Gobies vary somewhat in their diet, so once again, it is essential to research the individual species. Many do quite well on a standard captive diet, while others are more difficult to wean onto prepared foods. As a rule, gobies are carnivores and will eat small pieces of marine flesh, frozen foods and flake food. Some will only eat live food during the acclimatization process and should only be introduced to an established tank (and preferably one with a refugium connected) with a healthy pod population.

Species in the family gobidae are fairly disease resistant, which is a good thing since they do not fare at all well with many of the standard treatments (e.g. medications containing copper, malachite and formalin). Unfortunately gobies tend to be short-lived (a year or two for many).