trouble feeding stonogobiops nematodes

In my tanks I do the best I can to ensure optimum water conditions and good nutrition for the fish.... but after that i let nature take its course ( except my cortez ray that demands to be hand fed)

I very rarely loose fish or shrimp even though i have some "non reef safe" individuals amongst the mix, IF your tank is doing well your fish will adapt and find its niche within the community.

I have a small gobie as well who lives with a pistol shrimp that I rarely see eating. but he has been in there for 3 months and seems to be growing rather fast.

Well, its a 12g JBJ nanocube.  I have about 10 lbs of live rock.  There is an assortment of small hermit crabs and snails (about a dozen total, alltogether).  There is a very gregarious peppermint shrimp in the tank (solved the aptasia problem) and a couple feather dusters (5 that I can see, small ones that came with the rock).  I recently bought a very small sample of bright green wavy star polyps and a very small sample of brown (green in the midddle) button polyps (maybe 5 total polyps, small ones).  I have one snowflake polyp that is now splitting into three (two tiny ones next to it).  I started with live sand as well from MSM.  The tank has been set up for 4 months.  The shrimp was added first, at about 2 months.  The goby was just added two weeks ago along with a small red crab that I either can never find or is lodged above my filter media in the back of the tank (guess it likes it up there).  I'm trying to take it very slowly.  For the first three months there was nothing in the tank but crabs, snails, live sand and rock and the shrimp (added at month 2).  There may be a mantis in there somewhere too. 

I guess I was in denial about the mantis.  I took one out back at month 2 or so and thought all was well, til I heard it again . .. . CLICK!  Like marble on glass.  Which elicited various epithets from me cuz I didn't want to have to tear everything apart again.  But I see what you are saying.  I guess I didn't think of it that way.  The goby does seem to be getting a little less shy every week.  But then some days, I so much as look in its direction and it darts away to its hole.  The media I have is what comes with the tank.  The first bin has a sponge thing in it, the second has activated charcoal, and then theres a half dozen or so bioballs, about 1.5 inches in diameter.  I also tucked my heater back there (recommended for these kinds of tanks to save room).  The live sand is 1.5-2 inches, shallower in front and deeper in back.  Guess I need to go mantis hunting again . . . it really hasn't caused much trouble at all so far.  I haven't seen anything go missing.  And the peppermint shrimp seems fine (extremely hungry - goes after flakes like crazy, but fine otherwise).

Edit - oh, and I have a couple bubbles of bubble algea too (red and green), so I guess the water is ok.  I also have a refractometer, so the salinity is ok, and a big test kit and all looks well chemically.  And I have tons of amphipods, copepods and everythign else creepy crawly in my sand.

Edited by Biodork

Oh, I'm sure I'm not the only one suffering from mantis denial . ..