Two goby deaths back to back

[EvanStorzuk]

A couple months ago I lost my watchman goby, his stomach area was very inflated and he refused to eat. I assume he eventually starved to death. Recently my clown goby had the exact same symptoms and also died. Id like to know what illness this could possibly be and how I can combat it. Is it possible that its something that only effects gobies? As none of my other fish seem to be sick at all.
Thanks alot!

 

[Dom]

Have all of your fish come from the same source?

 

[StorageUnit731]

A couple months ago I lost my watchman goby, his stomach area was very inflated and he refused to eat. I assume he eventually starved to death. Recently my clown goby had the exact same symptoms and also died. Id like to know what illness this could possibly be and how I can combat it. Is it possible that its something that only effects gobies? As none of my other fish seem to be sick at all.
Thanks alot!

I suspect that the afflicted gobies may have succumbed due to just eating remaining food & debris from the filtered sand instead of what would otherwise be diverse microflora & macrofauna in the wild. I suggest feeding live phytoplankton like the varieties made by HomeBrewLiveFeeds. It will treat the gut-rot condition & colonize your tank with beneficial microbes for your Gobies to eat when filtering sand. Their behavior will change immediately for the better. Good luck.

 

[vetteguy53081]

A couple months ago I lost my watchman goby, his stomach area was very inflated and he refused to eat. I assume he eventually starved to death. Recently my clown goby had the exact same symptoms and also died. Id like to know what illness this could possibly be and how I can combat it. Is it possible that its something that only effects gobies? As none of my other fish seem to be sick at all.
Thanks alot!

They are sand sifters and I dont see food contamination from sand as an issue however would you by chance have any pics of them during time you had them?
If you saw dark area by belly, can be a liver issue or if not and were bloated as described, can be constipation or even rectal prolapse if anal area looked any kind of infected
Pictures can often tell a whole lot

 

[Bear22]

Not all Gobies are sand-sifters: E.g., my clown goby never sifts sand, my red-headed goby seldom sifts sand, whereas my hector's goby sifts sand as the day is long.

My hector's and yellow clown goby both have fat bellies. But, I think it's because they are gravid females.

It's hard to get an idea with what went on with your fish without more specifics.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

A couple months ago I lost my watchman goby, his stomach area was very inflated and he refused to eat. I assume he eventually starved to death. Recently my clown goby had the exact same symptoms and also died. Id like to know what illness this could possibly be and how I can combat it. Is it possible that its something that only effects gobies? As none of my other fish seem to be sick at all.
Thanks alot!

Swollen bellies in marine fish can have a number of causes, some serious and some not so much. I recently made a post about the possible causes of this:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/causes-of-abdominal-swelling-in-fishes.1098720/