My yellow headed sleeper goby

[Hattie B]

I have a yellow headed sleeper goby, that is declining in health, bought as an adult a long time ago.

He does not sift sand anymore. Thats all he used to do, of course, looking for food but now I can watch for hours and he does not, plus there is no evidence of sand on the rocks or anything at all, plus there is a noticeably large popluations of pods everywhere.

There is nothing wrong with his mouth.

He was dewormed when I bought him after going through QT.

My tank is peaceful, with only 3 other fish. Nothing has been added in quite some time, nothing in at least 6 months (not even snails) and nothing is ever added without a long QT.

He just keeps getting slower and slower and losing substantial amounts of weight, he is visibally, severly underweight now. He eats frozen but no more picking of the rocks and critters in the tank.

Plus he is kinda dropy looking now, meaning, he used to swim straight but now he is a off.

Maybe old age? There is no stress, nothing picks on him, BUT I am afraid I might lose him.

(I add vitamins and make my own food) 10% WC every week.

here is what he has looked like-even as a month or so ago( this pic is older though) See his fat belly and straight body.

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Here is what he looks like now. Skinny, see his lines and his body is sagging

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??

 

[TerryB]

The curve in the spine could indicate tuberculosis or a long-term nutritional deficiency. What size is the tank? One of these fish can wipe out the little critters that they feed on in the sand for a large tank over time. I have to wonder if it would be worthwhile to give the fish to a friend that has a large tank with a sandy substrate. That may be a source of foods that is needed. Tanks that have too coarse (large) of sand or gravel for substrate make it difficult for this fish to get foods from the substrate.

The fish isn't going to survive long and may not make it through a move unless you use extreme caution. This would mean catching it without prolonged chasing, not catching it in a net because it injures the fish and the mucus layer is removed, and NOT removing from the water and exposing it to the air.

If the fish was in better shape then I might try treating for internal worms with praziquantel. Right now, you might try soaking the food in garlic. This may reduce the number of intestinal parasites. Are you feeding frozen blood worms, mysid shrimp and Pacifica plankton?

Terry B

 

[Hattie B]

Hi Terry,

See, that is where my confusion is. He is in a 135g right now, has been for the last couple years.

he eats, I have blood worms (but he doesn't seem to eat them), mysis, krill, muscle, parts of silversides, enriched BS (at a muinimun) "angel' food, he even eats flakes from the FF. He eats a lot of leftovers from the puffer. He also eats, shrimp (grocery store), squid and occasinally some sort of shell fish.
I have not fed Pacificia Plankton, but I can get some. (I dont feed live so all is frozen).

I was thinking myabe he ran out of food, however, before I would see some pods scurrying around the tank, and him going after them. Now there are pods running all over the place and he's not sifting sand, there is no signs of him, even sifting when I am not there, before I had to clean my rocks off at least once a day or so, now there is no sand ever on the rocks.

I can catch him super easy, he will swim up into the water colume and I can scoop him out with a bowl.

I dewormed him when I got him, and I can do it again.

I have other fishless tanks, a 30g that is my softie tank, has been running for a long time, teeming with critters, do you think I should put him in there?

I am concerned that since he is not sifting sand and eating pods in my large tank if he will in another one?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Hattie B]

Oh ya, I think you can see the large substrate, however that is only outlinging the outside of my tank in the corners and the back wall.

There is a total of 95lbs of sand, 'fine grain' and the larger stuff you see is only about 5lbs on the outside (my original intention was to get jawfish a long time ago, but did not)