Diamond Goby

4 Tricks To Feed Stubborn Gobies & Jawfish

Feeding gobies and jawfish can be a challenge. They stay very low in aquariums and tend to get outcompeted for food because of their skittish personalities. If they are reluctant, there are a handful of tricks to entice both types of fish into consuming processed food. This article will discuss some of the ways we can encourage our goby to eat or help a skittish goby get food before more aggressive eaters steal it.

This process is not guaranteed to work, but I have had success with them in the past. As a disclaimer, this article focuses on sand-sifting gobies and jawfish. It is not a good reference for Mandarin Gobies and Scooter Blennies.

1. Distract Other Fish With Food

As stated above, gobies and jawfish are often outcompeted for food because of how low they are in fish tanks. All the food is usually gone before it gets close to them. One thing I have done is to simply drop some food in a different part of the aquarium to distract free swimming fish, and then drop food near the goby’s territory. I recommend turning off circulation pumps to prevent food from getting pushed away from the goby.

If your goby is confident enough, you’ll see it dart out, grab some food, and go back into its burrow. This trick is simple and can easily be tried. However, it may be harder to accomplish in deeper fish tanks because it will take food longer to fall.

2. Feed Goby With Tools

If your fish are too fast and get through your distraction, you can try to feed your goby with tools. I have used Coral Feeder Tubes (affiliate link) to suck up some Mysis Shrimp, Brine Shrimp, or pellet food. I then squirt the food close to the goby’s burrow. Other fish may need to be distracted during this process, but feeding your goby more directly increases the chance of food successfully reaching it.

This method may require a bit more patience. If you move the feeder tube a little too fast towards the burrow, you may startle your fish and it may hide.

3. Try Different Foods

Some fish are picky eaters. Gobies especially may only eat live foods that are already in the fish tank. It’s a good idea to at least offer multiple food options. Mysis Shrimp, Brine Shrimp, and pellet foods are usually the first things I offer new fish. They’re usually a hit but not every fish readily accepts processed food.

If my fish is stubborn and refuses to eat any processed foods, my next move is to offer live baby brine shrimp, so I know it’s getting some food. Hopefully, over time I can ween the goby/jawfish into eating processed foods.

4. Soak Food in Garlic

If your goby or any fish for that matter, refuses to eat the foods provided, you may want to consider soaking your food in garlic, garlic extract, or Selcon Concentrate. I have cut up garlic, put it into a cup with aquarium water, and let pellets and frozen foods soak in it. A more potent alternative to this is Brightwell Aquatics Garlic Power (affiliate link) or Corallife Garlic Xtreme (affiliate link). You can often smell the concentrated smell without opening the bottle. Fish often go crazy over these supplements, and they will hopefully encourage your goby or jawfish to eat as well.

I have used Selcon Concentrate (affiliate link) as a supplement for fish that are finicky eaters. It has helped to encourage finicky eaters to go after food for me. This is speculation, but I think the fish really go after the smell that Selcon gives off. Selcon is a food booster loaded with fatty acids, vitamin C, and vitamin B12. Whether your fish are finicky eaters or you want to provide them with more nutrients/vitamins, it might be worth your while to try Selcon.

Final Notes

If you have other tricks to get food to your goby or jawfish, please let me know. I want to share information with aquarists of all experience levels to help this hobby thrive. It can be very frustrating dealing with a fish that will not accept food. It’s not a great sight to see your gobies with sunken bellies. I hope this information helps someone who may be struggling with this.