HELP dragon goby

[miked78231]

theres somthing wrong with my dragon goby, hes just sitting at the bottom of the tank in the corner laying on his side. he almost looks dead but you can see his fins breathing. hes lost a lot of color too. hes a real ugly greyish brown color. does anyone know what i should do? i dont have a QT but is it possble for me to build a quick one? i dont want to get rid of him so please help me come up with an idea.

[carlinsa]

most the time when there that far gone just say byebye. i only pulled a fish back ONCE from a condition like that.

[miked78231]

what caused for this to happen? should i be watching my other fish?

[miked78231]

if theres anyone out there who thinks that they might be able to revive them then please let me know. maybe we can work somthing out or i can pay you.

[ansonluna]

I had alot of deaths in my fish tank recently....IME if you try to net him in that condition, even if he does not swim away from you, he will go into shock as soon as you put him in the other tank and die. As for why he is dead.....it is impossible for us to tell on here without looking at the fish. discoloration is normal for a sick fish.

[hobogato]

when is the last time you did a water change? have you tested ammonia, nitrite? how do the rest of your fish look?

[NaCl_H2O]

Could be just about anything, if other fish seem healthy & still eating, just keep an eye on them. Obviously, check water parms for any Amm, Nitrite, or Nitrate spikes, and temp.

Agree with above, chances for survival are 50/50 at best.

[miked78231]

i did a water change last sunday, 5%, and i just did another one right now. i dont have a kit any more, fastcat needed it more then me so i gave it to him. i did take the goby out of the 55 and put him into a jug with the old water then switched it with the new. he seems to have just a little bit more life to him but he still swimming sideways. all my other fish are eating normal and playing normal so i guess its just him. should i put the goby back into the tank, throw him out, or leave him where hes at and see how he does through the rest of the day?

[hobogato]

??? i would have left him in the tank. now, you may stress him more by putting him back in. can you put the jug in the the top of the tank and slowly let in water from the tank? that's what id do now, over about 30 minutes and see how he does. did you see any of those blue damsels picking on him - they can be pretty bad about that.

[miked78231]

no they werent messing with him, they did swim over to him a few times just to see whats going on but thats about it

[miked78231]

ok i did what you said but it just slipped in right now. all he was doing was floating with the current until he was lodged under a rock. now hes just sitting there stuck, upside down. i guess thats it, eh. this sucks man. that was the first fish ive lost since ive been trying to do this. its kind of discourging, im starting to think that im getting into somthing that im really not ready for. i dont want my un expierenced tank to take the lives of more fish.

[hobogato]

tough to lose a fish, but don't get discouraged now! you've been making great progress. we've all lost fish or corals, and hate to see it happen.

[miked78231]

well i just flushed the goby, he stopped breathing completely.

[Richard]

Dragon goby? Got a pic or scientific name?

This kind?
http://www.thatpetplace.com/LiveFish/Products/KW/GOBY@,SFISH/Class/Saltwater+Gobies/T1/L91+0007+0109/Detail.aspx

Not this kind right?
http://www.fishtanksandponds.net/live-stock/fishprofiles/dragon_goby.htm

[miked78231]

it was the one from the first link.

[Richard]

Ah, well IME those are difficult fish. The mortality is high enough that I don't stock them. I don't know why but they just don't seem to ship well and are difficult to feed. For a hardier sandsifter try an diamond watchman goby. They go by several common names but are Valenciennea puellaris.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=220

[miked78231]

i had him for about 2 months

[miked78231]

i had him for about 2 months and he was doing great up until about 2 days ago.

[hammondegge]

thats just bad luck mike. it would be a good idea to check your chemistry though.