My new 8 gallon tank and my sick goby

[JJMS86]

Here are a few pictures of my almost 3 month old SW tank. I have a blue-green chromis, yellow watchman goby, skunk cleaner shrimp, 2 snails 2 red leg crabs and a blue leg crab.
I need ideas about my goby's mouth. This is the third time he has had an issue with it. My LFS said it might be a parasite, and to feed him Rx food, which I have done. But as of this morning the sore on his mouth is back again. It normally heals in about 4-5 days.
My stats are as follows:
pH 7.8-8.0, temp 76-78*,Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 0-5.0
5 lbs LR, 10 lbs LS
2 Soft coral frags, frogspawn and green hammerhead (?)
Airstone on twice a day for 15 minutes
I do 3 gal PWC every other week
Lights on 5 hours in morning and 5 hours at night (off midday due to overheating)
Generally feed them every other day (rotating flake, pellets, frozen and Rx food)

The Goby eats great & swims normally, waiting for food in his regular spot.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!

 

[JJMS86]

ok...so I couldn't upload pictures...thought I would be able to...can someone assist in how to do that...I have them loaded on my computer, but it asked me for a URL...??

 

[JustOneMore20]

When you are making a post, make sure you click post reply or go advanced at the bottom under the quick reply box and then scroll down past the text box. You should see a button that says "manage attachments"....click that and they you'll see "browse" where you can pick pictures from your computer.

 

[mommytron]

first, you need to make a certain number of posts before you can upload pictures to the site. i'm not sure how many, but it's not a lot... 5-10 i think. to add pictures to your post, scroll down below the text box and click "manage attachments" there you can add a file straight from your computer. or, you can upload your pictures to a photo sharing website like photobucket, picasa, facebook, etc. once you've uploaded the pictures, go to the one you want, right click on it, and select "copy image location." to insert it in your post, click the icon that looks like a little mountain and paste what you just copied. HTH very interested to see the pics!

 

[JJMS86]

Goby eating bristleworm??

Is it possible that they are cuts/sores from eating a bristleworm?? I just saw him eat one ( I think) (I actually saw him pick it up off the sand in front of his " home" then disappear inside the LR for about five minutes) Do they eat them usually? It was a smallish one, maybe 1/2 "...it was strange to see him act like that...he mostlly just stays in his " home" spot watching out the front glass, when he is not begging for food...

 

[mrg02d]

Is it possible that they are cuts/sores from eating a bristleworm?? I just saw him eat one ( I think) (I actually saw him pick it up off the sand in front of his " home" then disappear inside the LR for about five minutes) Do they eat them usually? It was a smallish one, maybe 1/2 "...it was strange to see him act like that...he mostlly just stays in his " home" spot watching out the front glass, when he is not begging for food...

Hmmm...Ive heard of fish eating bristleworms without issues. You also mentioned that this comes and goes. To me, it sounds like a parasite/disease. Maybe a better picture would help. Are you sure its not sand? They sift sand, do they not?

Also, you may want to up the PWC to improve water quality. Might help the fish out if it is some disease.

Matt

 

[mommytron]

cool looking tank ! i agree about upping your water changes, you should probably be doing them once a week anyway, especially in such a small tank, you may even want to do them twice a week regularly. i would absolutely start doing PWC's as much as every other day until your fish is healed. nothin better than clean water!

 

[JJMS86]

"They sift sand, do they not?"

My goby has never sifted sand...not sure if this type is supposed to, but mine never ever has!

 

[JJMS86]

Why so many PWC...my parameters are good...aren't they?
I was told when I bought the tank to do it every 4 weeks, then LFS said every other week.....
I thought water changes were too stressful for the fish anyway...the less stress the better...no?

 

[mommytron]

water changes are not stressful for the fish. dirty water is stressful!! my fish love when i do PWCs... my pleco goes nuts!! he swims all over place after a PWC, the rest of the time he hides... anyway, PWC's should be done weekly at the least, and in a smaller tank, maybe even twice a week. unless you are careless and clumsy while doing a PWC, or use water that does not match the parameters of your tank (i.e. you need to have the correct salinity for SW and make sure it is the right temperature) the fish should not get stressed at all. even if they do get a little stressed--clean water will make them feel better! clean water should be #1 priority.

 

[melosu58]

Moved to SW sick fish forum.

 

[JJMS86]

Why do you keep calling it dirty water? What indicates it is dirty??
And my fish do get stressed - they hide for hours after a water change. I use a siphon/hose to remove water and replace it, so it is not careless or clumsy. It is the same salinity (or slightly better) and same temp etc...My fish dont like anything in the tank other than themselves, not hands or siphons etc...

 

[mommytron]

well considering you only change out 3 gallons of water every other week (which isn't even 50% of the water) then i'm guessing a fair amount of poop/pee/uneaten food builds up, whether the ammonia is getting converted or not, there is still poo and uneaten food just hanging out in the tank. to me that's dirty! i don't know a lot about SW, but do you top off between PWC's? i do know that when the water evaporates, all the salt remains, which raises the salinity. in smaller tanks it can be crucial to top off regularly so the salinity doesn't get too high. what do you mean that the salinity is better in the water you use to top off? not sure if it's bad to change the salinity so drastically... if so, could be why your fish get stressed after a PWC.