Banded goby in trouble... hlth... age?  – 09/29/07
Dear Bob,
<Teresa>
Last night our Goby was fine and this afternoon he is lying on his side swimming little and not eating. He has been residing in a stable 24 G nano
for almost 2 years and other fish are fine (3 PJ cardinals,
<Need more room than this>
1 Chromis,
1 tiny percula)..
I moved him to the refugium of our 90 G to be sure of best possible water quality. My husband who runs the tanks is home now and all parameters check fine. Both tanks.
I'm wondering if we can do anything else, QT with treatment?
<Maybe... at least removal to an area with a higher concentration of probable foodstuffs... A refugium...>
He has no other symptoms.
I cant see any spots. What could possible make him go downhill so fast?
<Maybe "old age"... internal parasites... nutritional deficiency...>
We alternate feed Fenner mash and New life Spectrum Marine formula, eating isn't usually a problem.
<Agreed>
The last 2 years we have noticed a lot of starfish, feather duster worms in the nano..cant think of anything else to tell.
<Their presence is a sign of good system health>
These are great hardy fish, interesting personalities and friendly.
I care for this one so much I'd visit the vet if it would help!
Thanks for your time,
God bless all of you at WWM,
Teresa
<Or someone... It may well be senescence... Small gobies only live a year or two... Cumulative replicant/genetic defects... Bob Fenner>

Re: banded goby in trouble  9/30/07
Dear Bob,
Thank you for your quick reply.
The banded goby improved a bit a few hours after moving to the refugium.
as he was resting on the bottom in a more normal position, instead of towards the side.
Amidst all the feather dusters and copepods, you could barley see him in there.
However as I write this(12 hours later), he has gone upside down and  is breathing rapidly (new symptom). The tail fin looks red to me? I  didn't notice this before and the lower third of his body appears stiff.
There's probably not much to do at this point except heed your advice and keep the nanocube on the understocked side. Though its been fine for two years, the banded goby would fare better with more room, considering the other livestock we have currently. The 3 PJ cardinals have grown a lot in the last year!
As far as old age, we aren't sure how old this brownbarred goby was when we acquired him. We cant change senescence, but we can strive to insure a happy healthy life while we have them.
<Yes>
Thanks for all your help in that, and as always, God bless.
Teresa
PS I would consider getting this fish again as it is a great housekeeper, with lots of personality.
<Life to you my friend. BobF>

Goby Sick  8/3/07
Hi I have been looking on your pages to find some information about parasites on gobies. I have a yellow watchman goby and my take
<Tank>
is approximately 6 weeks old.
<Quite new... particularly for species as these who rely on a good deal of infauna for food>
I looked at my goby this morning and he had his mouth wide open I could see the inside of the fish and it looked like a brown small worm maybe 1/4 in. or smaller was coming out of him on the side of his face by his mouth and it looks like there is another one in him. I got the net to try to get the worm out that had escaped into the sand. I was wondering if you could give me some information about this and if there is anything to help the fish. Thanks
<Mmm, could you send along a few well-resolved pix of this? You may be just seeing this animal's gill supports/branchiostegals... Bob Fenner>

Pink watchman goby and ich – 07/24/07
Hi crew,
I think my pink watchman goby may have ich and want to verify how to treat him for it. According to the WWM FAQ concerning gobies:
<chelated copper solutions need to be carefully measured at about the near lowest physiological dose (0.15 ppm free cupric in equivalent) The free cupric ion is really the only important measure in both/all cases. Utilizing sequestered compounds only/allows for a more "steady" dosage... The chelated is better for hobbyists and commercial settings in almost all cases. Free copper (sulfate) solutions are of value for raceway, open, culture, some high-tech. settings>
I've read copper can severely harm and/or kill gobies so I want to be very diligent in dosing him.
<This is so>
Based on the above info is it recommended to use chelated copper at .15 ppm on a goby?
<One approach>
Should I be dosing twice a day?
<Re-dose upon measuring, finding too-low, physiological concentration... Test maybe twice a day>
He's about 5-6 inches in length and is still eating normal.
<ly>
I'm not 100% convinced he has ich yet. I had him in a quarantine for 3 weeks but I know he was exposed to ich prior to the quarantine. He never showed signs of ich. I drip acclimated him for 2 1/2 hours, dumping out the water every 30 min. Then I freshwater dipped in methylene blue. He's been in the main tank for 2 1/2 weeks and now he appears to have a spot on his fin and tail. None of the other fish show signs of ich. I've got a QT ready just in case. Thank you for all your help! Jennifer
<Mmm, the spot may be nothing pathogenic... I would just quarantine (and carefully feed) this animal for now. Bob Fenner>

