Yellow watchman goby fin rot

[akaps]

Please see videos. I’m concerned about his dorsal fin and also one of his side fins (idk the correct name, I apologize). You can see the one on the left of the video is full at the edges, while on the right it seems frayed and thin.
He eats normal, but I know he has been stressed after my pistol shrimp passed. I know for a fact my water parameters are fine. All my other fish are healthy. There is no aggression that I have ever seen.

Inhabitants:
Yellow watchman goby
Clown pair
Purple firefish
3 blue legged hermit crabs
1 nassarius snail
1 margarita snail

Please watch the videos linked and let me know your thoughts.

I put the first in black and white bcuz I thought it was easier to see the damage on his side fin.

 

[Uncle99]

Me, I don’t see much at all.
I see light flickering off the fin.
Would never have come to my attention.
Doesn’t appear distressed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Please see videos. I’m concerned about his dorsal fin and also one of his side fins (idk the correct name, I apologize). You can see the one on the left of the video is full at the edges, while on the right it seems frayed and thin.
He eats normal, but I know he has been stressed after my pistol shrimp passed. I know for a fact my water parameters are fine. All my other fish are healthy. There is no aggression that I have ever seen.

Inhabitants:
Yellow watchman goby
Clown pair
Purple firefish
3 blue legged hermit crabs
1 nassarius snail
1 margarita snail

Please watch the videos linked and let me know your thoughts.

I put the first in black and white bcuz I thought it was easier to see the damage on his side fin.

Not sure if this is rot but may be from Biting from another fish or else fin ray issue. What other fish do you have in with it and how do their fins look?

 

[akaps]

Me, I don’t see much at all.
Would never have come to my attention.

The blackening on the top fin you don’t see? There is also a tear in it. It is usually full and completely yellow/clear. Like in the photo below

 

[akaps]

Not sure if this is rot but may be from Biting from another fish or else fin ray issue. What other fish do you have in with it and how do their fins look?

See bottom of my original post please

 

[vetteguy53081]

See bottom of my original post please

For some reason none of that was on page when I opened it, but see it now and clowns are my suspects

 

[akaps]

For some reason none of that was on page when I opened it, but see it now and clowns are my suspects

I recently changed from two feedings a day to once a day (to reduce waste and food all over the sanded) and most of the food that lays in the sand bed ends up in front of the YWG cave. Do you think maybe the clowns dive for food and get aggressive toward the YGW as he sits in front of his cave?
Watching them just now I see no aggression from the clowns, and I see no skittishness from the YGW towards the clowns.

 

[akaps]

Small update: just watched him dart into his cave. It has a very low ceiling. I wonder if he scrapes his dorsal fin when he darts too fast. I think I’m gonna dig it a bit deeper to raise the ceiling.

 

[Uncle99]

The blackening on the top fin you don’t see? There is also a tear in it. It is usually full and completely yellow/clear. Like in the photo below

I’m sorry, I just don’t see it.
If anything, don’t look like much of anything.
Maybe scrape with something?
Sorry, I’m not helping…

 

[akaps]

I’m sorry, I just don’t see it.
If anything, don’t look like much of anything.
Maybe scrape with something?
Sorry, I’m not helping…

It’s ok! Seriously I worry about this guy the most. I could be making it up…

 

[Uncle99]

It’s ok! Seriously I worry about this guy the most. I could be making it up…

No, no, I believe you.
Just keep a close watch….man…..goby.
Until you can make an accurate diagnosis, not sure you can do much else.

 

[akaps]

No, no, I believe you.
Just keep a close watch….man…..goby.
Until you can make an accurate diagnosis, not sure you can do much else.

lol love the pun. I’ll keep a close watch for aggression from others and to make sure he keeps eating. Thanks for checking it out

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

lol love the pun. I’ll keep a close watch for aggression from others and to make sure he keeps eating. Thanks for checking it out

It is very unlikely that the top of a cave is causing this fin damage - reef fish in the wild are well adapted to not being harmed by reef structure.

