Possibly sick/injured Goby please help

nim6us · Aug 1, 2017

Hello all! This weekend we added an exciting new addition to the tank, a Tiger Watchman Goby. Apparently before we picked him up he had a run in with another fish and his tail got nipped. My LFS had him in their "recovery tank" with other fish that were on the mend. I presumed just injured fish were in the tank, but now wondering if it was sick fish as well.

When we added him Saturday he was lethargic, he hid under a rock just sitting there, dorsal fins down laying flat. Sunday he had perked up a bit, dorsal fins were up and his tank mates were checking him out chasing him around the tank a little. But yesterday he looked great, he was up off the sand swimming around happy as could be, I was a little worried but felt relieved. Until today...

I got home to find him back on the bottom of the tank, dorsal fins flat, not even hiding under a rock just out in the open. The concerning thing is he has an all white head with blue neon streaks under his eyes, but now the whole front section of his mouth is purple, like it's bruised or not getting enough oxygen. I don't know what could be causing this, i've got 2 clowns, a damsel and a blenny in that tank, all are very active and happy. Anyone have any ideas?

nim6us · Aug 1, 2017

Now he's jumping around at the top of the water like he's gasping for air... starting to panic myself! Should I whip up some salt water and put him in a bucket, I don't have another tank. I just tested my water in a panic, every thing came back almost perfect, other fish are fine. What to do?!

Humblefish · Aug 1, 2017

I think it's possible he has swallowed something that he might be choking on.

I don't see any pink/purple near the gills, which would indicate a breathing problem.

nim6us · Aug 1, 2017

I feel so helpless like I'm just watching him die.. now when he's coming to the surface to try and get air the clowns and damsels are nipping at him, even the blenny is getting aggressive. It feels like lord of the flies.. should I move him to the bucket? The saltwater is ready and at temp. I don't want the shock to kill him, but I really feel like he's going to die if I do nothing.

Humblefish · Aug 1, 2017

I'd move him into a bucket or acclimation box. So he's at least isolated away from the other fish that are attacking him.

nim6us · Aug 1, 2017

So yeah out of desperation I moved him to the bucket with 5 gallons of water. There's a a heater and an air bubbler in with him. I was going to put the wave maker in there but I was worried the flow would be too much for such a small amount of water so I went with the bubbler.

I thought we lost him, he literally went belly up on the bottom of the bucket. But I just checked on him and he's right side up now, he's not moving a lot but when I reached my hand in and touched him he swam away, so he still has some life in him. If he makes it through the night, how long can/should I keep him in the bucket? I don't have a separate tank or a sump, if it's a matter of just keeping the water changed I'm happy to give him a few days to recover on his own. I honestly can't believe he's still with us, I was really fearing the worst.

Humblefish · Aug 1, 2017

Do you have a quiet area of your sump you could put him? Like a Fuge?

melypr1985 · Aug 1, 2017

Humblefish said:
I think it's possible he has swallowed something that he might be choking on.

I don't see any pink/purple near the gills, which would indicate a breathing problem.

You don't think that purple around the mouth is a sign of infection? Possibly the thing he tried to eat injured his mouth and that got infected?

Humblefish · Aug 1, 2017

melypr1985 said:
You don't think that purple around the mouth is a sign of infection? Possibly the thing he tried to eat injured his mouth and that got infected?

It's possible, although purple would be a little strange for an infection. @nim6us Is the purple on the inside, outside or both?

melypr1985 · Aug 1, 2017

Humblefish said:
It's possible, although purple would be a little strange for an infection. @nim6us Is the purple on the inside, outside or both?

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.. that it would be a strange color, but we've seen some strange things that cameras do to colors and other stuff on here.

Humblefish · Aug 2, 2017

melypr1985 said:
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.. that it would be a strange color, but we've seen some strange things that cameras do to colors and other stuff on here.

Good point.

nim6us · Aug 2, 2017

Thanks for all the replies, unfortunately no sump. I'm happy to get a little tank after work I can use as quarantine but won't it need to be cycled?

And I can tell you it's not camera tricks that purple is the same color I'm seeing with my eyes. When he was in the main tank making trips to the surface for air I actually did see in his mouth, it looked white like the rest of him, so the purple color is strictly on the outside.

I can't see if it's healed, and he's had a rough night but I'll check the status of the discoloration after work.

In the meantime what's the best way to keep him separate in such short notice. The bucket, or can a quarantine be setup immediately?

Humblefish · Aug 2, 2017

I would pick up a small tank and use an alert badge to keep tabs on the ammonia: http://www.seachem.com/ammonia-alert.php

(Or the bucket works too, so long as you keep a close eye on that ammonia alert badge.)

Dose antibiotics for a possible infection and do water changes as directed/needed to keep the ammonia down. I wouldn't worry about cycling a QT for this, as you will need to be doing water changes on a pretty regular basis for the antibiotics.