What happened to my precious Goby???

bnadeau · Mar 24, 2014

Hello all,

I'm hoping somebody could give me some insight to what happened to my hi fin goby..
Here's the situation. I found my cleaner shrimp reeking havoc on my goby, trashing him around on the rocks, and cleaning his lifeless body. I introduced the goby to my 10 gal a few weeks ago (to keep my pistol shrimp some company). The goby rarely left his home but I witnessed him swimming around a few times (discretely). My tank is well established, with low nitrates, and a seemingly healthy environment. He was accompanied with two clowns, a cleaner shrimp, a peppermint shrimp (introduced yesterday), and a solid cleanup crew. I know there are many factors that could have contributed to his unfortunate death, but could anyone provide insight to who the culprit was?? or was it natural?? something I did?? I do not want to introduce another hi fin if the environment is unsafe for him. I'm fairly new to the hobby and appreciate any guidance!!

Rest in peace

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 24, 2014

First off sorry you lost your fish! :squigglemouth: Cleaner shrimp love to eat dead fish but shouldnt hurt him if he was alive. He probably found him dead and thought it was food :squigglemouth:. Did you ever see the goby eat anything?

bnadeau · Mar 24, 2014

Thank you. I'm pretty bummed out

I feed with frozen food and little spectrum pellets. I never noticed the goby come out very often for food, but I know the pistol will grab a few pellets and dart back to his home to feast. Is there a better way to ensure my burrowers get their nutrition??

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 25, 2014

Here is a copy and paste from live aquaria on a high fin goby "The diet should consist of mysis shrimp, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, and chopped table shrimp. It needs to be fed at least two times per day. When first added to the aquarium it may not eat for several days, but will usually acclimate and begin eating."

Sounds like they need lots of meaty food. I've always had good luck getting fish to eat mysis.

bnadeau · Mar 25, 2014

I have been using brine shrimp but I'll be sure to start using mysis when I get another goby. I noticed he rarely came out and never during feeding time. He looked very small when I found him, so he probably wasn't receiving enough nutrients. Thank you much for your help, I'm hoping to have more success next time.