Dragon Goby swimming in sprials??

[mrgreen]

I've had my dragon goby for maybe 3 weeks now. He's been fine but tonight, he has been swimming in spirals. He's always been blind and crashing into things, but now he's swimming into spirals, even down at the gravel like he's trying to drill a hole! He just doesn't look right when he's resting, but I can't see anything physically wrong. I'm waiting to see if he gets up and does his nightly swim around. Everybody else in the tank- my 2 F8's- are acting okay. Its a 30-long with my 2 F8s, the dragon goby, and about six feeder guppies who aren't being eaten. I just tested the water on Friday before I added the new F8 and also added Tetra Safestart. The Amm. and Nitrites were both 0, and the Nitrates were between 10-15.

[taureandragon76]

Mine swims funny from time to time.

[mrgreen]

What do you feed yours? I try to crunch up algea wafers, mix them with tank water in a syringe, and squirt it his general way. He also like newly-hatched brine shrimp, but they're expensive plus they're not too good for him nutritionally.

[taureandragon76]

Mine mainly gets bloods worms which I feed to him with a syringe to make sure he gets enough. I have heard of people having success with shrimp pellets.

[Dadof4]

Does he have enough to burrow under or hide in? Is he digging his head in to the gravel or rubbing his body on the gravel? Is he possibly being harassed?

Mine do do odd things once in a while and swim in an odd fashion, nearly spastic at times, especially when they are irritated. Being scaleless they are prone to skin disease too, just like puffers. What is you current SG? Does he look angry, I mean angrier, than normal? I'd just wait him out for the next 24 hours and see how he does.

[mrgreen]

I forgot to buy some! I will do that next time.

I'm worried about him. He was doing just fine but now he's just acting weird. In addition to the swimming funny, he will lay on his side, not his belly. I will have to take a closer look. I hope he doesn't have something- like worms! My F8s are acting fine. If I have to do a hospital tank for him, I'll have to undo my snails/bloodworms tank for a bit, I guess. I only have Pimafix, not Melafix. Usually by now, he's swimming all over the tank.

[mrgreen]

Does he have enough to burrow under or hide in? Is he digging his head in to the gravel or rubbing his body on the gravel? Is he possibly being harassed?

Mine do do odd things once in a while and swim in an odd fashion, nearly spastic at times, especially when they are irritated. Being scaleless they are prone to skin disease too, just like puffers. What is you current SG? Does he look angry, I mean angrier, than normal? I'd just wait him out for the next 24 hours and see how he does.

I currently have white gravel. Would he prefer sand? He was doing a spiral motion with his nose at the gravel, yes.

My current SG is 1.006. He doesn't look angry, really. He's not yelling at the puffers. The puffers have left him alone, actually.

[taureandragon76]

Whats your SG at? I keep mine at 1.005 - 1.008 depending on how much evaporation I let take place. I like the flucuation as that is what happens in the wild. Also I have tonnes of caves for him in my tank.

[Dadof4]

Mine mainly gets bloods worms which I feed to him with a syringe to make sure he gets enough. I have heard of people having success with shrimp pellets.

Mine love shrimp pellets, you just have to make sure you put enough in so they can find them and graze on them through the night. With blood worms thaw a cube and just drop them in about a hlaf hour before lights out. In the morning I suck the left overs out with a DIY filter/vacuum.

[mrgreen]

I have three tubes of various sizes for him, plus a texas holy rock which he's claimed as his. I've never seen him eat blood worms. I feed live ones every so often and everybody enjoys them- even the feeder guppies- but never seen my dragon have any.

[Dadof4]

Whats your SG at? I keep mine at 1.005 - 1.008 depending on how much evaporation I let take place. I like the flucuation as that is what happens in the wild. Also I have tonnes of caves for him in my tank.

I keep mine a 1.015 and I'm raising it. They have been found in the Gulf of Mexico as far down as 100 feet and congregating in river deltas in near marine conditions.

I currently have white gravel. Would he prefer sand? He was doing a spiral motion with his nose at the gravel, yes.

That actually sounds like an injury of some sort. Is he continually turning to the same side or does it vary?

[taureandragon76]

I find in my tank I have to pretty much target feed my goby as my F8's are bloody pigs lol. I have some shrimp pellets kicking around, I shall give it a try. I am a firm believer in variety.

Back to the op's question at hand. Is your Goby eating at all?

[mrgreen]

Whats your SG at? I keep mine at 1.005 - 1.008 depending on how much evaporation I let take place. I like the flucuation as that is what happens in the wild. Also I have tonnes of caves for him in my tank.

I keep mine a 1.015 and I'm raising it. They have been found in the Gulf of Mexico as far down as 100 feet and congregating in river deltas in near marine conditions.

I currently have white gravel. Would he prefer sand? He was doing a spiral motion with his nose at the gravel, yes.

That actually sounds like an injury of some sort. Is he continually turning to the same side or does it vary?

I haven't noticed. Just that he was swimming strangely and laying on his side. I tried to pick him up and examine him, but he didn't like that and swam away with a quickness!

[mrgreen]

Yes he still does his eating motions. He sucks in whatever there is to suck in.

[mrgreen]

I just looked at him again. He's laying on his back, over a piece of pvc pipe. He looks a bit like he has a full belly. He just tried to swim up but then quit. He seems like he can't swim correctly.