My tiger watchman goby died.

[stanleo]

I am having a hard time understanding why. Tank is a year old doing well. All the other fish are happy. I had him about six months. Sand bed is four inches and hosts two conchs, some nassarius snails and a sand sifting starfish. Other tank mates are pajama cardinals, a yellow tang, a clown, a glass cardinal, a ruby fin wrasse, long spine black urchin, astrea snails, hermits, 2 emerald crabs. Yesterday he looked fine, eating, swimming, sand sifting, no signs of disease. Tank is 120 gallons with a fuge that is loaded with micro fauna including mysis shrimp, and sump.

I did my weekly tests yesterday and these are the results so I don't think it was that.

Temp 78F
Salinity 35 ppt
pH 8.1 API
Alkalinity 9.8 dKH Red Sea
Calcium 420 ppm Red Sea
Magnesium 1440 ppm Red Sea
Phosphate .1 ppm Salifert
Nitrate 2 ppm Salifert

I have a chart documenting my test results for the last four months of tests I can post that if it helps.

The only thing I can think is the sand bed didn't have enough food for him. I feed the tank a cube a day of frozen mysis, brine or plankton with varying sizes and every time he took his share. Also would eat the flakes I feed every day. I do lightly vacuum the bed every two weeks at water changes so that could have something to do with it?

The only recent changes are that I started dosing calcium daily after the test last week indicated that my water changes were no longer keeping calcium up.

I am so bummed, he was so pretty. I want to get another one some time but not if it is just going to die in 6 months as well.

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your loss. Here's some info that changed the way I feed my fish. I know my pink spot goby loves when I feed the tank frozen half clams on the shell. Clearly it likes protein.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/preparing-frozen-foods-for-my-fish-and-corals.277/

 

[Crabby48]

Sorry for your loss. Mystery losses make it a little worse not knowing.