goby in trouble

[HaleyM]

I have a 29 gal with 25 lb of live rock. I run a skilter 400. I am at
Amm - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - .125
PH - 8.2
SG - 1. 025
temp - 78
Alk - was a little low, added builder over the weekend, have not tested again since.

These test results were confirmed by my LFS on Sat

I have a lyre tail cromis, mandarin goby, coral banded shrimp, star serpent, emrald crab, 10 blue leg hermits, 4 snails (3 diff types).

I added a yellow watchman goby last night. I drip acclimated him til his water doubled twice over. About an hour and a half. He did fine at first but the cromis didnt want him going near his "area" and would drive him away. In the night I checked them and the goby was hiding in a crack behind a rock. Still looked OK, i figured sleeping, when a crab crawled near him he fluttered to a higher spot. This morning he was still there, his tail and fins eaten up. I got him to swim out from behind the rock, added some food for him and he didnt even turn his head. The cromis came and ate the food, gave him a peck, and the goby swam to the other side of the tank. Still sitting pretty lifelessly right now.

What did I do wrong this time??
How can I help him??
Should I get the cromis out and take him back to the LFS right now??
Would that give the goby a chance or is he done for??

Last weekend I lost a pistol shrimp that I had just added, we came to the conclusion that it was my salinity but after testing my water with a borrowed refractometer it was my hydrometer that was giving the wrong reading, now I think that it may have been the cromis who did in the pistol shrimp too??

OOPS the LFS is closed on Mondays..... so there is noone to call.

He is back in his spot now between the rock and the glass. which is very near the top water line....???

 

[NaH2O]

Are you only seeing aggressive behavior towards the watchman with the Chromis? Do you have a separate tank that you could move the watchman goby to? How long has your system been set-up? Was the watchman goby eating in the store prior to your purchase?

 

[HaleyM]

Are you only seeing aggressive behavior towards the watchman with the Chromis? Do you have a separate tank that you could move the watchman goby to? How long has your system been set-up? Was the watchman goby eating in the store prior to your purchase?

The cromis doesn't let anyone go near his cave and the area surrounding it. He will use his head to push crabs or the star serpant away especially around feeding time. When the goby was first added, when he went near the coral banded shrimp the shrimp would do his usual snappy motion. But the coral has always seemed like all bark and no bite. The cromis at times actively searchs out the goby.
I have been up and running since the first of Jan, so not long at all.
I was told he was eating, yes. But I didnt see it myself. Guess that was my first mistake.
Also he is very near the top of the tank, now, once, I saw him actually go up to the water line and gulp air. His skin is lacking much of its colour now in one spot. But it doesnt look like something growing on him, just like he has lost colour. I think I am well oxiginated as my filter is turning 400 gal per hour, and I can see stuff move in the flow. He does not look like he is going to make it.... What do I do? I do not have a QT tank, yet another mistake.

 

[NaH2O]

You might be able to run out and pick up a cheap 10 gallon tank for QT. Have you tried to add or change something in the tank to break up the Chromis' territory? Hopefully we can get some other advice, too.

With regards to the mandarin - is it eating prepared foods?

 

[HaleyM]

With regards to the mandarin - is it eating prepared foods?

I had a feeling that question was going to come up...

My husband bought him for me for valentines day, because he remembered me saying how pretty he was when we were in our closest LFS on one occasion, several months ago. I had done the research on the mandarin and found that I could not get him in my size/age of a tank...

The owner of the LFS sold him to my husband, which makes me question his whole operation... When I got home, and there the mandarin was, in the tank I flipped out, and then felt bad about doing that, cause it wasn't my husband's fault. I said we would take him back the next day and my husband said no, that when the LFS sold the mandarin to him, he had asked if I could bring it back if it wasn't what I wanted and the LFS owner said no. That it would be too stressful on the fish and he didnt allow that.

So I called the LFS the next day and the LFS owner told me that the mandarin was eating flake food and frozen brine. Not true, he was not eating either one. So I did some looking online and talked to other LFS that are not so near to me. I ended up buying bottles of live pods online that we added to the tank. I am also getting him to eat frozen pods (called cytopleez? I think). He didnt seem to want frozen mysis. I was going to also try hatching my own brine to see if that would work for him.

I am now in the process of figuring out how to set up a culture of live pods so I can have a constant source for him as I am aware that in my size tank, they will never breed as fast as he can eat them. I didn't know if a small hang on refugium was a better option. Until them I am just spending a small fortune buying bottled pods online and adding them in. How do I know when to add more, I have been erring on the side of overstocking it.

I am suspicious that the LFS just wanted to be rid of the mandarin, cause he knew that he was going to die there in the store otherwise.

ANY help on how to keep/grow/get pods would be great.

Am I fighting a losing battle here?

 

[NaH2O]

How's the watchman goby doing today?

I don't think you are fighting a losing battle with the mandarin. It sounds like, short of setting up a refugium, you are doing your best for the mandarin. The fact that it is starting to eat cyclopeeze is a good sign - hopefully it will eventually eat other prepared foods, as well. Setting up a pod culture would be most beneficial. There is some information about how to do that on this site: Culturing Copepods - Oceanpods. IMO, brine isn't going to provide enough nutrition long term for the mandarin. A small hang on refugium will be helpful, too. Putting some of the bottled copepods in there will give them a safe haven to propagate. Keep us updated on changes you make for your mandarin.

 

[HaleyM]

How's the watchman goby doing today?

I took the chromis out and back to a LFS yesterday evening. I rearanged the rockwork a little just for the sake of it. He already looked better last night before lights out. Once he either ate or was just sifting around through the rock. I put some food right next to him after that and got nothing from him though. He looks less stressed this morning, but still pretty pitiful. Hope he pulls through. Mr Chromis was not so easy to catch. They smell that net when it hits the water don't they!?

I will let you know how it goes with the mandarin, hope I can be a success story with him and not just another newbie mandarin killer...

That was the info I used to set up my pod culture, cant find anyone else who has tried it though, to get pointers or tips from.

I had also read about putting some maiden hair plant or a rubble pile in the actual tank to give your pods a little bit of a safe zone? Would this actually make an impact?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[NaH2O]

Rubble piles are a benefit, too, as the pods can hide in there...you could probably put some rubble pieces in a small box made from eggcrate if you see the mandarin hanging around your rubble piles. See if these threads help with your pod culturing.

Copepod culture setup question

More Questions, a little slow

Pod Reef Aquarium

Mandarin Larvae

Pods Delicious and Nutritious

 

[HaleyM]

Wow thanks for all the great pointers.

A watchman update, he is eating tonight, and looking better, still pretty much staying in one spot though. I would almost swear that his tail and one of his top fins look like they have mended a little??

Whew.