I have put my yellow watchman goby into quarantine and started treating him with an antibiotic for a bacterial infection a couple of hours ago. I came back to look at him a few minutes ago and he was laying on his side but he was still breathing. I nudged him a bit and he righted himself but didn’t swim much. Is this going to be the end for him?
Yellow watchman goby dying
- Thread starter ChaseB143
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Beefyreefy
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I haven’t had much luck once they get like this. But hey, good luck... Sometimes these fish will surprise you. How are you water parameters? Any chance the problem is bigger than just one fish?
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
What antibiotic and do you have a pic of the infection?
HotRocks
Fish Fanatic!
My exact questions...
When I first noticed it, it was a shallow hole about 3/10 of a centimeter in diameter and over the period of three days that it took to get the antibiotic, it turned into what the picture shows. The antibiotic was started at about 4:00pm central time. I have no other antibiotics.
HotRocks
Fish Fanatic!
Fish are very slow to react to antibiotics. So what you are seeing is normal.
However I have no experience with the med you are using.
Fish still eating?
I put some brine shrimp in there for him. I didn’t see him eat any but when I came back to check, I didn’t see it collected anywhere and it didn’t get sucked into the filter because it had settled to the bottom of the tank. He also ate a small piece of the gel capsule that the antibiotic was in.
HotRocks
Fish Fanatic!
Just a side note. Anytime I'm using a med in capsules. I pull them apart. Dump med into a small cup with tank water, mix well, then dump directly into the flow of a powerhead.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
Unfortunately that’s one of the most severe infections I’ve seen. I don’t see a path to victory. If it were me, I’d probably euthanize.
NFG would be your best bet if you wanted to fight.
NFG would be your best bet if you wanted to fight.
Nathan Milender
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I am late to this party, but for what it is worth that looks bacterial to me. I assume this fish did not make it, so sorry about that. Watchman's are funny.
The small opening could have been the initial drain of an abscess. This can then fester and erupt. The size of that lesion is considerable. Losing that much skin could make it difficult to maintain osmolality within the body and a quick catastrophic failure like a large burn as diffusion and osmosis equalize with the tank. Amox is a decent drug when used at the correct dose. Get something better for gram negatives for the future. A quinolone would work (I have never seen one for fish), or the nitrofurantoin would help. Likely would not have made a difference here, but for the next one.
The small opening could have been the initial drain of an abscess. This can then fester and erupt. The size of that lesion is considerable. Losing that much skin could make it difficult to maintain osmolality within the body and a quick catastrophic failure like a large burn as diffusion and osmosis equalize with the tank. Amox is a decent drug when used at the correct dose. Get something better for gram negatives for the future. A quinolone would work (I have never seen one for fish), or the nitrofurantoin would help. Likely would not have made a difference here, but for the next one.