Re: Pink watchman goby and ich – 07/24/07
Hey Bob!
I'm hoping you're right and this is nothing. I noticed the spots that appeared yesterday are gone today, which could be the "marine snow" landing on his fins. I am very ichaphobic.
<Heeee!>
.that should be a new term in this hobby. I will quarantine him. By "feeding carefully" do you mean light feeding?
<In part... frequent, small amounts... Just make sure this fish doesn't get so skinny that it gives up eating period>
Because this animal eats like a pig. Also, you mentioned the copper dosing being one option do you have any other suggestions if I need to go that route? Thank you so much for all of your help and vast knowledge! Jennifer
<I'd rather not start on "other" alternatives at this point... Too much weight, consideration is given to such, particularly in a/the "western ethic"... "Buying stuff" somehow makes folks feel they're "doing something"... A conditioned reflex for sure... I'd just quarantine. BobF>

Re: Pink watchman goby and ich   7/25/07
OK, got it... light frequent feedings. I don't think he'll mind. Believe me the last thing I want to deal with is copper or any medicine. This stuff scares me and I've had 50/50 results with it. I wish I had better luck with hyposalinity to go that route but I have not in the past.
<Me neither... first or other hand>
I'll keep an eye on Diggles (goby named after the scientist and I thought the name was funny). Hopefully I'll have good news in the next week or so. Thanks again for the peace of mind, Bob! It's amazing how sick to my stomach I get when I see a little white spot on a fish... what has my life come to!!!!! Jennifer
<Compassion and consideration my friend. BobF>

Goby Quarantine – 06/29/07
Hi Crew! I found this in Quarantine FAQ and had a question (at bottom):
Goby Quarantine Period 10/11/05
Bob Fenner suggests a short quarantine for Gobies (maybe a few days), since longer quarantine periods represent a "bad trade-off." I assume he means that after a few days, the additional insurance against disease transmission is outweighed by ill-effects of additional quarantine time for fish like Gobies.
<Good interpretation>
My question: If my Goby (actually Firefish) has been in quarantine for 5 days, is looking/acting/eating well, and shows no outward evidence of disease, is that a reason to get him into the main tank soon (since he is likely disease free) or is that a reason to leave him in quarantine (since he does not appear to be suffering from being there)?
<Not a problem here>
I have a pink goby (Cryptocentrus leptocephalus) in a QT for 5 days now. It was in a QT for 1 day with another fish I discovered had ich. I immediately separated them. The goby has shown no signs of ich. That all being said and based on the above FAQ suggestion how long should the goby be in the QT?
<<Mmm, no longer quarantine, but treatment... a vastly different situation. I WOULD at least isolate this goby for two weeks for observation... if not proceed with exposure to medicine/s>>
Also, I read the Quarantine article...very informative! I did have a question; I have the goby QT in a room that gets absolutely no activity except when I go in to feed him, is that ok or should I move him so he becomes accustomed to activity? Sorry for the long email.. thanks JB
<<Better to have/leave in a low-external-activity setting. Bob Fenner>>

Re: Goby Quarantine
Hi Bob
Thank you for the great info! He has been in his own tank but I have not put in any meds. I will watch him for at least another week for any signs. so far so good! Would he be a good candidate to dip with methylene blue prior to introducing to the main tank?
<This is a very good idea... in pH adjusted dechloraminated freshwater>
I know that some fish do not take to it to well. Also, I will keep him in his room. thank you so much!!! Jennifer
<Welcome my friend. BobF>

Re: Goby Quarantine   6/30/07
Bob, thank you for your wonderful advice. As always, you have given me a clear path to follow.. thank you! Jennifer
<Clarity (and help!) is/are pleasurable! BobF>

Help! Ich   6/25/07
Hi crew!
<Hi Jennifer>
I have searched the site for 2 hours and can't find a definitive answer so here's the question. I have a copperband butterflyfish and a pink/blue goby in a QT. It appears the butterflyfish has ich. From what I have found in no way should the goby come in contact with copper and they appear to be relatively disease resistant. Is this accurate? Should I put him in a separate QT to be safe? Also, in a FAQ Bob mentioned keeping gobies (healthy) in a QT for a max of 2 weeks. As far as the butterflyfish, is the best course of treatment formalin dips with frequent water changes and for how long? Thank you for any advice. Jennifer
<My advise is a hyposalinity treatment. Check this link for more info...http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm and...http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hyposalandcrypt.htm and...http://www.wetwebmedia.com/martrthyposalfaq2.htm>
<Rich aka Mr. Firemouth>

Are gobies sensitive to copper... Mmmm, yes   6/25/07
I literally have searched for 4 hours and cannot find anything to answer this....how do you treat a pink and blue goby for ich? I have looked under Goby FAQ, Goby FAQ for diseases, Ich FAQs, etc. I have done a search in every way possible. Are these things sensitive to copper. some places say they are. some say they are not...some places say use Formalin. some say use dips. could someone please help. Thank you. DC
<... Depends on the condition, size... but can be treated with a minimal physiological dose of chelated copper... or other... RMF>
 

