Treatment for Engineer Goby

TrishK

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So I’ve noticed one of my Engineer gobies hiding in the back of the tank during feeding time so I sat back and watched him for a bit and observed my Moorish Idol coming over several times biting at him :( I decided to take him out of the tank and put him in a hospital tank and once I had him under white light I was horrified by his poor tail. Apparently the MI has been picking on him for awhile. What can I put in the tank to help his poor tail heal? He seems happier already but I’ll have to keep an eye on his buddy to make sure he’s not being picked on too. This is new as I’ve had the MI a year and the engineer gobies have always swam all over the tank. Only recently have they been hiding like this. Any ideas?

72BD5915-D1AA-45D5-A644-A86A08D4DF07.jpeg
 

Karen00

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Oh my gosh! Gobies are my favorite of all creatures. I always get teary eyed when I see injured gobies. I think the biggest concern is infection so very clean water and possibly selcon added to the food. I'm sure antibiotics are needed but I will let the experts speak to that... @Jay Hemdal

I hope this little guy recovers. I'm not sure about him and the MI going forward. Now that the MI has taken to picking on him it might not stop.
 
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TrishK

TrishK

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Oh my gosh! Gobies are my favorite of all creatures. I always get teary eyed when I see injured gobies. I think the biggest concern is infection so very clean water and possibly selcon added to the food. I'm sure antibiotics are needed but I will let the experts speak to that... @Jay Hemdal

I hope this little guy recovers. I'm not sure about him and the MI going forward. Now that the MI has taken to picking on him it might not stop.

Yes I always put Selcon in the food anyway but wasn’t sure what type of antibiotic might be needed. Definitely keeping an eye on his buddy. We have another 65 gallon Fish only tank but we already have two eng gobies in it and these two in the 180 are big guys so I’m not sure where I can put them if they can’t go back with the MI. I don’t know what made him to start this behavior as we’ve had him a year and the gobies we had way before him
 
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Yes I always put Selcon in the food anyway but wasn’t sure what type of antibiotic might be needed. Definitely keeping an eye on his buddy. We have another 65 gallon Fish only tank but we already have two eng gobies in it and these two in the 180 are big guys so I’m not sure where I can put them if they can’t go back with the MI. I don’t know what made him to start this behavior as we’ve had him a year and the gobies we had way before him

I guess I was wondering if maybe the goby was sick or pregnant and just laying about a lot and that made the MI have this odd attack behavior, I don’t know. It’s our first time owning both type of fish.
 
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TrishK

TrishK

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They both love the pellets that I feed and I try to put them in all parts of the tank but maybe that is the problem. The MI sees them as competitors for food. Maybe I need to feed the pellets more than twice a day. They also get sheets of Seaweed and algae and frozen food twice a day.
 

vetteguy53081

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Ouch- that’s soreness
In a separate treat with Maracyn 2 or ruby rally pro for 4-5 days
 

Karen00

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I guess I was wondering if maybe the goby was sick or pregnant and just laying about a lot and that made the MI have this odd attack behavior, I don’t know. It’s our first time owning both type of fish.
It always comes down to the fact these are wild creatures and we never know if/when their behavior will change. It usually seems to happen when they mature and get to breeding age. That's when territorial issues seem to manifest. Everyone seems to get along when they're young. :) The best we can do is have a backup plan (different tank, new tank, rehome). Hopefully Jay responds soon. Thankfully you got him out in time!
 

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Karen00

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Keep us updated. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this little guy! We're so lucky as a community to have experts across all disciplines but doubly so to have experts to help us with sick/injured inhabitants!!
 
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I put a big log in the DT so the other goby can hide in case he’s being picked on as well.
 

Jay Hemdal

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So I’ve noticed one of my Engineer gobies hiding in the back of the tank during feeding time so I sat back and watched him for a bit and observed my Moorish Idol coming over several times biting at him :( I decided to take him out of the tank and put him in a hospital tank and once I had him under white light I was horrified by his poor tail. Apparently the MI has been picking on him for awhile. What can I put in the tank to help his poor tail heal? He seems happier already but I’ll have to keep an eye on his buddy to make sure he’s not being picked on too. This is new as I’ve had the MI a year and the engineer gobies have always swam all over the tank. Only recently have they been hiding like this. Any ideas?

72BD5915-D1AA-45D5-A644-A86A08D4DF07.jpeg
I’m struggling to figure out how the idol could have caused the primary damage here - with the engineer goby tucked away in its burrow, the tail should have been out of the idols reach. I have seen issues with ribbon eels, where they didn’t realize their tails were exposed and other fish then picked on them….
Jay
 
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TrishK

TrishK

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Our gobies don’t hide in burrows. They host a large elegance coral and that’s pretty much where they stay all the time. The Idol is definitely at fault as just the few minutes I stood there I watched him bite him on the back and then grip the back of his tail, hang on and kind of shake him around before letting go.
 

ReefHog

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I would start feeding the MI four times a day. They have a high metabolism and seem to do better with multiple feedings. Mine eats four times a day plus a sheet of nori. More food may keep him focused away from your gobies. I have two engineers as well with mi MI.
 
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TrishK

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The only other fish we have that would be capable would be our blue hippo tang. She is half the size of our Idol (he is HUGE) and she is scared of her own shadow and I’ve never seen her mess with anyone. She literally hides in the rocks when anyone other than me just steps close to the tank. So I don’t know. I just know that both gobies have been hiding in the back away from their usual spot (the elegance coral) and this particular one was just laying breathing heavy like he was on the verge of dying or something making him an easy target for the Idol to come pick on him today.
 
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TrishK

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I should also add the gobies are over 12” now and pretty thick so they don’t really fit under the rock work or in burrows anymore
 
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TrishK

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I would start feeding the MI four times a day. They have a high metabolism and seem to do better with multiple feedings. Mine eats four times a day plus a sheet of nori. More food may keep him focused away from your gobies. I have two engineers as well with mi MI.

Yeah we give probably 3 sheets of nori in total a day, 2 feedings of frozen and when I feed the pellets twice a day I nearly toss in a handful each time but I’m going to add an extra feeding or two of those and see if it helps. Our MI was the size of a 50 cent piece this time last year and now he’s about 7” or so and soooo thick...he’s a beast lol
 

ReefHog

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I’ve never seen a MI that small. Mines grown a bit and thickened up but he was a decent size when I got him.
EC2EB305-F47F-4C6B-ACFC-7AEE960D745D.png
 
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TrishK

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I’ve never seen a MI that small. Mines grown a bit and thickened up but he was a decent size when I got him.
EC2EB305-F47F-4C6B-ACFC-7AEE960D745D.png

I never even ordered mine. He was sent to me by mistake. Obviously counting his banner and fin he was a little bigger than that but his body was about that size, maybe a little bigger. But he’s grown a ton in just a year. He’s pretty happy so I’m glad he was sent to us even though he’s wiped out my Zoa colonies.
 
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