Training Sandsifter To Eat

[-Nemo-]

I got a gold headed sleeper goby about 3 weeks ago and i'm becoming worried about him. He won't eat any food i put into the tank, only sifts the sand for his food, and my tank (29G) cannot possibly be big enough to allow him to live off the sand in that alone. I couldn't find much on how to train him to eat frozen, pellet, or flake food, however. At the moment i've been "injecting" mysis shrimp and small pellets into the sand where he often sifts, and I know he's getting the food, but he still isn't bothering with it when i put it into the tank normally. Any ideas on how to help this poor guy?

 

[Colin_T]

Gobies don't normally take dry food but should readily accept frozen or live foods that are on or near the bottom. Make sure the water quality is good. If the goby is big (more than 3 inches) it will take longer to acclimate and accept new types of food. In the mean time just keep putting small amounts of food on the bottom and it will pick them up from there. Don't add too much food as it could get caught under rocks and rot, causing water quality problems.

 

[-Nemo-]

He's 3-4" at the moment. i'm hoping he becomes more comfortable, so maybe i could try some live food target feeding with him, so the other greedy fish don't steal it.