Blind banded high fin shrimp goby
Hello!
Thanks in advance for your help.
<Welcome>
I have had my shrimp goby for about 8 months now and he has always hidden in the live rock and darted out to eat.
<Generally what they do... in the wild and captivity>
On several occasions, he darted out and looked as if he had difficulty finding his way back in the hole. He would bump
into the rock repeatedly trying to get back in. Now I believe he is completely blind. I did not see him coming out to eat and then I found him just hanging out in the open, not reacting to any of the other inhabitants unless they touched him.
Lucky for him, all the other fish are peaceful. I scooped him up with my hand a placed him in a shallow glass bowl on the sand (with sand and live rock rubble inside) to keep track of him and I have been hand feeding him for 3 days now.
He eats like a champ if I stick Mysis right in his face. Other than acting blind, he looks perfectly normal. Ever hear of this before? Any ideas on treatment?
<Mmm... have heard of these "blindings"... likely nutritional in origin (avitaminoses)... but could be a pathogen at play... perhaps something environmental... A cure not likely>
His eyes are perfectly clear and all my other fish are healthy. He was the last fish I added 8 months ago. The tank is a 54 corner reef with a sump and refugium, 50 lbs of live rock, and a 2 inch sand bed. My water  parameters are fine. The other fish are a flame angel, yellow wrasse, black and  white ocellaris, and 3 Chromis. I also have a fire shrimp and a cleaner shrimp. I usually feed Mysis and occasionally Cyclop-eeze, flake, or blood worms. I was wondering if it could be some sort of nutritional deficiency.
<Yes, this is most likely... You could/might try reversing this with soaking foods in a vitamin/HUFA mix like Selcon... Please see WWM re.>
Thanks so much for your time. I look forward to your answer.
Angela Collison
<Bob Fenner>

Things on Goby?   5/9/07
I just received a red banded antennae goby from a distributor, and I noticed that the little guy has two red, sausage looking blobs on either side of his body.  They are not on his head or gills, but rather about halfway down his body, right behind his stomach/intestinal area.  One blob is about a millimeter, the other slightly smaller. They are red, but still semi transparent.  When you look closely, you can see something undulating inside of them.  It is a bottom to top motion, no squirming or writhing inside.  Also, the larger of the two sausages has a small yellowish "string" coming from the top of it.
I do not have a camera here (I'm at work) so I cannot attach a picture.
<Rats!>
I was looking through all our fish books and cannot find an external parasite picture that matches these things.  My question is, any idea what it is?
<Yes... very likely either a crustacean or worm parasite... Not uncommon>
It almost looks like the little guy's organs are on the outside of his body!  Especially as the two are directly across from each other, one on either side of his body.
Any help would be appreciated.  I do not want to put the poor thing in any of our tanks until I'm 110% what it is.  Our quarantine tank is way to big for him, I'd never find him or he'd get eaten by the puffer we have in there.  Thank you!
-Erica
<Mmm, I suggest serial administration of an anthelminthic (my choice? Praziquantel), and an Organophosphate (something like Fluke Tabs)... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gobydisfaqs.htm
re related, cautionary remarks/matters. Bob Fenner>

Mysterious goby deaths  - 05/01/07
WWM Crew,
<Jacob>
I have some question about pink spot and diamond gobies,
My Setup is a Standard 55 FOWLR
Fluval 404 with just a little carbon and phos guard
<Proper nouns are capitalized>
in it.  A marine land 200 bio-wheel and a 250gph power head on one wall pointing the length of the tank
Specific gravity is: 1.020
<Should be higher... see WWM re NSW>
ph: 8.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: >5
Ammonia-0
~50#'s Live rock
~3 inch sugar fine size live sand bed
<A bit more or much less is suggested... See WWM...>
Tank inhabitants:  1 Pair Maroon yellow stripe clowns , 2 small engineer gobies >10 dwarf hermit, 8 Nassarius snails, 2 turbo snails, 4 peppermint shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 3 common hermits, 1 plain white urchin, 1 small chocolate chip star I had recently purchased a pink spot from a LFS, had them feed it before I picked it up,
<Good>
it was eating frozen Mysis shrimp and frozen krill bits quite well.  Then it just ended up dead in my tank after having it 4 days.
<Happens at times... too much stress?>
LFS replaced it with a diamond goby, no more pink spots left.
The diamond goby was doing great, made him a home, was eating krill bits and frozen Mysis shrimp, sifting sand like crazy; then over a night what looked like an abrasion formed near the base of his tail just before his tail fin, then by that night he was being fought over by the Nassarius and hermits. The Diamond Goby was less than a week old.  What do you'll think is killing these gobies?
<Cumulative stress likely...>
The tank is a year old with great coralline algae coverage (<80%) nuisance algae is never a problem, substrate stays clean and algae free. Everything I have read points me that I am in the right direction for a FOWLR. I have read the conscientious marine aquarist over and over and consult it before adding new inhabitants.  Just looking for some help thanks crew you aquarist rock!   
<I would wait a month or more... try another "batch" of such gobies, perhaps from another source/store. Bob Fenner>

