Diamond Goby - Less Active & Color Darkening

[petoskeyfish]

Our diamond goby has been acting weird the past couple of days. We have had him for about 8 months and he has grown a ton but seems to be short of breath and less active in the last couple of days. Last night he seemed 'frozen' at a part of the tank he is not usually in, mouth wide open, not moving. He did not eat when we fed this morning (frozen - brine shrimp and spirulina) but usually does. We checked nitrate and all of our levels seem normal.

We are first-time posters and new to all things related to fish and saltwater tanks -- we moved into a house a year ago with an established (~ 4 years) 120-gallon tank.
He was the first fish that we added to the tank so we hope we can do something to keep him alive Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Our diamond goby has been acting weird the past couple of days. We have had him for about 8 months and he has grown a ton but seems to be short of breath and less active in the last couple of days. Last night he seemed 'frozen' at a part of the tank he is not usually in, mouth wide open, not moving. He did not eat when we fed this morning (frozen - brine shrimp and spirulina) but usually does. We checked nitrate and all of our levels seem normal.

We are first-time posters and new to all things related to fish and saltwater tanks -- we moved into a house a year ago with an established (~ 4 years) 120-gallon tank.
He was the first fish that we added to the tank so we hope we can do something to keep him alive Thank you in advance for your help!

Check for signs of:
Elevated
Temperature
Salinity
Ammonia
Oh
Nitrate
Additionally if you can get a good visual on fish, they often succumb to bacterial issues. See if any signs sting face or jaw
A water change would not hurt as would adding an airstone for added oxygen and air exchange

 

[petoskeyfish]

Check for signs of:
Elevated
Temperature
Salinity
Ammonia
Oh
Nitrate
Additionally if you can get a good visual on fish, they often succumb to bacterial issues. See if any signs sting face or jaw
A water change would not hurt as would adding an airstone for added oxygen and air exchange

Thank you so much. What would the sting face/jaw look like? Now that I see it, it does look like black in his mouth/throat.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you so much. What would the sting face/jaw look like? Now that I see it, it does look like black in his mouth/throat.

Dark or cotton like

 

[petoskeyfish]

Dark or cotton like

Yep I think that’s it.. just got home from work and he doesn’t seem to be doing great. Still breathing, jaw wide open, not moving much and getting darker in color. We’re doing a water change. Let me know if you have any other recommendations Thank you

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yep I think that’s it.. just got home from work and he doesn’t seem to be doing great. Still breathing, jaw wide open, not moving much and getting darker in color. We’re doing a water change. Let me know if you have any other recommendations Thank you

Other suggestion would be treament with Ruby Rally pro. Generally I dont recommend it but it is reef safe and addresses bacterial issues without stressing the fish further with netting and quarantine.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yep I think that’s it.. just got home from work and he doesn’t seem to be doing great. Still breathing, jaw wide open, not moving much and getting darker in color. We’re doing a water change. Let me know if you have any other recommendations Thank you

What other fish are in with it?
Any symptoms with them?
Can you post a short video?

Jay

 

[petoskeyfish]

Yep I think that’s it.. just got home from work and he doesn’t seem to be doing great. Still breathing, jaw wide open, not moving much and getting darker in color. We’re doing a water change. Let me know if you have any other recommendations Thank you

What other fish are in with it?
Any symptoms with them?
Can you post a short video?

Jay

1 copperband
2 clownfish
1 dragonet
4 chromis
1 yellow clown goby (I think that’s the name-
really tiny)
1 tomini tang
All have been together for 6+ months and no symptoms with any others!

we did add nassarius snails, hermit crabs, turbo snails, and conch for help with some green hair algae recently. Another thing I just realized is that i heard a splash the other day— after reading other stories I’m wondering if he jumped and got hurt on the way back in? Our tank is closed in so he didn’t fall out. I don’t know if that’s possible but I’m trying to figure out anything at this point!

thank you so much for your help!!!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry, I've got nothing here!

Most of the problems we see here are due to diseases that get into a tank due to no, or improper quarantine. That doesn't seem to be the case here, since the other fish (especially the delicate copperband) are not showing issues.

After the timeline you have seen - 4+ months, I'm, at a loss as to say what could be happening...most contagious diseases would show up long before then.

Jay

 

[petoskeyfish]

Sorry, I've got nothing here!

Most of the problems we see here are due to diseases that get into a tank due to no, or improper quarantine. That doesn't seem to be the case here, since the other fish (especially the delicate copperband) are not showing issues.

After the timeline you have seen - 4+ months, I'm, at a loss as to say what could be happening...most contagious diseases would show up long before then.

Jay

No worries, thank you for trying!