Clown Goby with ripped fin

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

A few days ago, I noticed that my clown goby had been hidden, so I lifted up the rocks, and found him with ripped gill or pectoral fin, not sure which one.


It didn't look bad at all a few days ago, but I was able to get a good look at it, and its clearly gotten worse.

 

[vetteguy53081]

A few days ago, I noticed that my clown goby had been hidden, so I lifted up the rocks, and found him with ripped gill or pectoral fin, not sure which one.


It didn't look bad at all a few days ago, but I was able to get a good look at it, and its clearly gotten worse.

High likelihood of aggression injury and a matter of " Who dunnit"
What other fish in tank and is goby eating?
With the severity of the injury, you may have to resort to treatment in a separate tank if breathing is affected using seachem Kanaplex or Ruby rally pro in display tank with neoplex being more effective and faster

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

High likelihood of aggression injury and a matter of " Who dunnit"
What other fish in tank and is goby eating?
With the severity of the injury, you may have to resort to treatment in a separate tank if breathing is affected using seachem Kanaplex or Ruby rally pro in display tank with neoplex being more effective and faster

I don't believe it's aggression, because the only other fish I have in the tank is a firefish.

I have hermits, but I don't believe they did it.

I have also seen heavy breathing, but I forgot to mention that...

It's hard to tell if it's eaten, but it hasn't come out during feeding, but I did try to spot feed it in it's hiding spot, but don't know if he ate any of it.

Edit: I don't really have another tank at the moment, and in my display is also a cleaner shrimp.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I don't believe it's aggression, because the only other fish I have in the tank is a firefish.

I have hermits, but I don't believe they did it.

I have also seen heavy breathing, but I forgot to mention that...

It's hard to tell if it's eaten, but it hasn't come out during feeding, but I did try to spot feed it in it's hiding spot, but don't know if he ate any of it.

I can see the firefish goby chasing it. Fish often on their best behavior in your presence and one way to possibly catch this is to set your cell phone on video mode for about 40 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time. Review the video and see who it may be and it can be a straight injury

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I can see the firefish goby chasing it. Fish often on their best behavior in your presence and one way to possibly catch this is to set your cell phone on video mode for about 40 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time. Review the video and see who it may be and it can be a straight injury

Ok, I will try that tomorrow.

What's the best way to treat it in the DT, with shrimp and crabs?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

A few days ago, I noticed that my clown goby had been hidden, so I lifted up the rocks, and found him with ripped gill or pectoral fin, not sure which one.


It didn't look bad at all a few days ago, but I was able to get a good look at it, and its clearly gotten worse.

Is the issue just on the fish’s left side, or is it visible on both sides? One side only points to an injury, as gill infections would affect both more or less equally.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Is the issue just on the fish’s left side, or is it visible on both sides? One side only points to an injury, as gill infections would affect both more or less equally.

Just the left side.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Also, I realized in the pic it looks like the whole fin is ripped off, but it's not.

It's still intact, just some of it was ripped off.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I got a good video of him today.

Is there any way I can treat it in DT with inverts, or if not would it be possible to get a bucket or bin, and add a sponge filter?

Also, I wouldn't be able to treat him til at least this weekend, unless if there's a way I can gets meds super fast. Will that be ok?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I got a good video of him today.

Is there any way I can treat it in DT with inverts, or if not would it be possible to get a bucket or bin, and add a sponge filter?

Also, I wouldn't be able to treat him til at least this weekend, unless if there's a way I can gets meds super fast. Will that be ok?

There does seem to be some growth on the base of the fin - but there isn’t any way to know if it is bacterial or fungal. Bacterial infections are more common.
These are best treated with a broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic, but those shouldn’t be used in a display tank with invertebrates.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

There does seem to be some growth on the base of the fin - but there isn’t any way to know if it is bacterial or fungal. Bacterial infections are more common.
These are best treated with a broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic, but those shouldn’t be used in a display tank with invertebrates.

Thanks for the reply.

Does it need immediate attention?

To treat him, can I put him in a bucket or tub, or what will work best?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the reply.

Does it need immediate attention?

To treat him, can I put him in a bucket or tub, or what will work best?

Sorry, I can’t guess as to the outcome of this. Generally, just moving a sick fish to a bucket isn’t a good idea - too difficult to maintain good water quality in that small of a volume of water. A dedicated quarantine with an operating bio filter is really what you need.

 

[jabberwock]

Could he put the little guy in a breeder box in the DT, and bind the meds and target feed in the breeder box?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the reply.

Does it need immediate attention?

To treat him, can I put him in a bucket or tub, or what will work best?

Its 50/50 with the injury on a small and delicate fish like this. Seachem Kanaplex often absorbed by fish is best bet but as Jay stated - Hard to suggest outcome. Breeder box will isolate fish but not address the issue best done in a separate tank