Re: Mysterious goby deaths  - 05/01/07
Thanks for the suggestions bob:
A bit more or much less is that both LR and LS?
<The LS... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/index.htm
scroll down to the greenish bar...>
I found in the Spg/salinity section where it should be around the
1.023-1.025 range
<Ah, yes. Cheers, BobF>

Sick/Stressed Goby 4/27/07
<Sorry, hit send by accident, oops.  A complete answer now.>
Hi crew,
<Hello>
I apologize in advance for the lengthy e-mail but I want to be sure to include all information you will need to help me help my fish. <No problem.> A little history first might help.  I have a 14 gallon BioCube that I received for Christmas.  <Small, tough way to start honestly.>   
Not knowing that getting advice from the LFS didn't even come close to being responsible hobbyist, I did what they said, bought live rock, live sand and two weeks later a clown fish and a bicolor blenny.  Two months later they sold me a yellow tang (I now know, after learning about your site, that my tank is too small for a tang) which had ich. <Oh boy, need a new LFS I think.> Of course, they never taught me about QT.  <Very few do it seems which never made sense to me, more things to sell and healthier fish and successful hobbyists who return for more products.>  Tang died in two days and the blenny and clown  started showing signs about two weeks later.  The blenny died in the reef tank and I moved my clown into my only other available tank (a 6 gallon Eclipse).  The only animals left in the reef were the corals, hermit crabs, a peppermint shrimp and a long spined urchin that needs a new home since  tripling in size since he hitchhiked in on a piece of rock.  <Neat hitchhiker, but definitely needs a much larger tank.> The only additional things in there now is a bunch of copepods overrunning the tank without fish to eat them. <It’s a pod party!> At this point I started scouring the Internet for help.  I luckily found your site, and a local reef club.  The members of the local club gave me great information but it was too late for Marlin.  Another club member lent me her 20 gallon, bare-bottom QT tank so I could get the new fish going while the reef tank went fallow.  <Nice.>
There are two pieces of PVC for the fish to hide in but nothing else.  I got a purple firefish and a yellow watchman goby.   Fast forward three weeks.   
The power head in the QT tank stopped working one night but the filter was still running.  When I woke up and saw it I was able to get it going again but I noticed that the goby had two white patches that looked like powder. <Hmmm...>  One was on his back and one directly below on his belly.  He was very pale with dark stripes on his side.  He had always been somewhat pale and the stripes were faintly visible but they were now very obvious.  I watched him that day and the next.  He ate and his breathing seemed fine but the white patches seemed to get larger.  <Eating is always a good sign.>  After checking your site, it looked like marine velvet but the rest of the symptoms didn't fit.  <Kills usually in a few days so most likely not it.>  I also learned that neither the firefish nor the goby handle copper very well.  <Not really, there are other means if you need to go that route, but I wouldn't unless you can get a definite diagnosis.>  Being a) a newbie and b) a chicken I talked to people in the club and did a water change and tried Melafix for a couple of days in hopes that maybe my water wasn’t great and it was bacterial or something else.  I do test the water and all is good except one day when nitrites were .25 ppm.   I did a water change and everything has stayed at 0 since.  It's a week later, he is still alive but he is very pale and the white patches are still there.  <Pale is not a good sign, what are you feeding him?  High quality pellets like New Life Spectrum and a little frozen food such as Mysid would be good here.  Could the white patches be from rubbing against something while hiding, I have seen this in some QTed fish and is not a big deal, the scales do grow back eventually.>  I wouldn't say he is lethargic as much as he is always trying to  stay out of sight (up against the glass, under, behind and inside the  PVC).  <They like their cover, maybe put a blanket or towel around the tank to block out the big scary things moving around (you).>  He goes out in the open but jets into hiding as soon as he sees  me.  Delving farther into your site I found that his appearance (pale with black stripes) is a sign of distress.  <Sounds like it.>  I also read that Bob Fenner suggests shorter QT times for both of these fish due to the stress. <Yep, although if they are eating and otherwise ok I might try to keep to the normal schedule.> That  makes me wonder if the powdery white patches could be stress related as opposed to a parasite.  <If I am getting the picture right it sounds like he has had these for a couple weeks?  By that time most parasitic infections would have probably killed them without treatment.  Would guess its stress related.>  The firefish has never shown any signs of any problem. <Good> They are very sweet together.  They lay side by side behind the PVC pipe.  <Safety in numbers.>  My reef tank will have been fallow for 6 weeks on Monday.  The fish have been in QT for 27 days.  I went to look in on them this morning and the goby saw me and started jetting around the tank and hit the sides a few times before he settled down in the corner.  <Panic, caught in the open when something big is around, need to move fast anywhere but where they are.>  He seemed very stressed and was breathing heavily.  I counted 65 respirations in a minute which is still lower than the symptoms of velvet.  <Yep, just from "running".>
Finally, my questions...
1)  Could the white patches possibly be stress related?  <I would guess related to this.>
2)  Knowing that if these two fish die I will not replace them for at least 8 weeks, should I put them into the reef tank now and chance the ich or velvet getting back into the reef if the goby has one of them?  Another concern is that the reef might still have ich since it has only been 6 weeks since I took the last fish out.  <The longer you can leave the tank fallow the better, but a judgment call at this point.  With the stress indications being shown by the goby at this point I would think that if it had anything currently it would have already infected it, so I would assume it is currently disease free.  The tank is getting close to the point where I would be 99% sure it is ich free, so its back to your judgment of the fish's condition and how much more you think it can take it.>
I'm quite sure the goby could not survive copper treatment now and I don’t want him to die in the QT tank simply from stress.  I also don't want to put him in the reef tank too early and give him something he doesn't have since his immune system is down from stress.  <A tough decision, I would say see if you can make it to 7 weeks fallow on the main tank.>
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the sometimes extremely long e-mails and answer the questions of thousands of hobbyists worldwide.  I am doing my best to educate myself now that I know where to turn for reliable information.  I want to give these animals the best lives I can.  I've  researched until I'm cross-eyed and I think MY immune may be  compromised by stress if I can't figure out how to help this little guy.   You should know that I don't look that good pale with black stripes. <Heehee>
Sorry, I couldn't resist.  Thank you again for your help.
Carol
<You are on the right path here, just trust your judgment.  For what it is worth I would not add any more life to such a small tank, ideally in my world I would only keep 1 fish in that sized tank, but with some work it should be do-able.   I do think that it may be worth trying to upgrade in the near future, more water volume equals more stability which equals an easier time.>
<Chris>  

