Sick Dragon Fish/Violet Goby?

[KGrey]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but before I post in the introductions section I have a sort of emergency question about my fish.

I've had two violet gobies, a.k.a. dragon fish for about 6 weeks now. I bought them from Walmart and wasn't sure if they would even survive the night considering the conditions the store kept them in but they did and have been really healthy until last night.

For a few weeks I noticed that one of my gobies would lay on its side or upside down at the bottom of the tank. Eventually it would right itself and seemed to recover. I read that sometimes fish will behave that way if they've overeaten and are constipated so I held off on feeding it for a day until I noticed that it had produced some waste. I fed both of my gobies yesterday afternoon and they were perfectly fine and pretty active. Later in the evening though I found the one goby laying on its side at the bottom of the tank again but this time it was dead.

I've also noticed that my other goby seems to have a dark pink tinge around its gill slit, pelvic and anal fins. I'm not sure what's going on with my fish or why one of them died.


Here are my tank specs:

The tank that the surviving goby is in right now is 10 gallons. The temperature is kept around 77° F (25° C) with a salinity of 1.008. The tank is well aerated, I have a Top Fin pump with four hoses. I also use a Top Fin substrate and have been feeding my fish with frozen and freeze dried blood worms and algae pellets.

Does anyone know what could have caused one goby to die and why the other has the pink tinge to its fins? It seems healthy otherwise but I don't want it to suddenly die too. I really appreciate any feedback.

 

[lindenthaler.9]

What kind of filtration do you have on the tank and was it cycled previously?
Start with a water change for now, probably 50%.
Any idea on what your water parameters were, prior to losing him?
10 gallons is small for two dragon gobies, definitely too small once they get bigger. (Quarintine tank?) It may have been an ammonia spike.
Otherwise the salinity is good. Was that raised gradually over the last few weeks?

 

[KGrey]

Thanks for the response. I have an AquaTech 30-60 carbon filter but I didn't cycle the tank, I just did a partial water change that morning. I'm not sure what the levels were before he died so it could have been an ammonia spike.

The 10 gallon tank is only temporary, I have a 40 gallon tank that I was planning on transferring them to after I cycled the water in that one. The fish had been kept in fresh tap water at Walmart so I gradually raised the salinity so they could get re-acclimated to it.

I noticed that the goby that died didn't have any of the red/pinkish color in its fins but it did have a yellow spot on its belly. I'm not sure if that might indicate anything.

I did a little research and suspect that the other goby was suffering from ammonia poisoning so I added some Ammo Lock to its water and the dark pink in its fins started to clear up almost immediately.

 

[lindenthaler.9]

The tank could still be cycling, just keep doing partial water changes. It does sound like the other one died of ammonia poisoning, but you treated this one so just keep an eye on him and he should make it.
+1 on the salinity though. Very few people actually keep them in the right conditions.

I'll blame most of that on Walmart though. I feel so bad for the ones at mine currently, they're just so skinny. I want to save them but I don't have a tank they can go in right now unless they went straight in with my brackish puffers.

 

[nomzombie]

Just to add a little information in case someone stumbles upon this as I have, searching for answers. Goby's quickly dashing to the surface repeatedly to gasp for air is also a sign of ammonia poisoning. And violet Goby's are actually quite adaptable to salinity levels. They aren't nearly as sensitive as other species. My violet Goby Falkor is roughly 5 years old and 13" long and has always lived in a strictly freshwater tank. Turning on their side and rolling over can also be a sign of dropsy as well as the pink color. Though most people don't consider dropsy because it's mostly common In Chilids and carp. But it is still a possibility. I'm sorry for your loss but good on Ya for trying to save them from the grips of Walmart!

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