Saltwater CSI: The Curious Case of the Missing Goby

[dagger]

Late last night a missing fishes report was filed after Glen the Orange Spotted Goby had not been seen since Sunday, March 22nd. The local authorities immediately suspected foul play, as something just seemed fishy…

The Tang Police immediately questioned Pamela the Pistol Shrimp, and Brandy the Bristle Worm, but they clammed up and offered little insight.

After a search warrant was secured, the Tang Police searched the former home of Glen and Pamela. No rock was left unturned, yet no body was found.

To date, Pamela the Pistol Shrimp and Brandy the Bristle Worm are the only suspects, and the media is speculating as to what their motives might have been. One insider claimed that Brandy the Bristle Worm grew jealous of the relationship that Glen and Pamela shared, as they always spent the day together and never left each other’s side. This jealously fueled Brandy the Bristle Worm’s hatred, as she had no companion of her own, and may have ultimately led to this heinous act.

On the other hand, some suggest that Pamela the Pistol Shrimp caught drift of Glen the Goby’s plan to leave her for Brandy the Bristle Worm, and, as soon as she saw this writing on the tank glass, she acted swiftly.

Still others think that Glen loved both Pamela the Pistol Shrimp and Brandy the Bristle Worm but there just wasn’t enough room in their subterranean love cave. Realizing that he was hurting both Pamela and Brandy, and that he was unable to decide between his two female companions, Glen the Goby jumped tank. Rumor has it that he was last seen making his way South to a Caribbean reef.

The Tang Police will continue their investigation and are asking the public to step forward if they have any additional information or insight into this intriguing mystery.

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In all seriousness, I'm a bit puzzled. I did a water change Sunday and saw the goby, but did not see him Monday when I fed. The post water change parameters all checked out. I was gone on business for 1.5 days and when I fed again, nothing.

Your first guess might be to suspect the goby jumped out of the tank, as they are known to do this, but I have a Fluval Edge, with a acrylic plate covering much of the opening. There's maybe a 1 by 3 inch spot for it to happen, but I didn't see the goby anywhere outside the tank.

My only guess is that the goby passed away for some reason and the shrimp or the bristle worm ate him.

Any other thoughts?

 

[The Ng Thing]

All kidding aside ... give it a couple days and see? I've thought my goby was dead multiple times only to see him appear a week later.

 

[s_kelley]

bahahaha, well played
Like Ng said, give it a few days.
I have fish go missing for a days and just as im ready to write them off, out they come, but on the other hand i have had fish disapear and then never see em again

 

[Tcancel]

Totally agree, my yellow watchman went missing for almost a week. Wouldnt come out for feeding, which was weired cause he is a glutton. Ive always "spot fed" my pistol and, as usual, when he would see the feedin tongs, he would patiently wait at the cave's opening for a piece of krill, yet no sign of the goby. I "wrote him off" on the sixth day, and on the seventh day, to my surprise, he appeared. So, i would give it a few more days. It happened with my sixline too, he was missing for so long, i ended up buying another one, i thought for sure he had jumped and one of my dogs had him for a snack. The day i got back from my lfs, ready to float my new sixline, he appeared.

 

[twiddledog]

I thought I had an Anthia missing for a week until I found her in my overflow still alive...you never jnow where they might turn up!
Maybe the goby assumed a new identity and is now a Wrasse? Any new fish swimming around trying not to be noticed??

 

[Tcancel]

Maybe the goby assumed a new identity and is now a wrasse? Any new fish swimming around trying not to be noticed??

lmbo!

 

[labnjab]

I think he probably took a vacation

Our YWG and pistol shrimp went missing for over 6 months before. I saw no signs of them, no digging or anything. I was about to replace them when one day I saw them both, the YWG standing guard the the pistol digging away, as if they were there the whole time, lol. Both had grown a lot, too. They haven't gone missing again more then a day or 2 since the extended vacation.

We also have a Randalls Goby we maybe see 3 times a year

 

[dagger]

Day 5 of the missing goby.

Interesting how common it is for the fish to disappear.

Here's the thing though: My tank is 6 gallons. There's not very many places for him to go. I hear the pistol shrimp, but I haven't seen him since I moved a rock looking for the goby.

If the goby is indeed gone, how often should I feed the shrimp? I don't want to overfeed my tank since it's so small.

 

[NonCometL]

Ugh... My wrasse has been missing for weeks.... Thorough search has not revealed a body anywhere... I find this disturbing.... Even more disturbing is the thought that he'd just pop back out sometime in the distant future.... That would creep me out ;-)

 

[jeremy052274]

Day 5 of the missing goby.

Interesting how common it is for the fish to disappear.

Here's the thing though: My tank is 6 gallons. There's not very many places for him to go. I hear the pistol shrimp, but I haven't seen him since I moved a rock looking for the goby.

If the goby is indeed gone, how often should I feed the shrimp? I don't want to overfeed my tank since it's so small.

I have a yellow watchman with a pistol. I just saw them both for the first time on Saturday after a full 6 days missing - both of them. Mine is a 29, so a rather small tank - my guess? They aren't hiding behind anything, they may just be happy under some live rock. There is plenty of stuff for them to feed on, especially if your goby is like mine, then he likes to sift the sand in his mouth and feed that way. He showed up six days after his disappearance, his buddy pistol at his side like nothing ever happened...since then he is poking his head out more often than not.

Go figure? My advice is not to look too hard, like by moving rocks, cause he may be under them!

I also didn't know you could hear pistol shrimp, off to look that up. Don't lose hope! I already had and was stoked when I saw him show up.