Blue Dot Sleeper Goby Acclimation  03/25/07
Hi All -
<Hello Brandon here.>
I have a question.  
<I will try to have an answer.>
I just acquired a Sleeper Blue Dot Goby (Valenciennea sexguttata) from a LFS.  Looks healthy, was eating in the store.  
<Good sign.>
I just acclimated it and now have it in a 10G quarantine tank.  
<Good Job on Quarantining.>
The tank has no substrate, just two medium sized pieces of live rock and one piece of large PVC.  I've read in a few places on the site that I should only QT fish that live in burrows for two weeks or so as the stress of no substrate will be bad for him.  Then I read other areas about a minimum of 4 weeks for any fish.  
<I would not worry about the stress too much here.  It would be far worse if you were to place the fish in your display only to loose fish due to an outbreak of disease.>
I've always done 4 weeks min in the past with success.  What should I do for him?  
<I would go with four weeks.>
Thanks!
<You’re welcome.  Brandon.>
Mike

Please help - Treatment of Gobies   6/19/06
Dear Mr. Fenner
  I am writing to you in great distress, in the hope that you might be able to educate me further in the type of medications that can't be used on Clown Gobies.
  With all the best intentions in the world, I put my Citron Goby in to my quarantine tank  to treat for a whitespot/velvet infection.  I started to treat her with Copper - Seachem Cupramine, to be exact.   I only put the first days dose in.  Everything seemed fine.  Later that day I then went to browse the web for more information on the Green Clown Gobies I was thinking of buying.  I stumbled across your very informative webpage for this breed, and noted, with horror that under the disease section of your Gobies page you write,
  "Gobioids for the most part are relatively disease resistant, with the exception of one type of disease, environmental. Though they have cycloid or ctenoid scales, they have about the same intolerance of harsh chemical treatments as "naked" fishes. Many more are bumped off from copper, malachite and formalin- containing medicants than from the infectious diseases they're used against."
<Yes>
  In sheer panic, I rushed downstairs to see the horrific sight of my clown goby.  Her skin had literally started to dissolve, and there were parts of her fins eroding at the edges, and places where he skin had bubbled up.  Most horrifically, there were two places where the copper had eaten in to her body.  She also had what looked like red blood lines to the rear of her gills ... internal bleeding? Words cannot describe how devastated I am.   
  I rushed to do a 50% water change, using my main tank water, and started to run a PolyFilter, in order to significantly dilute the copper solution.  
<Good moves>
  30 hours on, she is still alive, and there has been no further damage to her skin that I can see.  I know that it is unlikely that she will survive this ordeal, but I am desperate to do all I can, and to make her as comfortable as possible.  I am daily testing the water parameters.  The QT is blacked out, and I am starting to lower the salinity, in order to keep and bacterial infections that could arise from the damage, at bay.
  Yours is the only website I have found that indicates towards this problem with Gobies.
<Mmm... a speculation re the "capacity", utility of the Net at this juncture. I and others have written (magazine articles, books) touching on this topic/issue for many years>
I have purchased a copy of your book, and have read there what you have written about this also.  
<Oh!>
  My very experienced LFS also had not heard of this problem.
  I was wondering whether you are able to tell me if this is a normal reaction by my clown goby to this treatment.
<It is. Such "toxic" treatments, even with chelated copper solutions need to be carefully measured at about the near lowest physiological dose (0.15 ppm free cupric ion equivalent)>
Also, does this happen to all Gobies?  
<Nearly all... though smaller individuals, species are more direly and quickly mal-affected>
I understand that this reaction is caused by copper, malachite and Formalin-containing medicants.  Does that mean any use of those mentioned substances, even at very low doses?
<One can... in actual practice these materia-medica are used by public aquariums, wholesalers... daily>
  Would there be any difference in reaction from chelated and non-chelated copper?
<Mmm, oh yes... The free cupric ion is really the only important measure in both/all cases. Utilizing sequestered compounds only/allows for a more "steady" dosage... The chelated is better for hobbyists and commercial settings in almost all cases. Free copper (sulfate) solutions are of value for raceway, open, culture, some high-tech. settings>
  Why is the Gobiodon reaction not a more widely know fact?
<Mmm... ours seems an esoteric field... My next guess is that there are so few aquarists that "make it to" the level of serious keeping of this huge group of fishes that they have little chance/opportunity (as yet) to communicate their observations, findings>
  I would be very appreciative of any further information and help that you could give me.
  Kind regards
  Claire Read-Ball
<I do sincerely hope that you remain active in this hobby field... And strongly encourage you to pen an article for sale to the print and electronic media in our interest for your and all's edification. Bob Fenner>

