Missing Diamond Goby

[brandong]

Hey everyone,

I could use a little advice. My Diamond Watchman Goby has been completely missing for about 7 days now, and I haven’t seen a single sign of him.

Here’s the setup and situation:
• Tank: 30-gallon reef (about 2 1/2 months old, WITH A LID)
• Other fish: 2 Ocellaris clowns + a firefish and Midas Blenny
• Cleanup crew: hermits, snails, cleaner shrimp
• Water parameters: Ammonia 0.0, Nitrite 0.0, Nitrate ~8 ppm, Phosphate ~0.16, Alkalinity 9.3, Magnesium 1500, Calcium 560, pH 8.0, Salinity 1.025

I added him in and the first 2 days he was digging and sifting the sand until he made his burrow.
There’s one main rock structure in the center with multiple burrow openings around it now — it was his home before he disappeared. My firefish has been hanging out inside one of the burrow entrances lately, but I haven’t seen any sand movement, new tunnels, or clean patches since the goby vanished.

It’s been a full week with no sign of him (not even at night or during feeding), but my ammonia is still zero, so I’m not sure if he’s just super deep in the rockwork or if something happened to him down there.

I’m leaving for a 4-day trip tomorrow, and I’m debating if I should just leave things alone or try to look for him before I go (I have someone feeding the tank). I don’t want to disturb the rocks and risk collapsing anything if he’s still alive under there.

Has anyone had a diamond goby go missing this long and reappear later? Should I be doing anything specific before I leave, or just stay patient and hope he shows up?

 

[lapin]

I would let it be. it will come out on its own if its alive. If not then you will need to buy a new fish. Sometimes fish make stupid moves. Not unlike people in some ways.

 

[brandong]

I would let it be. it will come out on its own if its alive. If not then you will need to buy a new fish. Sometimes fish make stupid moves.

i just don’t want an ammonia spike when I am gone the next few days, just kinda nervous

 

[KrisReef]

i just don’t want an ammonia spike when I am gone the next few days, just kinda nervous

If it is dead and you don’t have a spike now your cleaning crew has already done its job, otherwise it will show up again soon.

 

[lapin]

Ya,like said above, your tank has all ready fixed the problem if its 3 months old