dragon goby pale?

[danpas]

hey everyone so i have two dragon gobys in my 50 gallon actagon tank. The one dragon is thriving very good looking and active as well as my catfish and pleco's. I did alot of research on them and found it was good to keep them in pairs. I called every local fish store until i found ONE that had them, i bought one and talked to the owner about them who was rude as ****. The first dragon he got me fins were all tore up and i asked for another one, The second one he got me looked healthy and active. He had them in freshwater and told me it was ok to have them in fresh water. Iknow from reseach its a brackish water fish. My tank is not fully brackish but i have two tsp's of salt per 5 gallons. Noticed last night that my one goby i purchased is very pale with pale gills and very inactive and kinda skinny. He wont eat anything i try and give him while the other goby is just loving life moving rocks eating and swimming along. I do not have a test kit to check the water but plan on getting one today after work. Im sorta sure the water is ok. i been changing about 15 gallons twice a week for about a week now. any adive would be great if anyone has seen this before. Thank you

[danpas]

Here are some pics.. he swims around now and then and comes to the top but something just doesn't seem right

[Tim Wheatley]

Most catfish and plecos should not be in salt. Your fish do not mix...

Anyway, to feed this guy you're going to have to take the food to him. Melt frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp on a spoon and then pour them into the tank ontop of his head. I used to have to feed mine that way. I don't see much wrong with his coloring, but his top fin is clamped to his body so he is upset about something. I haven't heard about them being better in pairs, perhaps he is upset at sharing a tank?

I wrote a profile on my experiences with mine. You can get to it below.

[danpas]

The catfish and the first dragon goby and pleco all came from a friend of mine with the set up as far as salt. He had them for about 2-3 years that way. Those fish seem ok its the new one from the pet store I have gotten. The two gobys for the last week have been ok together twisting around each other and sharing hiding spots. Wont go far from each other. But could they be territorial? And stressing the one out? They act almost like mates but then again im an amateur and do not know a great deal only what I've read and have been told..

[Tim Wheatley]

It seems very weird to me that your friend would force multiple freshwater fish to live in brackish water unsuitable for them so that the one brackish fish can be comfortable. Just because you got them that way doesn't mean it was right. My Violet Goby was sold to me as a freshwater and aggressive fish, in actual fact it was neither. Try breathing CO2 sometime and see if you're happy outside your natural environment of Oxygen.

Most gobies are territorial, I would hedge my bets that you don't have a happy tank. Are there plenty of hiding spots or do they have just the one they share? Also with regards the catfish, there are very few who like salt (Columbian Catfish do, for example) and Pleco's definitely don't. There's a difference between surviving in a tank and living in one.

[danpas]

Point taken!!!! I have been told some salt is ok for fresh water fish 1tsp per 5 gallons? Is this correct? I have 2 tsps per 5 gallons. And from what I've read to have full brachish u need a tsp per gallon? Am I mistaken I didn't know the other fish could not tolorate it. I've always used low salt in my fw tanks per the fish stores advice. And yes there is multiple hiding spots in the tank the dragons gobys just always stay together no matter where they are in the tank exept when they go to the top or explore.. im thinking about establishing another tank then just for brackish fish then.... thanks for your help and advice....

[danpas]

Ok so the pale gill has turned into some sort of white fuzzy fungas. What should I do? Moving him to a hospital tank tonight. Any suggestions help would be great thanks!!

[Tim Wheatley]

I was lucky enough to never have mine sick, so I am not sure how well they take infection and/or treatment, so you're probably going to have to go with what helps the majority of fish: Fish Disease and Treatment Fungus Good luck.

[danpas]

Awsome... thanks tim!!!

[danpas]

Ok here is the update. . I removed the dragon goby.. the white fuzzy stuff has covered one side of his gill about 2mm off him.. he is unable to breath out of that gill.. he was very unresponsive when I netted him and I moved him into a hospital tank with 2 tsps of salt per gallon and treated him with an antibiotic.. hopefully he will spark up but im not sure if he will make it through the night.. any suggestions??? My question..... is my tank ok? Or should I remove my carbon filter and treat my tank? My other fish all seem ok! I did notice my sick dragon goby also has a red sore on the same gill the fungus like stuff is growing.. thanks for any advice or tips...

[Tim Wheatley]

I would do a water change today rather than waiting. Suffocation is probably happening. You have multiple problems, but a water change will at least give your main tank fish some oxygen. If your other fish seem OK in there the water change won't harm them, but might save them if they were going to go the same way as the sick one.

The sick one is he in a cycled tank? Would you be able to get any photos? He could have already given up. 2 teaspoons per gallon is about a 1.010 salinity, which is a bit of a leap from 1.005 which you had with 1 teaspoon per gallon in your main tank, but it's nothing worse than he would encounter swimming in an estuary in the wild. An issue is of course that if the tank wasn't cycled with that salinity the change in salt there could have killed the good bacteria. I really hope the antibiotic works. I know you're desperate to find a fix, wish I could be there to help and probably would be more accurate that way.

As well as your antibiotic, also if he does improve consider treating with Pimafix and Melafix once you add him back into the main tank. Let us know how he is in the morning.

[danpas]

Ok cool.. I did a 50% water change this morning before I left for work when I noticed he seemed ill.. any clue why the red sore? Im going to do another water change again tonight as u suggested.. I really appreciate your help and knowledge tim and im so glad I found this forum and app for my phone.. thanks again ill update u in the morning...

[danpas]

And yes the tank is cycled besides my rapid water changes this week.. I need to get a test kit HOPEFULLY. Tomorrow but we are getting a foot to two feet of snow tonight in buffalo so we will see

[danpas]

Ok here are some pics of him.....

[Tim Wheatley]

I think it is some kind of hemorrhaging from water quality (commonly called ammonia burns). The lighter area around the mouth is less worrying than the blood spots to me. The blood may be newly showing but this could have happened some time ago. Water quality can be the primary cause, but it he's been fine and due to you mentioning the surface swimming I'd have to say suffocation still.

Yeah we're stuck in tomorrow with the snow I think. Whatever happens, don't risk yourself on dangerous roads, etc, for the fish. At this point just keep giving them the best conditions you can.

[danpas]

Ok thanks.... man I can't belive with all the water changes I've been doing the past week my ammonia is high and oxygen duevto the fact of my bubbler and filter... shows how little I know lol thanks again I just hope he pulls through I feel like a bad parent LOL

[Tim Wheatley]

Yeah, if it were any other fish I would have just blamed water condition. But that surface breathing sign was something mine showed me, too, and it never did it again once I had the flow improved and some oxygen bubbles in there.

[danpas]

Well he made it through the night. Didn't seem to improve tha much as far as his gill is concerned but did noticed he os purched up by his underbody fin as they do.. its nasty weather here but I might go later to the pet store depending on driving bans

[danpas]

On my way to the store.. noticed tho the white fuzzy has spread to his tail fin also heavily.. figured the antibiotics would of kept it at bay but it appears to be spreading

[Tim Wheatley]

Melafix and Pimafix can help with those.