Feeding shy fish?

woninil

woninil

AC Members
Sep 12, 2004
59
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Illinois
I have a 55 gallon that is fairly new. I had a Chromis during cycling and, when levels came down, I purchased a firefish and convict goby.

Both are very shy and hide most of the time. After 3-4 days, I bought a clown fish-should have waited longer in between but was tired of seeing nothing but the Chromis

Well, the shy fish dont even want to come out to eat. I got the firefish out of its hiding place long enough to eat today but the convict is a challenge. Plus the LFS said he needed the shrimp. The others all eat flakes/pellets but certainly arent about to let shrimp float down to exactly where he is so he can put his head out and eat

Suggestions?

Should I try to remove his hiding place or let him keep that security?
 
Convict gobies are not shy eaters, they just do not spend any time in the water column. They will, however, eat anything they can--ours was a huge pig. Keep in mind that these fish dig, and will not be comfortable until they have a cave system under the rock--meaning you must make sure the rock is stable enough that it won't collapse as they dig. You can help get food to the bottom using a chunk of riser tube.
 
The fish are probably still adjusting as well, which would cause them to be shy and be unwilling to accept food. When I first purchased my 4 ocellaris clowns they were very skittish and unwilling to eat for a week or so and then they began to warm up to me and realize that I wasn't trying to hurt them. Just keep trying, and eventually the fish will start to recognize you as a source of food. Rather than doing one or two larger feedings in the course of a day, you may want to spread it out and do many smaller ones, this will most likely speed the adjustment period up for them.
 
Part of what I do while the fish are in quarantine is teach them to eat the foods that I use. Because it is not a display tank I can offer a wide variety very often because it is so easy to vacuum a bare bottomed tank.
During this time I also interact with the tank more than I normally do- I get my hands in and clean a lot only to teach them that the big giant hand is good and brings tasty treats. With this sort of attention the shy ones soon come out of their shell without having to worry about aggressive tankmates and the like.

By the time my fish are ready to go into the display they are accustomed to eating lots of different tastes and textures out of feeding rings, veggie clips, and usually out of hand as well. This way when they go into the big tank their reserves are well built up to guard against disease, they are no longer shy of me, and they can devote their energies to adapting to a new environment without being overly stressed from hunger as well.

Just one more reason I recommend all new fish go through a quarantine period.
May not be of much help to you in this go round, but maybe next time.
 
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