animals try not to get to it before he does.

pellets are not terrible but they are still processed dried foods. LRS is really amazing stuff. Brine shrimp isn’t great, mysis is okay but a lot of shell.

Frozen LRS, mysis and Nori are what mine mostly eats. Sometimes pellets. They can eat really big pieces of food so mine will grab the big chucks the other fish can’t swallow.

Drummingbaker2010 · Mar 12, 2022

Tamberav said:
pellets are not terrible but they are still processed dried foods. LRS is really amazing stuff. Brine shrimp isn’t great, mysis is okay but a lot of shell.

Frozen LRS, mysis and Nori are what mine mostly eats. Sometimes pellets. They can eat really big pieces of food so mine will grab the big chucks the other fish can’t swallow.

I know they can. Their mouths are incredible if I could have just gotten him to eat. I'll try these next time.