Help ID Redness on Yellow Watchman Goby

[Bob Wiley]

I had to laugh when you mentioned using Tupperware for the tank. Did you see the thread where the OP asked about the kinda of kitchen stuff people use in their tanks (and then put the stuff back)? That was so funny. You can add this to the thread! Haha.

I did not! And I would definitely never put the stuff back! I'm sure we have some "lesser" tupperware laying around, like these containers for deli meat, which won't be missed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I think I will dredge up a piece of tupperware and get some sand out of my DT tomorrow. (Shudders at the thought of getting into the tupperware cabinet).

Any recommendations on size of tupperware or amount of sand? I'm assuming "small" and enough for an inch deep? He's still small. Probably about 2" long.



Yeah, good call. Fortunately we're at least two weeks away from adding the goby anyway. And you're right I don't want to put him in the DT until I know for sure he's good to go.

So would you recommend not doing the second dose of GC this weekend and instead just do a large water change and place carbon in the filter to try and get all meds out of the water? And then just observe all the fish and see how they do?

A 6x6” container should be sufficient

 

[Karen00]

I did not! And I would definitely never put the stuff back! I'm sure we have some "lesser" tupperware laying around, like these containers for deli meat, which won't be missed.

Haha. I think some of it was permanently confiscated for the tanks, other stuff was put back (washed) and some seemed to disappear permanently. I use a coffee mug to get water out of my tiny 2g and admittedly have reused it for coffee (after cleaning it of course) but I'm the only one that uses it so I guess I'm the only one that could possibly get sick. LOL At any rate the disposable ones are even better. :) Hopefully it works! I will be watching this to see how it goes for the little guy!

 

[Lasse]

I am a big proponent of gradually changing the water with the help of water from the display tank at the end of the quarantine period. This is to gradually make the fish accustomed (immune) to the microbiological fauna in the display tank. Your introduction of sand from the display tank will serve the same purpose. In my experience, it is at least as common for the old fish to infect the new ones as the other way around. In your case, it is a completely new aquarium - there is probably not much risk of infection from the existing aquarium.

There is also a lot of indications that the bullying behavior from existing fish will be lesser if you do this way. IMO - it is because the fishes will get the same smell. I did a lot of experiments with this and aggressive african cichlids in the 80ties when we need to introduce new members in existing groups.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Bob Wiley]

I am a big proponent of gradually changing the water with the help of water from the display tank at the end of the quarantine period. This is to gradually make the fish accustomed (immune) to the microbiological fauna in the display tank.

Excellent idea. I hadn't thought of doing that. I was just going to make sure salinity and temperature matched between the two. But this makes a lot of sense, thanks!

Your introduction of sand from the display tank will serve the same purpose. In my experience, it is at least as common for the old fish to infect the new ones as the other way around. In your case, it is a completely new aquarium - there is probably not much risk of infection from the existing aquarium.

Yep, there's only a peppermint shrimp in there. And the only reason its in there already is because it molted within week of getting it. So I'm pretty confident it came in without any tomonts (and it has since molted 4 or 5 times in the DT).

There is also a lot of indications that the bullying behavior from existing fish will be lesser if you do this way. IMO - it is because the fishes will get the same smell. I did a lot of experiments with this and aggressive african cichlids in the 80ties when we need to introduce new members in existing groups.

Sincerely Lasse

Makes sense

 

[Bob Wiley]

I made it back from the tupperware cabinet. Hoping to have some good candidates. I wasn't sure how deep the sand needed to be, so on the way out I grabbed some lids that had viable depth to them. I'm also not sure how much I can expect the sand to spill over, either when placing the container into the water, or when the powerhead is blowing, or if the fish will make a mess. So maybe deeper-and-half-filled is a better way to go.

Anyway, let me know if any/all of these make sense!

cc/ @Karen00 , @vetteguy53081

Dimensions

	Length	Width	Depth
A	4.75"	5.75"	2"
B	4.5"	6.5"	1.5"
C	5"	5"	0.75"
D	6"	6"	0.75"
E	4.5"	6.5"	0.75"

 

[vetteguy53081]

B

 

[Karen00]

I made it back from the tupperware cabinet. Hoping to have some good candidates. I wasn't sure how deep the sand needed to be, so on the way out I grabbed some lids that had viable depth to them. I'm also not sure how much I can expect the sand to spill over, either when placing the container into the water, or when the powerhead is blowing, or if the fish will make a mess. So maybe deeper-and-half-filled is a better way to go.

Anyway, let me know if any/all of these make sense!

cc/ @Karen00 , @vetteguy53081

Dimensions

	Length	Width	Depth
A	4.75"	5.75"	2"
B	4.5"	6.5"	1.5"
C	5"	5"	0.75"
D	6"	6"	0.75"
E	4.5"	6.5"	0.75"

I'd say B as well and if your sand isn't too fine it shouldn't be blown around. You should be good filling it to maybe 1/4" below the top although I'm sure doing just 1" depth will be fine as well. There might be a bit he tracks out but there shouldn't be much. This gives hit a bit of room to roam.

