Neon Goby sick, need advise

[papagimp]

several weeks back I purchased a neon goby from petco. for the sole purpose of removing parasites and whatnot from my 55g display tank. Well, he's done marvels cleaning the coral beauty and even the clown fish, but I only bought one....now it seems he's coming down with Ich. I tried for several hours last night to catch the creep but no luck. He'll readily clean my hands when there in the tank but runs for cover when the net goes in. I'm curious if I purchased a second neon will they clean each other?

 

[Sk8r]

a, petco is not a good fish source, and b, maybe, but try feeding garlic until you can catch all your fish and qt. Gobies rarely get ich: it's probably a pretty bad infestation if your cleaner has got it. Be sure it's not just aragonite stuck to his fins---that's a common illusion of ich.

 

[cek1313]

I'm with sk8r--Petco = guarenteed ich IMO. If he is in a reef system, definitely try to catch him--may use a fish trap before you treat. As far as cleaning each other--I've had several together and never witnessed this myself....

 

[captbunzo]

I'm with me - fish out of the ocean = guaranteed ick. Now, of course, more stressful environments like Petco is going to bring the ick out in full force...

 

[papagimp]

I realize that petco. isn't the optimal fish store, but in their defense, the pair of clownfish I purchased (at the same time as the goby) are looking great, no signs of ick, eat well, play all the time, and for some odd reason they like to swim around the tank with the coral beauty. I bet they would let me pet them if I tried. And I've purchased other clownfish from actual fish stores and have had alot more trouble than with these two. But I know what ya'll are saying and appreciate the advice.

 

[Gwalker]

The first thing to check before any actions can be taken is your water quality parameters. Whenever you have health issues always check the water quality. Even if a new arrival seems to be the cause. If the water quality is not optimal, the treatments generally won't be affective and can cause additional stress to an already stressfull situation.

G.

 

[papagimp]

I've dealt with ich covered fish before, my coral beauty was in QT for two months before I ever purchased the goby, my real concern was weather or not multiple cleaner gobies will clean one another. My water quality is surprisingly good, but I did recently go through a problem with my RO filters giving out earlier than anticipated, and with no TDS meter I didn't catch it in time, sky rocketed the phosphates, nitrates, and everything else that I don't want in my tank. And to top it off, when I got home last night the goby was no longer covered in what I could have sworn was ich, and in it's place where little bitty white bits, alot like scales peeling off a reptile. And a few hours later he looked normal. I'm at a loss on that one.

 

[captbunzo]

Ick will come and go on a fish as it works through it's cycle on a fish. The real good sign is if it stays gone over the next couple days/week.