Watchman Goby, Stopped Eating, and is just sitting around...

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TheChad

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
568
Location
Warrensburg, IL
Hey all,

I have a Watchman goby, he is White with orange spots. We have had him in our main tank for about 3 months aprox.

He has been doing great and I have not had any problems with him, but in the last 2 days, I haven't seen him eat, and he is mostly just sitting inside his hole that he dug in the sand under the rocks..

Untill the last couple of days, every morning when the light turns on at 8am, he would come out of his hole, and swim around the tank sifting the sand, when we feed the fish, he would go nuts like all the rest and get his share of the mysis shrimp.

But for the last couple of days when we feed, he just sit pirched in his hole, and watches the shrimp go by..

I don't know why out of the blue he is just acting funny.


It seams like once 1 thing in the tank dies, everything starts dieing... We had a Emerald Crab, and a sally light foot crab, both wich died within 2 days of each other, the sally had been in the tank about 3 months, and the emerald was in the tank about 1.5 months.. Both were found being eaten by our white hermit crab, Not sure if they died on their own, or if the white hermit crab killed them.

Then we had an alge Blennie, he died after about 3 days in the tank. I had a Copper banded butterfly that was in the QT tank for 3 months being treated with copper for ich, he was doing great in the QT Tank, I acclimated him and put him in the Main tank, he died with in hours.

Also my clown fish in the last week have black spots on them, I don't know if they have always been there, or if they are new, I never looked that close before, and they are getting a little bigger and easier to see them now...

Thanks for the help,

-TheChad
 
I had a goby that did pretty much the same thing. Had him for 2 months, he ate great. Then one day he just sat in his cave, and did not feed. Maaaaybe 1 or 2 pieces of Brine that floated in front of his face. He held on for 4 days, and I found him dead in the morning on the fifth day.

I should have treated him in a quarantine tank, but I never got the chance.

If you have a QT, I suggest tossing him in there. If he does have some parasite, the copper should kill it off. That or a freshwater dip. That cured two of my friend's fish with velvet recently.

sorry to hear. :(
 
How exactly do you do a fresh water dip?

Wouldn't that kill him? Taking him from saltwater and putting him in fresh water, goes against everything we know.. It defeats the whole acclimation procedures...

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
FW dip is not recommend anymore due to the stress it causes to the fish. I'd say don't do it. Try to take a good look at him to see if he's damaged or infected then QT him if needed.
 
I didn't see anything wrong with him, He looks normal.


I did test the water today, and Found my refractometer is broken. My refractometer says the SG is 1.020, my Hydrometer says its at 1.030+, When I tested plain DI water, the Hydromemter shows 0, and the refractometer shows its out of calibration, when i try to adjust the calbration, it wont adjust.

So my refractometer is broken. Right now I am removing water to adjust the SG back down to 1.025..

I hope that will make the goby better. None of the inverts, or other fish seam to be affected by the SG level.

-TheChad
 
Don't use a fw dip or copper...or anything else for that matter unless you know what's wrong with him. Try soaking his food in garlic to see if that stimulates him to eat.
 
demodiki said:
Don't use a fw dip or copper...or anything else for that matter unless you know what's wrong with him. Try soaking his food in garlic to see if that stimulates him to eat.


I always soak all food in garlic.

He is not interested.

He comes out of his hole in the day time, and lays under a rock, just sitting there... I don't know what is wrong with him..

-TheChad
 
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