To me, the goby is pretty thin. If a fish isn't getting enough calories or has some issue with its nutritional state, its fins have a greater propensity for breaking down.

I would increase the feedings to 3x a day, but limit the amount being fed to what it will actively consume each time.

 

[akaps]

It is very unlikely that the top of a cave is causing this fin damage - reef fish in the wild are well adapted to not being harmed by reef structure.

To me, the goby is pretty thin. If a fish isn't getting enough calories or has some issue with its nutritional state, its fins have a greater propensity for breaking down.

I would increase the feedings to 3x a day, but limit the amount being fed to what it will actively consume each time.

He has always been a small goby, and I do only feed what he will eat. The one leaving food on the sand bed is the firefish. She prefers to dive rather than eat from the dropper. The hermit crabs eat the pellets from the sand bed as well.
I’m unable to do 3x bcuz I work from 8-6pm daily. I planned on feeding 2x a day on weekends.
Another reason I started doing feeding once a day was trying to minimize stress for the YWG. I used to have my lights on 6am to 2pm, feed in the morning. Then when I get home at 6pm I would turn the light on and feed again. What I was finding was it was stressing out my goby, and when the lights went out for bed time, he would not go to his cave to sleep.
Since then, I changed my timer to 2pm to 8pm and now everyone eats at 6pm and the YWG goes to bed at lights out.
When I was feeding twice a day, he would only ever eat one meal- either morning or night. Now that I feed once, he eats every time and has less stress.
I considered an automatic feeder for when I am away at work, but I decided against it bcuz I figured it would leave a bunch of food in the sand bed.
The reason I only have my lights on 6 hours is to stop some algae growth. I was without snails for a while so now that I have them again I’m letting them catch up with the algae.

 

[akaps]

It is very unlikely that the top of a cave is causing this fin damage - reef fish in the wild are well adapted to not being harmed by reef structure.

To me, the goby is pretty thin. If a fish isn't getting enough calories or has some issue with its nutritional state, its fins have a greater propensity for breaking down.

I would increase the feedings to 3x a day, but limit the amount being fed to what it will actively consume each time.

What is your opinion on the fin damage? Fin rot? Aggression?

 

[akaps]

It is very unlikely that the top of a cave is causing this fin damage - reef fish in the wild are well adapted to not being harmed by reef structure.

To me, the goby is pretty thin. If a fish isn't getting enough calories or has some issue with its nutritional state, its fins have a greater propensity for breaking down.

I would increase the feedings to 3x a day, but limit the amount being fed to what it will actively consume each time.

Update: now both his “arms” or side fins are frayed. Last night one was completely fine. I think maybe it’s the hermit crabs.

 

[Uncle99]

Update: now both his “arms” or side fins are frayed. Last night one was completely fine. I think maybe it’s the hermit crabs.

I would have thought he would just move away from the hermits, they are so slow.

Maybe the loss of the pistol shrimp has left him more open to aggressions?

The goby will defend its home, but so will the clowns. Maybe the shrimp was keeping the balance.

 

[akaps]

I would have thought he would just move away from the hermits, they are so slow.

My theory is since I can see one in his sleeping cave, the hermits are digging in the sand while the YWG sleeps and maybe the nip his fins a few times. And he wakes up and moves. But they still nip him since he was asleep

 

[Uncle99]

My theory is since I can see one in his sleeping cave, the hermits are digging in the sand while the YWG sleeps and maybe the nip his fins a few times. And he wakes up and moves. But they still nip him since he was asleep

I removed every single crab in my system 6 years ago now.

They were provided little to no cleaning services and from time to time, mysterious disappearances.

Since removing, all that had ceased and no longer am I replacing snails.

For me, not worth the risk.

 

[akaps]

I removed every single crab in my system 6 years ago now.

They were provided little to no cleaning services and from time to time, mysterious disappearances.

Since removing, all that had ceased and no longer am I replacing snails.

For me, not worth the risk.

I’m gonna remove them today