You can try submerging it with the lid mostly on so water creeps in slowly so as not to have the sand flush all over the place as you place it.

Not sure how you're feeding him but you can try putting his food in it so he finds it faster. This worked for me before. I was feeding frozen so it stayed in the container which made it easier.

 

[Bob Wiley]

Alright, we placed the sandbox in there on Saturday (6 days ago). I call it the litter box because, well, it looks like a litter box. @Karen00 , I took your advice and inverted the lid as I placed it in the water. Zero sand blowout. [thumbs-up-emoji]

It took three days before anyone got up the nerve to venture into the litter box. And when they did, it was—

—the smallest fry in the tank—the Barnacle Blenny!

Word must have gotten around town that this was the new hangout, though, because within a day the YWG was also spotted checking it out—

Now the problem is that he won't come out of there. And he conveniently hides behind/under the pipe so that you cannot see him. It's hard for me to know if he's eating (I do make sure to drop some food into his box when feeding) and even harder for me to keep an eye on the redness that started this all off. So as far as an update goes on that front, I have none.

On an unrelated note, we moved the two clowns from this QT to the DT earlier today. If there was any territorial aggression towards the YWG from the clowns, then moving them out could be beneficial as well.

 

[Karen00]

Alright, we placed the sandbox in there on Saturday (6 days ago). I call it the litter box because, well, it looks like a litter box. @Karen00 , I took your advice and inverted the lid as I placed it in the water. Zero sand blowout. [thumbs-up-emoji]

It took three days before anyone got up the nerve to venture into the litter box. And when they did, it was—

—the smallest fry in the tank—the Barnacle Blenny!

Word must have gotten around town that this was the new hangout, though, because within a day the YWG was also spotted checking it out—

Now the problem is that he won't come out of there. And he conveniently hides behind/under the pipe so that you cannot see him. It's hard for me to know if he's eating (I do make sure to drop some food into his box when feeding) and even harder for me to keep an eye on the redness that started this all off. So as far as an update goes on that front, I have none.

On an unrelated note, we moved the two clowns from this QT to the DT earlier today. If there was any territorial aggression towards the YWG from the clowns, then moving them out could be beneficial as well.

Build it and they will come and boy are they coming! It looks like you have a new ecosystem developing in that sandbox. Kind of reminds me of how everyone wants to be in the kitchen at every party. I think we found the kitchen at this party!! Haha.

So glad there was no sand blow out! Getting sand in after the fact can be a pain! I'm also glad to hear the clowns are out and into the DT. That is another possible stressor out of the equation.

That pic of the blenny made me smile!! Geez I love gobies, blennies, etc. so much and that little blenny is so cute!

Well this is a good thing but maybe too much of a good thing? It's obviously doing exactly what we wanted (put the YWG at ease) but has the unintended consequence of doing the opposite of what a QT tank is meant to do and that's to be able to observe the inhabitants. Haha. This is what we call a conundrum. I would say leave him maybe a day or two and hopefully once he has settled and feels at home he'll make an appearance. I would say if he doesn't you at least have the ability to lift the pipe to check on him but hopefully you don't have to do that because of course that might scare/stress him and that is exactly what we're trying to avoid.

I would also say that if the sandbox is starting to cause you stress because it's hampering your ability to make sure he's eating and to be able to check on that red spot then you might have to remove it because that would be conundrum #2. That being by relieving the stress of the goby you have created stress for you. Hopefully this doesn't happen. I really feel this is what the YWG needs to get through this (and apparently the blenny). Haha.

Thank you for this update (I was getting a bit concerned)! Keep them, and the pics, coming.

 

[Bob Wiley]

From this morning, a good look at him perching—

Left side​

Right side​

A little gif of him having enough of me

 

[Karen00]

From this morning, a good look at him perching—

Left side​

Right side​

A little gif of him having enough of me

Wow! Is the red spot gone? I don't see it anymore. He looks so good and so happy compared to the original pics where he looked a little sad.

 

[Bob Wiley]

He definitely looks better than before.
I'd like to see him eat, though. Both to actually see him eat and to see if those areas get flush with blood still. I wish we were ready for him to go into the DT because we have a pistol shrimp going in there tomorrow.

 

[Karen00]

He definitely looks better than before.
I'd like to see him eat, though. Both to actually see him eat and to see if those areas get flush with blood still. I wish we were ready for him to go into the DT because we have a pistol shrimp going in there tomorrow.

That's good about the red spot (fingers crossed)! I agree about eating and hopefully not seeing that spot again although maybe the spot is nothing to worry about at this point meaning it's not disease or parasites but maybe just a reaction like we can get a flushing of the skin. As for food are you target feeding him or just putting food down?

 

[Karen00]

Oh and I know Jay commented on keeping him in quarantine longer because of this red spot but if it looks like it has gone (permanently) or it reappears but really looks like it's not disease/parasite related then maybe he can go into your DT sooner to be with the shrimp. Hopefully Jay is still viewing this and can comment. We can tag him if needed. I just looked at all of your original pics and he really does look like a different goby now.

