Diamond Goby - Died, split from inside?

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi All

I recently got a Diamond Goby, it was at a transitional tank for a week from quarantine and I collected Sunday. It was hiding for the last few days but I saw it out and about last night feeding (Tuesday night) and this morning it was dead. It had a split up its under belly and its tail fin slight shredded. Other than that it hadn't been chewed on. It was relatively healthy looking, not skinny at the point of death, with quarantine etc it had lost some condition. Its now the third one to die, one went missing and never found and the other I couldn't get to eat.

In the 450l tank is
- Pair of clowns
- Smiths Blenny
- Yellow Tang
- Pyramid Butterfly
- Lamark Angel
- Pair or Banggai Cardinals
- Boxer Shrimp
- Various Trochus snails of different sizes (which I d o find the occasional empty shell)

Below is a picture of him this morning. I gave it a fresh water dip and nothing has come off or out of it. Any ideas what may have caused it ?


IMG_0458.jpg
 

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,847
Reaction score
13,285
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That or there is a fish version of alien in your tank!
So a mantis?
Looks like it would have been killed. A lot of fish like to target stomachs and anal fins.
If all your other fish are healthy I wouldn’t expect it to be related to illness or water quality.
 
Upvote 1
OP
OP
AllanPritchard

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Usually this happens because hermit crabs and bristle worms get to them shortly after they die.
I thought the bristle worms may have caused the damage post-mortem. Still don’t know what the poor little guy died of. I did have horror thoughts of some alien predator bursting from its stomach and now targeting its next victim
 
Upvote 0

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,847
Reaction score
13,285
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Did you find your other dead gobies? Because it’s quite possible if you never found one that the other is alive and killed it.
Could also be a mantis shrimp though, living in the rocks......
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
AllanPritchard

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Did you find your other dead gobies? Because it’s quite possible if you never found one that the other is alive and killed it.
Could also be a mantis shrimp though, living in the rocks......
My Tank is still growing coral so it would be easy to spot another goby as it mostly rock and sand bed, especially the mess they make. I did live in hope it was alive but I haven't seen it for 7 months hence the replacement.
 
Upvote 0
U

User1

Guest
View Badges
I'd wager as already noted that the split you are showing is from other fish and inverts. Highly likely from hermit crabs, cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, or other similar shrimp. Easier access and animals are not dumb. Look at Mother Nature be it a wolf or hawk. Belly first unless you have to swallow it whole..
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
AllanPritchard

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I don't have hermet crabs, peppermint, or cleaner Shrimp. Would a boxer Shrimp pray on other fish ? or would the goby have died and it just took the opportunity for a meal ?
 
Upvote 0
U

User1

Guest
View Badges
I don't have hermet crabs, peppermint, or cleaner Shrimp. Would a boxer Shrimp pray on other fish ? or would the goby have died and it just took the opportunity for a meal ?
By boxer shrimp you mean the mantis type? If so then no, those feeding marks do not reflect how the mantis eats. At least what little I know.

I think sometimes the banded coral shrimp comes up has a boxer also. If you mean the red and white shrimp looking lad with the longer arms with pointy things at the end then yes, it would make those markings and feeding patterns (pincers).

I can't say how the fish died but I will say that smaller fish provide others an opportunity of a free meal. I think fish may also know if it is somewhat save to eat and know what parts to go for. Stomach is first usually... Again I can't say one way or another but having been in the hobby for a bit and seeing similar in both fresh water and salt I lean towards a death for X reason and food presenting it self to the various clean up crews.

I think other animals be it coral or larger fish it would have been swallowed or gone completely.
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
AllanPritchard

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
By boxer shrimp you mean the mantis type? If so then no, those feeding marks do not reflect how the mantis eats. At least what little I know.

I think sometimes the banded coral shrimp comes up has a boxer also. If you mean the red and white shrimp looking lad with the longer arms with pointy things at the end then yes, it would make those markings and feeding patterns (pincers).

I can't say how the fish died but I will say that smaller fish provide others an opportunity of a free meal. I think fish may also know if it is somewhat save to eat and know what parts to go for. Stomach is first usually... Again I can't say one way or another but having been in the hobby for a bit and seeing similar in both fresh water and salt I lean towards a death for X reason and food presenting it self to the various clean up crews.

I think other animals be it coral or larger fish it would have been swallowed or gone completely.
Yes, Banded coral Shrimp. I guess its demise will remain a mystery. Its a shame really as I really like them as fish and have been on my wish list for awhile but like all livestock in New Zealand they are expensive and hard to get, that little fella was $150 nz ($105 US) .
 
Upvote 0

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,833
Reaction score
200,078
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Any fish and inverts including snails will scavenge on it upon death which is considered natural.
 
Upvote 0

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,847
Reaction score
13,285
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I suppose I should have placed the order yesterday. I waited until this morning and some other lucky customer got the gobies. I was pretty hyped about this one, but I'll just wait until the next sale...
The group of South American Puffers look real nice on Diver's Den, but I'm afraid all my freshwater tanks are fully stocked, and/or have breeding cichlids. ;)
 
Upvote 0

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,847
Reaction score
13,285
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I suppose I should have placed the order yesterday. I waited until this morning and some other lucky customer got the gobies. I was pretty hyped about this one, but I'll just wait until the next sale...
The group of South American Puffers look real nice on Diver's Den, but I'm afraid all my freshwater tanks are fully stocked, and/or have breeding cichlids. ;)
Wrong thread sorry.
 
Upvote 1

Cole.mormon

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 26, 2020
Messages
1,532
Reaction score
484
Location
Gainesville,texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a banded coral shrimp
Dosent eat anything just scavenges
But yes. That is from a banded coral shrimp, notice the curve shape in the stomach. That comes from the tooth in the claw. How large are they?
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
AllanPritchard

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a banded coral shrimp
Dosent eat anything just scavenges
But yes. That is from a banded coral shrimp, notice the curve shape in the stomach. That comes from the tooth in the claw. How large are they?
The shrimp is about 100mm long in the body. Hopefully just a scavenger too, nothing else has died in the tank since so I have no idea what caused its demise. I am pretty sure my previous fish fatalities were due to a blue tang that chased everything and ate the tails of several chromis but I moved him along a wee while ago.
 
Upvote 0

Tired

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 29, 2020
Messages
4,016
Reaction score
4,104
Location
Central Texas
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Banded coral shrimp are opportunists, and will kill small fish if they get the chance. Don't keep them with small fish.

However, I would expect one to have eaten more of the goby, if it had been the culprit. They also don't slice with their claws, they grip. That looks like, as said above, scavenging damage from hermit crabs and other things. The goby died of something else.
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
AllanPritchard

AllanPritchard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
136
Reaction score
269
Location
Blackball, NZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Banded coral shrimp are opportunists, and will kill small fish if they get the chance. Don't keep them with small fish.

However, I would expect one to have eaten more of the goby, if it had been the culprit. They also don't slice with their claws, they grip. That looks like, as said above, scavenging damage from hermit crabs and other things. The goby died of something else.

There are no hermit crabs in the tank (not available in NZ unless you collect from beach yourself), only scavengers are some bristle tooth worms and the shrimp. I do have two small Banggai cardinals and the smaller one seems to love swimming in the cave where the shrimp lives. For the last 6 weeks it has survived so I'm guessing its not on the shrimps hit list. As I said there have been no other deaths since and the goby only survived 3 days after quarantine, I doubt it was starvation as it wasn't that skinny so it must have been either some for of stress issue or it ate something that caused its death??.
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top