akossard
Community Member
Trigger warning: Injured fish
TLDR: Had a pistol shrimp and yellow watchman goby living together in a bristle worm-infested rock. Shrimp went missing, and the goby lost its tail.
Background:
I’ve had my YWG for about four months. At first, it lived alone and moved between several spots in the tank. It exhibited a strange behavior, swimming up and down the right side glass for hours before returning to its burrow. Sometimes, it would rest on top of the powerhead, which worried me. I suspected it was due to sudden light changes when switching the lights back on after darkness, so I changed my routine to only turn off the lights when going to sleep.
After getting a pistol shrimp, things improved. The two paired instantly and were often seen together. However, one day while feeding them, I noticed a large bristle worm emerging from their rock. The shrimp snapped a lot, seemingly at the worm. Over time, the goby started developing white spots, which I assumed were bristle worm stings. These spots were already present before we left for a two-week holiday. I set up traps but wasn’t successful.
Before the holiday, we noticed the pistol shrimp had gone quiet. I didn’t remove the rock since I thought the shrimp might be molting and didn’t want to disturb it. The rock also had bristle worms, aiptasia, and bubble algae, but I left it alone.
During the holiday, our tank sitter messed up, and the temperature spiked to 29°C (84°F) but was resolved within a day.
When we returned, their usual burrow was filled in, and I only saw the goby poking out from another side of the rock. The shrimp was missing. The goby seemed less active and only ate every two days. White spots were visible on its face, and I never saw the entire fish.
Recent Events:
Three days ago (11/15), we had a party, and the tank lights were switched on and off late into the night. On 11/16, I found the goby at the front of the tank (Picture 1) with its tail missing. It started its usual swimming up and down along the right side glass near a powerhead. The fish seemed able to swim but was slightly clumsy. After about an hour, it rested on the tank floor before starting the cycle again.
I decided to remove the rock while the goby was out, hoping to find the shrimp, but found nothing under it except some sand. I moved the rock to my sump and placed the goby in an acclimation box for monitoring. While in the box, it seemed to improve slightly and ate some food, though the wound on its tail looked redder. Unfortunately, the small box caused the goby to bump itself, so I moved it back to the display tank in a larger box.
Current Situation:
The goby is now in the display tank in a bigger box. It appears energetic and ate frozen food with garlic. I think there are fewer white spots, but its tail looks like it may have lost some skin. The wound is slightly red but seems to show some early signs of healing.
I’ve ordered an 8-gallon tank and methylene blue for a hospital setup, but I’m worried that antibiotics and the stress of moving might do more harm than good. My LFS only had Easy Life Voogle (an immune booster), which I’ve started dosing in the display.
Video here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-aR-vkJOmZ8avv2IizKNizD49H7rdPva?usp=sharing
Questions:
Yellow Watchman Goby
Pistol Shrimp(missing)
Bengai Cardinal
Scopas tang
Cleaner Wrasse
2 peppermint shrimp
Parameters:
Temp: 27 Celsius
KH: 8.5
PH. 8.3
Ammonia: 0
Phosphate: 0 (dosing)
Nitrates: 20-25
Nitrit: 0
Calcium: 475
Magnesium: 1290
Salanity: 35-36
Thanks in advance for your help!
TLDR: Had a pistol shrimp and yellow watchman goby living together in a bristle worm-infested rock. Shrimp went missing, and the goby lost its tail.
Background:
I’ve had my YWG for about four months. At first, it lived alone and moved between several spots in the tank. It exhibited a strange behavior, swimming up and down the right side glass for hours before returning to its burrow. Sometimes, it would rest on top of the powerhead, which worried me. I suspected it was due to sudden light changes when switching the lights back on after darkness, so I changed my routine to only turn off the lights when going to sleep.
After getting a pistol shrimp, things improved. The two paired instantly and were often seen together. However, one day while feeding them, I noticed a large bristle worm emerging from their rock. The shrimp snapped a lot, seemingly at the worm. Over time, the goby started developing white spots, which I assumed were bristle worm stings. These spots were already present before we left for a two-week holiday. I set up traps but wasn’t successful.
Before the holiday, we noticed the pistol shrimp had gone quiet. I didn’t remove the rock since I thought the shrimp might be molting and didn’t want to disturb it. The rock also had bristle worms, aiptasia, and bubble algae, but I left it alone.
During the holiday, our tank sitter messed up, and the temperature spiked to 29°C (84°F) but was resolved within a day.
When we returned, their usual burrow was filled in, and I only saw the goby poking out from another side of the rock. The shrimp was missing. The goby seemed less active and only ate every two days. White spots were visible on its face, and I never saw the entire fish.
Recent Events:
Three days ago (11/15), we had a party, and the tank lights were switched on and off late into the night. On 11/16, I found the goby at the front of the tank (Picture 1) with its tail missing. It started its usual swimming up and down along the right side glass near a powerhead. The fish seemed able to swim but was slightly clumsy. After about an hour, it rested on the tank floor before starting the cycle again.
I decided to remove the rock while the goby was out, hoping to find the shrimp, but found nothing under it except some sand. I moved the rock to my sump and placed the goby in an acclimation box for monitoring. While in the box, it seemed to improve slightly and ate some food, though the wound on its tail looked redder. Unfortunately, the small box caused the goby to bump itself, so I moved it back to the display tank in a larger box.
Current Situation:
The goby is now in the display tank in a bigger box. It appears energetic and ate frozen food with garlic. I think there are fewer white spots, but its tail looks like it may have lost some skin. The wound is slightly red but seems to show some early signs of healing.
I’ve ordered an 8-gallon tank and methylene blue for a hospital setup, but I’m worried that antibiotics and the stress of moving might do more harm than good. My LFS only had Easy Life Voogle (an immune booster), which I’ve started dosing in the display.
Video here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-aR-vkJOmZ8avv2IizKNizD49H7rdPva?usp=sharing
Questions:
- Should I proceed with setting up the hospital tank and treating with antibiotics, or should I continue monitoring in the display?
- Would a 30-minute methylene blue bath be a better option to minimize stress?
- Any other advice or recommendations for treatment and care?
Yellow Watchman Goby
Pistol Shrimp(missing)
Bengai Cardinal
Scopas tang
Cleaner Wrasse
2 peppermint shrimp
Parameters:
Temp: 27 Celsius
KH: 8.5
PH. 8.3
Ammonia: 0
Phosphate: 0 (dosing)
Nitrates: 20-25
Nitrit: 0
Calcium: 475
Magnesium: 1290
Salanity: 35-36
Thanks in advance for your help!