Treatment of Gobies, Copper, Cupramine   7/10/06
Dear Mr. Fenner
  Thank you so much for your kind reply a little while ago, when I wrote to you regarding the terrible incident I had with my Clown Goby having a horrific reaction to copper.  I thought that I would let you know that although my subsequent water changes prevented any further damage to her, she never really recovered, and died 5 days later.
<Thank you for this update>
I had been hoping that as she made it through 48 hours, she might recover, but I think the damage was too severe.
  I also wrote to the company who makes the copper treatment, to see what their advice was on treating Gobies with copper.  I thought that you would be interested to see their reply, as they seem to think that copper does not have any ill affects on Gobies.  I would be interested to see what you think, before I reply to them:
   "Cupramine works great on most copper sensitive fish like puffers and Angels.
You will find that puffers are mush more sensitive to copper than gobies.  We have had many people use Cupramine on gobies and puffers without a problem.
I'm sorry for what your goby is going through but I can assure you it is not from the proper use of Cupramine.
One dose of Cupramine (1 ml per 10.5 gallons) will result in a copper concentration of 0.25 mg/L.  I suspect that your fishes reaction is a
result of disease or possibly you used Cupramine inappropriately.
<Possibly>
Here are some questions that may help us figure out what occurred:
Where did you get the water for the quarantine tank?
Was it freshly made salt water?  Did you check to make sure it matched pH, temperature, salinity, and that the ammonia and nitrite were at zero?
<Good questions, concerns>
Did you add any other chemical with the Cupramine?  Water conditioner, medication, ammonia remover.
Did you have a UV sterilizer running?
<This will remove the copper...>
Did you do anything that could have stressed the Goby prior to being placed in the aquarium?
Freshwater dip
Are you sure that the fish has ich or velvet?  What you describe sounds like Brooklynella.  (rapid progression, string-like material hanging off the fish)
<A valid concern. Copper compounds will not treat this protozoan complaint... but it is rare on Gobiids/oids>
Please let me know the answers to these questions and I will help you the best I CAN.
<A very nice response indeed>
Best Regards,
Seachem Tech Support"   
  Thank you for your time and help once again.
  Kind regards
  Claire
<Thank you for sending this along. There is much to know/relate concerning copper's use... Not a simple, use so much of this, in such and such condition/s. Bob Fenner>

Valenciennea strigata Rescue  - 2/21/2006
A great pleasure to write to you. Your answers and articles have steered and scared me in the right direction many times though foolish (human) mistakes are always abound.
<Ah, yes>
   I purchased 2 Valenciennea strigata from my LFS today. I've been waiting for these fish for some time and they always come in damaged or not at all. I only paid for one the 2nd seemed to be in Osmotic shock while the healthy one was hovering and protecting him. I looked at them yesterday and said I would take them today if he made it through the night, and he did.
     Symptoms are mostly upside down and not swimming much at all, heavy breathing. no other obvious signs of parasites. LFS said he came out of the bag like this. I know its probably a lost cause but a worthy one. any suggestions would be Greatly appreciated.....Chris in Rhode Island
<Keep the area around where these are being quarantined quiet, the tank unlit... offer some live foods (crustaceans, worms), live rock... Bob Fenner>

