+1 It's probably best to put the poor little guy out of his misery, try feeding like Myka said but if he doesn't bite i would weight for tomorrow morning and if he still doesn't eat then use clove oil and put him down better that way if he does respond then finish the treatment and after words get some melifix in there to help the open wound heal.

Bill

Yes you can actually see inside, there's a hollow space behind the hole and a membran with veins and organs inside of that. I don't really understand how he's still alive, but I feel a responsibility to try to help him through this as best I can. He just went into quarantine yesterday and I don't think the stress of removing him to the hospital/quarantine tank helped him out any. I'm hoping that maybe the reason he's stopped eating is because of the move, maybe he'll start again soon. I'm going to give him at least another day to aclimate to the new tank before I make any decisions on helping him to the big reef in the sky :sad:

So I've got my goby eating again and he's actually looking a bit better. The general discoloration seems to be going away and I think the hole may be starting to close up a little bit. I'm reaching the end of the antibiotic treatment, but the directions say I can go up to three weeks "if necessary". How do I know whether to switch from the antibiotic to something like Melafix, or continue on with the antibiotic treatment?

Yellow Watchman Goby
 

Glad to see that your goby is doing better.

Our watchman goby lost his bottom jaw when we first put him in our 120g. There was no way to catch him as we have lot of rock. We did not see him for a while and we were sure that he did not make it until he just showed up one day. We still have him now one year latter.

Hope that your little guy does well.

I would add rifampin and isoniazid to the food to treat tuberculosis (Mycobacterium marinum). It can be spread to humans so be careful handling the fish and wash your hands after working on the tank. Melafix is tea tree oil and does not work in saltwater.

Not sure if it is TB or not, but if it is, read this interesting article:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...losis_FAQ.html

I don't think it's fish TB, he's been responding really well to the NeoPlex. I think if he had TB the NeoPlex probably wouldn't be strong enough to do anything. I could be wrong though...

sorry to say melifix does work in salt water I have used it on a few occasions. Works like a charm, wounds heal in a few days (small open wounds) and no secondary infections. TB is transferable and this could be wear gloves also as TB can be transmitted through small lacerations or cuts.

Bill

It is very normal for small, open, wounds to heal themselves in a few days without any treatment at all. I'm not saying Melefix doesn't work...just that the above statement doesn't really prove that it does.

Just to update any who are interested, after many, many weeks in a hospital tank, my yellow watchman is back in the DT. He's still got a scar where the hole was, but it's closed up and he's doing very well :smile: