Violet Dragon Goby help!!

[Jaiibe]

I have a VDG which i bought about 4 or 5 days ago. He was doing great up until last night, when I noticed he has this weird fuzzy stuff around his head, his eyes are dull and basically not noticeable, and a part of his head looks like it has caved in, for lack of better terms.

This is how the aquarium is set up:

10 gallon tank
Small gravel, but its EXTREMELY easy to move around
Brackish water with sea salt put into it
2 mollies and 2 platy's as tank mates
Temperature ranging from 27-29 degrees C

When I notice that my goby had the fuzzy stuff around his head, I removed 50% of the water, put new distilled water in, added the water treatment and the stabilizer treatment and added more sea salt. (I cant use tap water because my tap water has a very high concentrated salt content and iron content in it)

This morning he is still alive but is breathing very slowly and isn't moving as often as he usually does, especially when prompted to do so.
As well, since I've gotten him, I have not seen him eat, although I was told that VDG's often eat at night, as they are nocturnal creatures??

Is there anyone out there that can help? I really dont want him to die.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

for one, i just want to make sure this is same fish you're talking about

2nd how big is your goby, a 10 gal is way to small for them, in my research in tank they can grow up to 30inches, in the wild up 50inch.

3rd, when you got your goby, was he in brackish or in freshwater. did you check the salinity at the place you got him compared to what your tank is at?

 

[Jaiibe]

Yes, I am talking about a Violet Dragon Goby.
I was told by several sources that a 10gal would be alright, because he is still quite small.
He was in FW when I bought him, but I didnt add sea salt into it right away, I gradually put it in over the last few days.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

okay, well i'm not sure about the fuzz on him and everything, but i'd look into getting a larger tank soon, i've had mine for two months, and he's grown almost 5 inches since i bought him

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

oh, what are you feeding him? i feed mine, frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms, frozen krill, and tubifex worms

 

[Jaiibe]

Im feeding mine a predatory fish food, which is these little pellets that the lady at Petland recommended to me.
Should I go and buy him some frozen foods?
The other thing I worry about is my mollies and my platys basically eat anything you put into the tank; im not even sure if my goby has eaten anything since i've bought him.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

well dragons have very poor eye sight and they smell to find food. dragon gobies aren't predators. they are very laid back. i would suggest getting some frozen blood worms for sure, mine loves them. and some frozen brine shrimp. don't worry, what ever the mollies don't eat, will float to the bottom and he will find it and eat it. they really dont eat that much. they also scrape the algae of rocks with their teeth. you might see him with a pebble in his mouth, its kind of cute. if you can try to find a sand substrate, they love playing in the sand

 

[Jaiibe]

Thanks for your help.
Unfortunately, my Dragon Goby died this morning shortly after I posted this.

 

[dkpate]

Sorry about your goby.

 

[Crepe]

Fuzz is a fungal infection or a profusion of fish slime. There was something wrong with him or your water.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

sorry to hear that!

 

[DragonFish71]

A few things to consider before you buy another one.

1) make sure you acclimate it slowly to brackish. They are wild caught in BW (brackish water) but kept in FW (fresh water). They need to slowly go back to the BW.

2) as was said, 10g is waaaayy too small.


3) make sure your tank is completely cycled. And by cycled I don't mean you let it run a day with the filter. That's not cycling a tank. We can provide you with links so you can read up on cycling. They are very sensitive to their water being just right. Any little bit of ammonia or high nitrites will do exactly what you described.

4) make sure your SG (specific gravity=salt content) doesn't get out off kilter. Mine are doing wonderfully in SG of 1.010-1.013, no higher.

5) do weekly water changes. Again, these guys are wild caught and used to very clean water.

No one asked you the most basic question, how long has your tank been set up? With the VDG you were already over stocked.