 

[Bob Wiley]

As for food are you target feeding him or just putting food down?

I don't have a baster for this QT to target feed (but do for the DT), however I can get the LRS food bits to drop into the box pretty accurately. I know he likes to chomp on bigger pieces, so when I get one of those I'll release it over the box.

Oh and I know Jay commented on keeping him in quarantine longer because of this red spot but if it looks like it has gone (permanently) or it reappears but really looks like it's not disease/parasite related then maybe he can go into your DT sooner to be with the shrimp.

The other thing with moving him into the DT is that it's a new tank and I don't want to overload the system by adding too much at one time. So my plan is to introduce the fish slowly (~every week).

With the clowns joining the existing peppermint shrimp this weekend, and tomorrow the addition of the hermits and a pistol shrimp, I want to see how the tank reacts. If we're good by midweek/next weekend we'll add the blenny. I don't think he will add much to the bio load, so by the time we add the firefish or the goby, the DT will have had 2 weeks to adjust to the increase. This also has the added benefit of giving me a little extra time to observe the firefish and the goby in QT.

I read somewhere that the YWG and the pistol shrimp will find each other eventually, so it doesn't matter if you don't add them at the same time. I could be wrong on that, though...

 

[Karen00]

I don't have a baster for this QT to target feed (but do for the DT), however I can get the LRS food bits to drop into the box pretty accurately. I know he likes to chomp on bigger pieces, so when I get one of those I'll release it over the box.



The other thing with moving him into the DT is that it's a new tank and I don't want to overload the system by adding too much at one time. So my plan is to introduce the fish slowly (~every week).

With the clowns joining the existing peppermint shrimp this weekend, and tomorrow the addition of the hermits and a pistol shrimp, I want to see how the tank reacts. If we're good by midweek/next weekend we'll add the blenny. I don't think he will add much to the bio load, so by the time we add the firefish or the goby, the DT will have had 2 weeks to adjust to the increase. This also has the added benefit of giving me a little extra time to observe the firefish and the goby in QT.

I read somewhere that the YWG and the pistol shrimp will find each other eventually, so it doesn't matter if you don't add them at the same time. I could be wrong on that, though...

Totally agree on not adding too much too soon. Been there, done that, not good results and it was a mature tank. You're right about them finding one another eventually. Obviously anything is possible and it doesn't happen but I'm sure that's on the rare side. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out and my fingers are crossed he keeps looking the way he does today. Seeing him perching in that pic was fabulous!

 

[Bob Wiley]

We are officially in the DT.

I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but considering the firefish's fate I didn't want to mess around with the YWG in QT much longer. The DT has held up with all the new additions in the past week (added the clowns 7 days ago; pistol shrimp and hermit crabs 5 days ago) so we felt comfortable adding the YWG and the barnacle blenny tonight.

Since the firefish died 5 days ago, we removed all of the pipes from the QT, including the one in the sandbox that the YWG used for hiding behind. Once we removed his hiding spot he never went back in the sandbox. Instead he would hide out in the "tunnel" created by the lip of the sandbox up against the glass of the tank.

Yesterday​

This was fine, but we didn't see him eat much, if at all, this whole week. Furthermore when he would come out we noticed he was pale. Sometimes not even yellow.

Yesterday​

His redness was gone, except for one little spot in the right corner of his mouth.

Yesterday​

I don't know if he was stressed, or hungry, or something else, but I just felt that what he might need now is just to get into a normal tank with real sand and real hiding spots.

Tonight after capturing him in the QT

An underbelly shot looking for any more redness
​

The moment they got added to the DT—

​

And then he went for the nearest cave to hide in. Good thing the pistol shrimp has been digging away all week!

​

You can see in this last clip how pale/gray he's become. I've read that females are gray with the three stripes along its back. And that these fish can change from male to female. But I think what's more likely here is just a stress-reaction. When it settles into its new home I would not be surprised if it goes back to being yellow.

And here's some bonus shots/footage of the barnacle blenny, also going into the DT tonight.

​

After being introduced to the tank he hung out in this corner for a bit. We turned the lights off after about 5-10 minutes of adding them and he soon moved under a conch shell. We're hopeful that he'll make his way up to the rock work and find his forever home in any of the holes.

 

[Bob Wiley]

From yesterday—




And today—





And some pictures from the last time I was by the tank an hour ago—

You can see that while the red dot is still in the corner of his mouth, his yellow-ness is at least coming back.

 

[Bob Wiley]

Saw something odd the other day. The goby was standing guard at the mouth of a cave. He was perfectly still, as he's prone to do, so I briefly glanced around the rest of the tank. When I came back to him, he was on his side, motionless, and the pistol shrimp was clawing at his belly. I panicked. He looked dead and I was watching his supposed buddy feast on him. Before I could do anything he flipped upright, the shrimp scurried back into his cave with the goby following behind, hovering backwards into it.

What the heck was that all about???

Is this what goes on down there in those caves?