Dracula goby disease?

mpw213

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 28, 2025
Messages
132
Reaction score
102
Location
Cleveland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi everyone. Looking for some guidance on my Dracula goby. He has some marks on the face but I can’t tell if there’s anything wrong with it. It’s acting 100% normal and eats like crazy. No marks on the body or fins.

I probably wouldn’t think twice about it but I lost a white cap goby like 2 weeks ago , not sure why but it just looked really beat up with tattered fins one day and died overnight. And last week my clown goby died. He had been rubbing against rocks for about 2 months but still eating. I treated with 2 doses of prazi pro last month but didn’t seem to make a difference. I did notice that none of my bristle worms died when I dosed so it makes me question if it worked at all or maybe there just were no parasites.


20260519_124327_BCE8B608-B3A9-44C5-93C2-8F7B683FC72D.png
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,586
Reaction score
37,384
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi everyone. Looking for some guidance on my Dracula goby. He has some marks on the face but I can’t tell if there’s anything wrong with it. It’s acting 100% normal and eats like crazy. No marks on the body or fins.

I probably wouldn’t think twice about it but I lost a white cap goby like 2 weeks ago , not sure why but it just looked really beat up with tattered fins one day and died overnight. And last week my clown goby died. He had been rubbing against rocks for about 2 months but still eating. I treated with 2 doses of prazi pro last month but didn’t seem to make a difference. I did notice that none of my bristle worms died when I dosed so it makes me question if it worked at all or maybe there just were no parasites.


20260519_124327_BCE8B608-B3A9-44C5-93C2-8F7B683FC72D.png

Could your goby have had a run-in with a bristleworm?

Prazi doesn’t kill worms, only stuns them. With flukes, that makes them fall off the fish, then they cannot reattach. With bristleworms, they just get sleepy for a bit then recover.
 
OP
OP
M

mpw213

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 28, 2025
Messages
132
Reaction score
102
Location
Cleveland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi everyone. Looking for some guidance on my Dracula goby. He has some marks on the face but I can’t tell if there’s anything wrong with it. It’s acting 100% normal and eats like crazy. No marks on the body or fins.

I probably wouldn’t think twice about it but I lost a white cap goby like 2 weeks ago , not sure why but it just looked really beat up with tattered fins one day and died overnight. And last week my clown goby died. He had been rubbing against rocks for about 2 months but still eating. I treated with 2 doses of prazi pro last month but didn’t seem to make a difference. I did notice that none of my bristle worms died when I dosed so it makes me question if it worked at all or maybe there just were no parasites.


20260519_124327_BCE8B608-B3A9-44C5-93C2-8F7B683FC72D.png

Could your goby have had a run-in with a bristleworm?

Prazi doesn’t kill worms, only stuns them. With flukes, that makes them fall off the fish, then they cannot reattach. With bristleworms, they just get sleepy for a bit then recover.
I have a lot of worms in there and there were a TON out last Friday when the clown died so maybe that is what happened. I figure it should resolve on its own then? The tank is small so very likely he has rubbed against them
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,586
Reaction score
37,384
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a lot of worms in there and there were a TON out last Friday when the clown died so maybe that is what happened. I figure it should resolve on its own then? The tank is small so very likely he has rubbed against them

If it was bristleworms, since it is still eating, it will be fine. However, since you had fish die, there could be something else cooking in there, but that isn’t clear to me…..
 
OP
OP
M

mpw213

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 28, 2025
Messages
132
Reaction score
102
Location
Cleveland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a lot of worms in there and there were a TON out last Friday when the clown died so maybe that is what happened. I figure it should resolve on its own then? The tank is small so very likely he has rubbed against them

If it was bristleworms, since it is still eating, it will be fine. However, since you had fish die, there could be something else cooking in there, but that isn’t clear to me…..
Yeah that is what I’m worried about. The clown goby was rubbing and that is why I gave the prazi (which you helped with, thanks again!). The white cap was more unexpected and still not sure what happened. Below is how it looked when it first showed signs of being sick and it died very shortly after.

20260519_150403_FA3ED48B-DAD9-4B8F-9A8B-E2086340101A.png
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,586
Reaction score
37,384
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yeah that is what I’m worried about. The clown goby was rubbing and that is why I gave the prazi (which you helped with, thanks again!). The white cap was more unexpected and still not sure what happened. Below is how it looked when it first showed signs of being sick and it died very shortly after.

20260519_150403_FA3ED48B-DAD9-4B8F-9A8B-E2086340101A.png

I see physical damage. It probably had gotten attacked by another fish, but it might also have gotten picked on by some CUC while it was actively dying.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHAT AMOUNT OF LIVE ROCK AND SAND SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED FOR OPTIMAL BIODIVERSITY/FILTRATION?

  • 100% live rock + bagged sand

    Votes: 38 27.1%
  • 100% dry rock + 100% live sand

    Votes: 47 33.6%
  • 50/50 live/dry rock, 50/50 live/bagged sand

    Votes: 31 22.1%
  • 75% live rock, 25% live sand

    Votes: 14 10.0%
  • 25% live rock, 75% live sand

    Votes: 10 7.1%
Back
Top