Why are my fish dying in QT?   2/1/06
Well I just had another fish die in QT. A Randall's goby.  It was 4 weeks along.  It died over night.
<This is too long to quarantine Amblygobius... or most small gobies, blennies... the stress, starvation is way worse than the small risk of disease introduction after a week or two>
My QT setup is a 20G with 2 Aquaclear HOB filters; a 30G and a 20G. So I have lots of filtration. I set the bacteria population with BioSpira. I have used this in the past with good results. Tank has been used for 3 fish now and was bleached out in between fish. Well rinsed out. Other 3 fish lived and are in the display. Temp control through a titanium htr with controller. Separate digital thermometer to keep tabs. I also have a ph probe constantly on to monitor ph. Lighting by a 96W VHO. Couple pieces of PVC for caves. Using Copper Power proactively just for the last 2 fish.
<Not always a wise precaution...>
I seem to have this issue with fish getting in distress at about the 3-4 week mark.
<... opinions vary (to put this euphemistically)... but I am a big fan of two week limits here...>
I do WC every week and siphon out every couple days. My problems seem to coincide with algae growth starting. The past 3 fish that lived flasher wrasse, labouti wrasse and royal Gramma) also seemed to be in some distress about this time. I did 100% WC and they pulled through. The fish start hanging out at the top of the tank near the most water turbulence. This time the goby went back down and seemed to be ok. Not breathing heavily. No visible spots etc. He did stop eating that I could see about a week ago. He's never been a big eater but he could have eaten when I wasn't looking. He did eat earlier in the QT.
My theory is oxygen deprivation and the fish are having trouble breathing. I do scrub the algae out but seems if anything to make it worse. I have added an airstone in the past not this time) but doesn't seem to help. Since the fish die overnight I'm thinking this lends more credence to the O2 theory since with lights out the algae won't be contributing O2. But I'm not sure what would be sucking up the O2? The water while not as crystal clear as starting wasn't too bad. I had done a 30% WC day before and cleaned out the filters. I never measured any NH3, temp 78C ph 8.3 SG 1.026.
I have done lots of reading on QT and the things that seem to trip up are ph, SG, NH3 due to inadequate biological filter. I have not run across any accounts of the fish having issues breathing without visible signs. Not at the 4 week mark.
Any ideas? I'm tired of losing fish. I lost others when my QT was a 10G in similar fashion. This is the first I've lost since moving up but all the fish seemed to have trouble 3-4 wks in. Sorry for the long email.
Thanks,
Phil
<No worries... please see my articles on quarantine... especially for the sorts of fishes you list, two weeks is about the "magical breaking point" for getting more value than damage. Bob Fenner>

Brownbarred goby constipated?    1/25/06
Hi All,
This is my first time asking a question so please forgive any mistakes i have or may make!
My husband usually takes care of the marine reef tank we have so i am a little unsure on the normal running of it, but i am concerned for what I'm assuming to be a brownbarred goby Amblygobius phalaena (well it looks the most similar in the book I'm referring to although the back is more silver on our fish). i have noticed in the past couple of days it has been getting a bit a belly on it, almost a pregnant look to it. But now it has been swimming round with its "poo" still attached in a 2" string behind it. So basically what should i do?
<I would do two things... add foods with more of a laxative effect (the best: Brine Shrimp, Artemia), and add a level teaspoon of Epsom Salt per ten gallons of system water... for the same>
can i help it in any way or i do i let time work it through? Its feed frozen brine shrimp and dried flake food (with seafood and mpax). He just doesn't seem happy. Thanks for any help you are able to give me
Emma
Lake District, UK
<Do cut-out the dried food for now, and add the Epsom. Bob Fenner>

Fin rot goby  11/12/2005
Hello, I have a quick question. I have a sick goby (I am not sure exactly what species) whose fins are decaying. The dorsal fins are partially intact and one side fin is just fine. Also, the bottom darker fin that the fish props himself up on is normal as well. The rest of the fins are partially missing – what I mean is they have “spines” but the fins in between the spines are partially gone (fin rot?).
<As a descriptive term, okay>
Let me describe the goby so that you may be able to identify the species or genus. He is about 4 inches long and has blue spots around his face – they glow under the actinic lights. He lives on the sand and burrows mounds to prop himself up on. He stays in caves for most of the day. He looks like a large watchman goby – he is tan and the fins have red streaks in them. He is the largest fish in my aquarium, by far.
<Have you delved through the pix, description of these fishes on WWM? http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gobies.htm>
I have a 37 gallon reef aquarium that is about 2 years old. The water quality is excellent and I just did a H2O change. I use PC lights (2 x 65W), have a trickle filter and protein skimmer. I have mostly soft corals with a few LPS corals (all of which are awesome). The other fish in the aquarium are 2 mated clownfish, a royal Gramma, a 6 line wrasse, 2 mated neon gobies, and a small yellow tang. All of the other fish are healthy and active.
My question is - what can cause the fins to decay?
<... adverse water quality, poor nutrition, outright pathogenic disease, genetic anomalies, predation/stress from other tankmates...>
There are a few places on the goby’s body that appear to be discolored (whitish). He is eating and active. The symptoms don’t seem to be bothering him. I have been feeding him a variety of foods, frozen mostly – small pieces of
silverfish, Mysis shrimp, formula 1 and 2, all soaked in Selcon. He eats like a pig. I guess my question is … what do I do?
<Maybe try adding a purposeful cleaner organism... covered on... WWM>
Is this something that could affect the rest of my tank?
<Depends on cause... yes>
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have had a healthy tank for quite some time (maybe a year) without any problems.
<Mmm, might be time to "do the general cathartic of replacing some of the live rock, substrate">
I added the goby about 3 weeks ago (all other specimens have been in the tank for at least 9 months) and I noticed the fins all at once…. 
<Oh! As they say, "that's a goby of a totally different color..." It may be "just new"... the trouble coming from the process of collection, shipping, holding... Will likely self-cure>
It is as if it happened overnight. I did not quarantine the goby (yes I know that was not wise) and I did not dip him before adding him.  
<You'll learn>
Could this be from an injury?
<Mmm, yes>
I saw the tang and one of the clowns snap at him while he was establishing his territory. The tank is peaceful now. Please help.
Thanks,
Karlo
<Not much to do... but keep up your excellent maintenance, and hope. Bob Fenner> 

