Yasha Goby--starved?

[Playapixie]

I got a Yasha Goby in the beginning of November, paired with a Randall's Pistol Shrimp. He was in my quarantine for 5 weeks and didn't show any signs of illness. He was quite shy even in quarantine, though.

He lasted about 3 months in my Solana 34, and died the other day. I'm pretty sure he starved, because he was extremely shy, never venturing more than a few inches from his burrow even at feeding time, and the spot of the tank where the burrow is never carried a lot of food in the water column. I tried target feeding him with a pipet to get food closer to his cave, but by the time he ventured out, most of the food would have drifted away. The only way I could really get him to eat was to overfeed my tank rather heavily, and even then he might only grab a few small bites. He did seem to get skinnier over time, but I didn't detect any other signs of illness. The other fish in my tank (2 ocellaris clowns and one tail spot blenny) are all still quite well, and his pistol shrimp is still fine. I've never lost a fish before (except one that jumped.)

Parameters have always been pretty stable:
ph 8.3, specific gravity 1.026, nitrate 0, phosphate <0.2, ca 390, KH 8, mag 1300, temp 78.

So, is it common or uncommon for a Yasha Goby to starve? Anything else I could have tried to keep him fatter? Any other likely causes for his death?

And...I'd like to get another goby, in hopes that it'll pair with the Randall's shrimp. Needless to say, I'm hesitant to get another Yasha, even though they are gorgeous. Are there any other types of shrimp gobies that are more likely to do well? Are others less shy? I was thinking maybe a Yellow Watchman Goby. Hoping for something heartier that will venture into the open to feed.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Dawn

 

[leebca]

Hard to tell with the Yashi. Many of them are shy like you have described. Others are more forward. They are a mixed bag when it comes to captive life.

Other, more common Gobies like the Watchman are more assertive and live longer. The downside to many of the Goby family is that they don't live a long life (in the wild as well as in captivity). The odds are more on the hobbyist's side with the Watchman, as far as successes are concerned.

If you see the fish isn't eating well or being assertive in the QT, then the odds are it won't improve in the main DT, unless the other fish acting like a dither fish, encourage it to change its behavior. In the case of the Goby, it is often intimidated by other fishes, so the other fishes don't act like a dither fish for this family of fishes.