Feeding
Shrimp Gobies
Hello TFH First, I’d like to say
that you guys and gals have
an excellent magazine! I have a 5-gallon
reef tank with various corals and such, but
as for fish, all I have is an orangespotted
shrimp goby Amblyeleotris guttata, which
I’ve had for about four months. My question
is about what it eats. I spend most of the day
staring at him (as opposed to working), but
I’ve never seen him eat—yet, he’s still alive,
apparently very healthy and active, not to
mention plump. Thanks for the info.
Josh Tesina
via email
Thanks for your kind
comment about the magazine.
Amblyeleotris guttata, one
of the so-called shrimp gobies
(so named for the symbiotic burrow-sharing
relationship these fishes form with alpheid
shrimps), feeds primarily on zooplankton and
small benthic invertebrates. It’s likely that your
specimen has been sustaining itself on the small
invertebrates inhabiting your live rock and
sandbed—amphipods, copepods, etc. However,
I would recommend that you continue offering
food to your goby, as the supply of these tiny
crustaceans will eventually become depleted
as a result of the continual nibbling. This is
especially true for a 5-gallon tank, which can
hold only a small amount of live rock and live
sand. Your goby might then begin to starve if
it hasn’t learned to accept non-living foods in
the meantime.
The key here is to offer very small amounts
of meaty food items, such as frozen mysid
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shrimp, finely chopped clams or table shrimp,
or a frozen commercial preparation for
carnivores, two or three times a day. You don’t
want to overdo it because a 5-gallon tank
(pretty cramped quarters for this species, by
the way) can become fouled very quickly if
you feed too heavily. A schedule of frequent
water changes, during which you siphon out
any uneaten food, will also help in this regard.
A. guttata usually takes to non-living meaty
foods without too much trouble, and I suspect
your specimen will do the same once its supply
of live crustaceans plays out.
Poisonous Puffers
I think I’ve just made a very
big mistake! As a family
project, my kids and I set up
a 100-gallon saltwater tank. The kids were
really excited about getting a pufferfish, so
the first fish we bought for the tank was a
dogface puffer. So far it’s doing great and
the kids have really fallen in love with it;
they’ve even named it Snoopy. Now that it’s
settled into its new home and the kids have
become attached to it, I’ve found out that
pufferfishes are venomous. I’m really torn
because the last thing I want is for one of
the kids to get hurt, but at the same time, I
hate to take away their beloved new pet. Are
these fish really that dangerous?
Anna Macke
via email
I think you’re confusing the terms
“venomous” and “poisonous”
here. Venomous animals—which
pufferfish are not—deliver toxins
by biting or stinging the victim. Poisonous
A
Q
20 www.tfhmagazine.com
September 2008