What does my bumblebee goby have when he is laying on his side, breathing heavily, his color is faded....?

Question

I have been feeding him only brine shrimp since I got him (2 weeks ago)

What can I do to cure/prevent this?


thanks

My tank is well cycled, and it is a brackish tank.

Answer 1

It could possibly be a parasite such as a protozoan. They could be infesting his gills and making it hard for him to "breathe". Look closely for any odd coloration on the fish other than being faded and also look to see if it seems to have a really think slime coat. If so, I would assume a parasite and treat with Clout or Paraguard.

MM

Answer 2

well, that sounds to me like ammonia poisoning. Check the ammonia levels in your tank, and do a 20-25% water change if you have not done it already.

If you set up your tank and immediately put fish in it, chances are that your tank has not had a chance to cycle- meaning that the biological filtration that keeps your fish healthy has not had a chance to kick in yet. If this is the case, you want to test and do 15-20% water changes every day or so.

If this is a well established tank, your tank load could be too high (too many fish for the space), or there could be too much rotting fish waste in the water/rocks. use your gravel vacuum to clean the crap out of those rocks asap!.

NEXT; Bumble bee gobys are brackish water fish. If you ONLY have bumble bee gobys in your tank, adding some aquarium salt to raise the salt level may be exceptionally beneficial. If you have other fish, you will need to research EVERY FISH to find out if they can tolerate higher salt levels.

Good luck!

Answer 3

No hon, he is cashing out.