Hello. My goby died today right in front of me, and all I want to know is why. It happened really fast - less than 30 minutes. Everything in the tank, including four other fish, look fine. Even the dead goby looks fine, apart from it being dead. I'll try my best to organize the information in a way that makes it easier to read.
The tank is around 35 gallons.
The Death
I was on an important conference call today and noticed my yellow watchman goby pop out of its hole and perch in an unusual way. Kind of on its side. It was still moving around and watching out for its pistol shrimp friend, but it wasn't looking right in its movement and the way it stopped and settled.
I observed it, and saw that its breathing rate was normal, if anything it may have been slow. Slow normal. He began to move around the tank and lay at an angle in spots that he normally doesn't visit. At this time, it was very clear that it was in distress.
Finally, he settled in a corner of the tank, and stopped breathing. It's been less than 30 minutes since this story began.
An ORP probe measured a sudden drop in potential right around the time the fish stopped breathing. Nassarius snails activated extremely quickly. Big ones, ones I didn't know I had. I removed the fish from the tank as soon as I could, and shook two snails off of it. 30 minutes have gone by since the time the fish settled in the corner and now.
After the Death
When I pulled the fish out, it looked normal to me. It had a fat belly... but I just assumed that he was well fed. I photographed both sides. I could not see any problem, injury etc. At one point, I noticed a light red spot on the paper towel it was on, which looked like it could be blood. It was a small spot, it may have come from the head/mouth area of the fish.
For the next 30 minutes, nassarius snails swamp the spot the fish died on and roam around the region.
Before the Death
This fish has been in the tank for a little over a year. It had a well established territory, and has been bonded with a pistol shrimp since the first few days of its arrival.
All fish in the tank (including the goby, three fish) had gill flukes. I put the display under PraziPro treatment. Since I don't have a QT, I decided that the best time to introduce new fish is during the PraziPro treatment cycle. After two PraziPro treatments (and associated water changes), I introduced new livestock (two small fish, some coral) and a third round of PraziPro at the same time. All rounds were 6-7 days apart with ~25% WCs in between.
The night that this was performed, I noticed the goby acting a little unusual. It was in a weird spot and laying in a weird way, and letting the cleaner shrimp pick on it. I brushed it off as getting a cleaning. I didn't notice anything unusual beyond that until the incident occurred.
What Happened?
I'm worried for the rest of the fish. I want to know if I made an error. An ammonia badge in the sump did not show a reading, and an API ammonia test also did not show a reading. So I don't think it's that.
If it was something about the water changes, the other fish should have been affected, even just a little bit? Everything looks normal.
I've only ever heard of wrasses being sensitive to Prazi ... but is it possible that this goby was too? The unusual behavior I witness the night before the death wasn't long after the third dose of PraziPro was administered.
What the heck happened??
The tank is around 35 gallons.
The Death
I was on an important conference call today and noticed my yellow watchman goby pop out of its hole and perch in an unusual way. Kind of on its side. It was still moving around and watching out for its pistol shrimp friend, but it wasn't looking right in its movement and the way it stopped and settled.
I observed it, and saw that its breathing rate was normal, if anything it may have been slow. Slow normal. He began to move around the tank and lay at an angle in spots that he normally doesn't visit. At this time, it was very clear that it was in distress.
Finally, he settled in a corner of the tank, and stopped breathing. It's been less than 30 minutes since this story began.
An ORP probe measured a sudden drop in potential right around the time the fish stopped breathing. Nassarius snails activated extremely quickly. Big ones, ones I didn't know I had. I removed the fish from the tank as soon as I could, and shook two snails off of it. 30 minutes have gone by since the time the fish settled in the corner and now.
After the Death
When I pulled the fish out, it looked normal to me. It had a fat belly... but I just assumed that he was well fed. I photographed both sides. I could not see any problem, injury etc. At one point, I noticed a light red spot on the paper towel it was on, which looked like it could be blood. It was a small spot, it may have come from the head/mouth area of the fish.
For the next 30 minutes, nassarius snails swamp the spot the fish died on and roam around the region.
Before the Death
This fish has been in the tank for a little over a year. It had a well established territory, and has been bonded with a pistol shrimp since the first few days of its arrival.
All fish in the tank (including the goby, three fish) had gill flukes. I put the display under PraziPro treatment. Since I don't have a QT, I decided that the best time to introduce new fish is during the PraziPro treatment cycle. After two PraziPro treatments (and associated water changes), I introduced new livestock (two small fish, some coral) and a third round of PraziPro at the same time. All rounds were 6-7 days apart with ~25% WCs in between.
The night that this was performed, I noticed the goby acting a little unusual. It was in a weird spot and laying in a weird way, and letting the cleaner shrimp pick on it. I brushed it off as getting a cleaning. I didn't notice anything unusual beyond that until the incident occurred.
What Happened?
I'm worried for the rest of the fish. I want to know if I made an error. An ammonia badge in the sump did not show a reading, and an API ammonia test also did not show a reading. So I don't think it's that.
If it was something about the water changes, the other fish should have been affected, even just a little bit? Everything looks normal.
I've only ever heard of wrasses being sensitive to Prazi ... but is it possible that this goby was too? The unusual behavior I witness the night before the death wasn't long after the third dose of PraziPro was administered.
What the heck happened??