hi , after a little advice please . got a dracula goby on saturday along with a pistol shrimp . pistol shrimp went straight to the sand ,had a mooch about and dug himself a burrow , the goby went and sat in a corner and sulked . sunday morning he was still there and stayed there all day, didnt eat or anything . just before bed i went to check on them before the lights fully went out and he'd gone, happy days i thought hes gone in with the shrimp as they were together in the shop (hence no qt as didnt want to seperate them) i then peeked over the tank and hes jumped out a tiny gap and he's on the jump guard , he was still going so i put him in the water but he was just floating about, tried to get him over to the burrow but wasnt doing alot , the cleaner shrimp wouldnt leave him alone nor the peppermint shrimp so i netted him and put him in the qt tank with the the clowns i got saturday but its got copperpower in the so didnt get a slow increase but he was going to be eaten in the main tank , is there anything i can do to help ? hes got bags or air, water movement , hiding place in a pipe but hes weak thin and not eating . sorry for long essay but wanted to give plenty of info
help with new dracula goby
- Thread starter m340dave
- Start date
Let's see if @leebca @Dr. Reef or @HumbleFish can be of assistance.
They may ask for a short video (around a minute long), under white light, showing both sides of the fish. You can upload the video to YouTube and post a link here.
They may ask for a short video (around a minute long), under white light, showing both sides of the fish. You can upload the video to YouTube and post a link here.
In addition to what the others tagged above might say, what foods have you tried? Have you tried any live foods like live white worms or mysis?
You could try a MB bath to help heal any physical damage from being out of the water too long: Methylene Blue
There are some ideas on getting a fish to eat in this link: Download then read, the Fish Nutrition document,
The fish not eating and in poor condition in a QT with copper adds to the stress on the fish.
Was the goby eating before you bought it? What was it eating? I make it a rule to verify any fish I buy is eating, then buy what it's eating. There are several considerations regarding buying fish...
With regards to buying marine fish I would suggest:
1. Ask the fish be put on hold for you...pay a deposit or pay for the fish (Make an excuse, like you have to get ready for the fish);
2. Only buy the fish after it has been on hold for 10+ days;
3. SEE that the fish eats before the final purchase;
4. Ask the local fish store if they put copper or other treatments in their water. If they do, don't add the water the fish came in to your display tank, but it's okay in your quarantine tank. And finally,
5. Quarantine all new marine life before it goes into your display tank.
Be sure to buy the kind of food you saw it eating--even if it is the wrong kind of food.
As hobbyists our main problem in the local fish store is to buy on emotional impulse. A VERY bad idea.
