My only fish MIA

[as40]

Hello all. Help, please!

I really like my diamond goby, but this past weekend something attacked him, and I think it may have killed him. Sorry I don't have a picture, but I'll try to describe it as best as possible. This thing is small, about half an inch in length, tubular, worm-like, with the color/appearance of the tube of a small feather duster. It attatched onto my goby under his right eye, like some kind of a leech. I caught my goby, though it was a pain. I had to fill buckets with water and remove most of the rock from my tank, as he hid under the rock. After catching him, I tried with tweezers to catch the predator, but it was too hard to get a hold of, and wouldn't let go of the fish, and I didn't want to harm my fish any further, so I released him back into the tank, which is in effect a quarantine tank, as he is the only fish in there.

First, what do you think this thing is, and do I have to worry about it reproducing? Second, if it has killed my goby (I haven't seen him in three days), will it start going after the crabs/snails, or does it need a host fish? Can I in effect "starve" this thing to death by not having any fish in the tank for a while, and if so, how long? Are there any benificial predators I could introduce to eat this type of thing (a shrimp or something) and if so what would co-habitate peacefully with my crabs/snails?

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

[Max]

I'm not sure but, it sounds like it might be a leech. I've never heard of a bristle worm atacking a fish ,"or not a little one anyway". Catch it again if you can and treat it with any of the copper based fish meds ,"in another tank bucket etc just not in your main tank." That will kill it dead quick . It might be some sort of other worm or fluck but, kind of hard to say.
hth
chris

[as40]

:sad
Well, my goby is dead. Killed, I should say.

:mad2
I want to get whatever killed him, so it cannot strike again. I need help though. Don't know where the predator is anymore. Could be on any of the rock. I know I don't want to treat the rock/main tank with any meds, because I don't want to kill all the inverts or contaminate the tank. I also have polyps and shrooms in there that wouldn't take too kindly to meds, I imagine.

:confused:
So what now?
Like I posted at first,

1. Do I have to worry about this thing reproducing?
2. Will it/they attack snails/crabs?
3. Can I starve it, and how long would that take?
4. Any natural enemies to the predator that would be safe to have in my tank?