Re: fin rot goby  12/14/05
Thanks,
The goby is fine now.
-Karlo
<Ah, good. Thank you for the follow-up. BobF>

Why did my new arrival die? Gobies, QT, Dipping... 8/11/05
Hello Crew,
<Thomas>
I have a question about a Yashia Goby that died about 28 hours after it arrived by FedEx yesterday.  It had been sent FedEx Standard Overnight, and had been in transit approximately 24 hours before it arrived here.
I gave the fish a very slow acclimation over about 3 hours using a drip method.  Before putting it into the quarantine tank, I prepared a dip of RO/DI water, dosed with baking soda to a pH of about 8.2 (to match quarantine tank),
<And shipping water?>
and dosed with 2-3 drops of Methylene blue in perhaps a quart of this water.
<Sounds good>
When placed in the dip, the fish went ballistic -- darted around, rolled over on it's back -- a terrible scene.  It may have been in that dip for 2 seconds before I removed it to a rinse of water from the quarantine tank.  Then, after a minute or so, I put it into the quarantine tank.  This was last night about 8 PM.
Since then, it basically hid in the bottom of the tank behind PVC pipe.  It appeared to be breathing hard, when I could briefly see it.  Other than that, there were no obvious symptoms, except a sunken belly, which is very apparent now that it is dead and I can examine it closely.
Quarantine tank parameters are
specific gravity: 1.025
pH: 8.1
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20 ppm
temp: 78 deg.
Question is this: Did my dip kill this fish?
<Likely did add stress... but this, most small gobies ship poorly... many do die soon after arrival... from point to point... and if you read through WWM, writings by myself, you will find I am not a fan of dipping many such fish groups, or even quarantining them per se>
If not, how should I think about this event.  It is only the second time I've ordered fish by FedEx.  The first time, I ordered tank-raised clown fishes that I acclimated but did not dip -- these fish were fine and are still happy 18 months later.
<Much hardier... and accustomed to novel, stressful inputs>
Thanks,
Tom
<Bob Fenner>

Sleeper Goby injury/disease?
Mr. Fenner,
<John>
     I have had an orange spotted sleeper goby in my 30 gal. Aquarium for about 9 months now.  He is eating fine and "sleeping" fine every night and comes out as soon as the light comes on in the morning.  I have a 9 watt U.V light as well as a skimmer and 2 penguin filters.  Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrate -25 , ph-8.2, salinity is 1.022, temp is 79 F.  In the last few days I have noticed a raised bump in the "meat" part of his tail so I don’t think any internal organs are involved.  it is about .5 cm large and appears somewhat red (he has white skin so this is easy to see).  The only thing I can think of is some type of parasite,
<Mmm, not necessarily.  Far more likely a "bump" from a physical trauma>
but it doesn't fit the description of anything in the disease chart.  I have a bottle of Green-X but don’t want to dose my main tank,
<Don't>
and he wouldn't like it very much in the quarantine tank as there is not much substrate or rocks for him to dig under.  if this is a lymphocyte of some kind is there much chance of it spreading to other fish in the tank?
<Highly unlikely>
It could just be an injury of some kind
<Bingo>
but I’m not completely sure. He doesn't even seem to notice that’s it's there.  Is there any danger in leaving him alone for a week or so, or will he infest my tank by then? (Assuming it’s a parasite) the cleaner shrimp (and I know Greenex is poison for them) may be able to help him but I’m not sure of this either.  can you leave an internal parasite alone forever or will it keep getting larger? you can cut them out right?
Any suggestions?
THANKS!!!
John Fillier
<I would leave this fish where it is, not treat it, the tank... rely on good food, time to self-heal this fish. Bob Fenner>