High-fin goby dead

DeeRow · 01/23/2016, 03:24 PM

This afternoon I found my red high fin goby dead and my Halloween hermit had a hold of him. He would eat the past few days and would just poke his head out of his tunnel where he stays w/ my pistol shrimp and watch the food go by. This morning he had barricaded him self in and I found him later like I had said above. Do you think he was sick?
I have 2 clowns, a royal gramma, 2 hermits, red pistol shrimp and a large cleaner shrimp that my goby was afraid of. I'm thinking he could possibly be the cause?? I also have about 20+ tiny brittle stars that hitchhiked in and multiplied.

I pulled the goby out before he got torn into and looked physically fine.
Water parameters are-
Salinity- .025
Ph-8.2
Trate- 0
Trite-0
Ammonia-0
Temp-76
KH- 9
Calc-420
Tank is about 9 months old

DeeRow · 01/23/2016, 03:29 PM

Also I forgot to add that I might have lost power last night due to this "blizzard" going on while I was asleep that may have let temps get too low? The clock was reset on my stove is the only evidence on that one. The rest of the tank seems fine tho

ginpang · 01/23/2016, 09:04 PM

Was the fish a recent addition ?

How low did room temperature get? The lowest your aquarium water could've got is 1 degree Celsius below room temperature.
Plus when it gets really cold ( in emergency mode) many fish go under gravel where it remains warmer than free-swimming.
Unless you lost power for many hours , I doubt that temperature is an issue.

DeeRow · 01/24/2016, 12:40 PM

I don't think I lost power that long, an hour at most. I keep the house at 70.
I've had the goby for about 3-4 months.

Sk8r · 01/24/2016, 01:11 PM

Circulation is more an issue than temperature. But a general oxygen shortage would have affected everybody.

I have had a tiger pistol turn killer when he reached a large size. He killed his goby and two other fish (of a burrowing sort) before I was able to get rid of him. Usually the shrimp does the opening and closing of the burrow, though the goby may start a new burrow.

ThRoewer · 01/24/2016, 02:28 PM

I had a 6 hour power outage in the afternoon last summer when it was really hot and my goby pair (and all other fish) got through it just fine.

It also takes a few hours for tank full of water to cool down enough to do direct damage.

Some disease or parasite infection seems more likely. This of course could have been triggered by a power outage.

Maritimer · 01/24/2016, 02:32 PM

Unusual behavior the last few days indicates to me that there may have been something wrong with the goby. Probably since a day or three before you noticed it, as wild animals try real hard not to allow illness to show.

The hermit ... is just doing his job as part of your cleanup crew.

~Bruce (Not an expert...)

DeeRow · 01/24/2016, 05:18 PM

Okay Thank you.
I have a Hydor 600gph, 425gph plus the return split in 2 so idk if that is it either. I have an extra Hydor 425gph just in case. I guess I'll just watch closely the next week or so and see how things go.
Thanks for the input guys

01/23/2016, 03:24 PM	#1
DeeRow Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New Jersey Posts: 10	High-fin goby dead This afternoon I found my red high fin goby dead and my Halloween hermit had a hold of him. He would eat the past few days and would just poke his head out of his tunnel where he stays w/ my pistol shrimp and watch the food go by. This morning he had barricaded him self in and I found him later like I had said above. Do you think he was sick? I have 2 clowns, a royal gramma, 2 hermits, red pistol shrimp and a large cleaner shrimp that my goby was afraid of. I'm thinking he could possibly be the cause?? I also have about 20+ tiny brittle stars that hitchhiked in and multiplied. I pulled the goby out before he got torn into and looked physically fine. Water parameters are- Salinity- .025 Ph-8.2 Trate- 0 Trite-0 Ammonia-0 Temp-76 KH- 9 Calc-420 Tank is about 9 months old __________________ Current tank: 29 Gallon Oceanic Biocube, InTank media rack and refugium with JBJ led nano glow, Hydor Koralia 600 gph, 150watt heater and Aquatic Life 115 skimmer.

01/23/2016, 03:29 PM	#2
DeeRow Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New Jersey Posts: 10	Also I forgot to add that I might have lost power last night due to this "blizzard" going on while I was asleep that may have let temps get too low? The clock was reset on my stove is the only evidence on that one. The rest of the tank seems fine tho __________________ Current tank: 29 Gallon Oceanic Biocube, InTank media rack and refugium with JBJ led nano glow, Hydor Koralia 600 gph, 150watt heater and Aquatic Life 115 skimmer.

01/24/2016, 12:40 PM	#4
DeeRow Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New Jersey Posts: 10	I don't think I lost power that long, an hour at most. I keep the house at 70. I've had the goby for about 3-4 months. __________________ Current tank: 29 Gallon Oceanic Biocube, InTank media rack and refugium with JBJ led nano glow, Hydor Koralia 600 gph, 150watt heater and Aquatic Life 115 skimmer.

01/24/2016, 01:11 PM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Circulation is more an issue than temperature. But a general oxygen shortage would have affected everybody. I have had a tiger pistol turn killer when he reached a large size. He killed his goby and two other fish (of a burrowing sort) before I was able to get rid of him. Usually the shrimp does the opening and closing of the burrow, though the goby may start a new burrow. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

01/24/2016, 02:28 PM	#6
ThRoewer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 9,555	I had a 6 hour power outage in the afternoon last summer when it was really hot and my goby pair (and all other fish) got through it just fine. It also takes a few hours for tank full of water to cool down enough to do direct damage. Some disease or parasite infection seems more likely. This of course could have been triggered by a power outage. __________________ Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +...

01/23/2016, 09:04 PM	#3
ginpang Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 612	Was the fish a recent addition ? How low did room temperature get? The lowest your aquarium water could've got is 1 degree Celsius below room temperature. Plus when it gets really cold ( in emergency mode) many fish go under gravel where it remains warmer than free-swimming. Unless you lost power for many hours , I doubt that temperature is an issue.

01/24/2016, 02:32 PM	#7
Maritimer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: SW Connecticut, U.S.A. Posts: 419	Unusual behavior the last few days indicates to me that there may have been something wrong with the goby. Probably since a day or three before you noticed it, as wild animals try real hard not to allow illness to show. The hermit ... is just doing his job as part of your cleanup crew. ~Bruce (Not an expert...) __________________ Because anything else ... is just a fishtank. Zoey's Reef has come to life! Zoas, 'shrooms and LPS of several sorts, CUC, dartfish, wrasses and others swim above the sand . . . Current Tank Info: Kingston & Zoey's Reef; 220g, Deltec skimmer, 2 MaxSpect Gyre x-50s, 2,500gph or so through the sump. SPS are surviving . . .

01/24/2016, 05:18 PM	#8
DeeRow Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New Jersey Posts: 10	Okay Thank you. I have a Hydor 600gph, 425gph plus the return split in 2 so idk if that is it either. I have an extra Hydor 425gph just in case. I guess I'll just watch closely the next week or so and see how things go. Thanks for the input guys __________________ Current tank: 29 Gallon Oceanic Biocube, InTank media rack and refugium with JBJ led nano glow, Hydor Koralia 600 gph, 150watt heater and Aquatic Life 115 skimmer.