FAQs on Wrasse Disease Treatments
Related Articles: Wrasses, Wrasses of the
Cooks,
FAQs on Wrasse Disease by Category:
Diagnosis,
Environmental,
Nutritional,
Social,
Infectious,
Parasitic (See also:
Wrasses &
Crypt),
Trauma,
Related FAQs: Wrasse Disease 1, Wrasse
Disease 2, Wrasses, Wrasses 2, Wrasse Identification, Wrasse Selection, Wrasse Behavior, Wrasse Compatibility, Wrasse Systems, Wrasse Feeding, Wrasse Reproduction,
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Quarantine 11/2/14
Hello Mr. F,
How are you ? Here in Romania the winter is coming and is getting
colder..
<No thanks! Colder here too>
My question for you today is the following: I have in a 10 g qt cube
tank a small 5 cm A. Lineatus and 2 wrasses ( leopard and another
Halichoeres).
<Need more room>
They have been there for 3 days but the tank is too small
<It is>
and the water quality is deteriorating rapidly. There is a small sponge
filter with an air intake. When you open the air valve is spreading a
lot of small bubbles in the water column and if you close it there is no
aeration. I changed 70% of the water daily but the fishes don't look
good.
The Lineatus is breading rapidly, but I think is because is scared and
he has no space, he is eating though. From the feedings the water in the
tank gets blurry and it smells, and the frequent water changes scare the
fishes even more.
What should I do?
<Move them>
There is no sign of disease except for the rapid breathing. Should I
give them a fw/Methylene bath and introduce them in the dt with all the
sensitive tangs/angels / Zanclus etc that live there and are thriving (
although they are living with Crypt in there but for months now I
haven't seen any sign ) ?
<If this is all you have>
Or after the bath place them in the sump? Or the refugium?
<Or here>
Or try to set up a bigger qt wessel?
<This would be best, better>
Thank you,
Andrei
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Disease identification, Labrid losses
7/25/12
Dear Bob and Crew
<Tom>
I was hoping I could get some help or at least pointed in the right
direction with an issue I have been dealing with relating the loss of
wrasses. Just to give you some particulars, I have four individual
tanks that I use for receiving, acclimating and QTing various species of
fish that either will eventually wind up in my main reef tank or placed
in one of my two 75-gallon fowrl tanks. I use two twenty gallon
and two 40-gallon breeder tanks, each tank is set up with its own
Emperor 280 HOB filter as well as an internal power head driven sponge
filter. One twenty gallon is bare bottom the other has
enteric coated silica based fine black sand (for Leopards and other
burying wrasse) The 40-gallon tanks, one has the same fine sand
and the other has a medium sized enteric, coated gravel. I
use the coated; silica based gravel and sand just in the event I have to
treat any of the tanks with meds to eliminate the possibility of
absorption.
<Yes>
Under normal circumstances, each tank will get a 20% water change weekly
unless I am medicating and depending on what I am using, would dictate
the water change schedule.
Over the last several weeks, I have had various species of wrasse,
purchased from 3 separate vendors; all arrive within two days of one
another and depending on the type, went into one of the twenty gallon
tanks.
Immediately upon arrival, I give them an extended SW Formalin
bath with aeration for approximately 30 - 45 minutes
<Mmm, this is too long... I would use pH adjusted freshwater and limit
the dips (short baths) to a couple minutes>
using 1ML of 37% formalin per gallon (my standard OP) and then placement
into one of the two tanks. I keep the salinity at 1.019
<Mmm, I would match the shipping water spg... Have you read my
SOProtocol
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimat.htm
the second/business one>
and let them get accustom to the tank for a week before starting any type
of meds which usually begins with a quinine based med, either QS or CP
as a preventative and then PraziPro.
Two weeks ago, my Australian Scotts started to become lethargic after
being extremely active and eating, his breathing became labored and it
started to lie on its side in one particular spot and refused to eat (no
meds were being used) Ammonia and Nitrate were 0 and PH was 8.2 also in
the same tank was an exquisite wrasse and two small female square patch
Anthias and a small Australian Copperband. The next day, its color
started to fade and it started to show the stress related mottled
appearance and was keeping its fins ridged. When it did try to swim, it
would swim in upside down circles
<Scary>
then eventually resettle back into its original spot. I found it
dead the next day. A few days later in the other twenty gallon
tank, a Red Sea 8-line wrasse started showing the same lethargic early
signs as the Scotts.
In this 2nd tank I had the RS 8-line flasher wrasse, a small potters
wrasse, a blue star leopard wrasse, a medium sized Male square patch
Anthias and an Orange diamond goby. At this point, just as in the
first tank, no other fish exhibited signs of parasite or disease.
The 8-line stopped eating, started breathing heavy, laying on its side
and eventually started the same erratic swimming behavior as the Scotts
and died two days later.
Next was the exquisite wrasse in tank #1 which started two days later,
this time I tried a ph adjusted freshwater/formalin dip for 5 minutes
<With aeration I hope/trust>
and placed him in one of the empty 40-gallons to keep it separated and
hopefully prevent any further possible spread I then started a
Chloroquine Phosphate treatment but three days later, the erratic
swimming started and it died a day later. Last week, in tank #2,
both the potters and blue star leopards became lethargic and actually
stopped burying themselves; they stayed on top of the sand bed and
stopped eating. Their swimming wasn't as erratic as the fairy
wrasses, they just appeared to crawl along the sand instead of swimming
and they too started the labored breathing. I found the Potters wrasse
dead the following morning and the blue star dead that evening when I
came home from work. I now have no more wrasses in any of the QT
tanks but the interesting thing is that all three Anthias, the
Copperband as well as the goby are all doing well, eating like pigs and
show absolutely no signs of any ailments, their colors are bright, their
eyes are clear and they are very active and alert.
<A good clue>
The water in both tanks still read 0 for ammonia on both the alert badge
and an actual test kit, nitrate was also 0 and PH is 8.2. With all
the deaths going on I had increased my water changes to keep the water
quality as pristine as possible and had poly pads in the filter boxes
except in the 40 gallon that I tried to medicated with CP.
I'm at a loss, what could possibly wipe out wrasses only while all fish
of different species remain unaffected,
<Their need for higher DO>
I don't feel this was Brook as the death rate was too far apart nor did
they have the heavy mucus or dusted appearance of velvet and there were
no visible white spots to indicate Ich.
The only thing I could think of that would cause these symptoms would
possibly be gill flukes but I can't explain how flukes would cause the
erratic swimming behavior. So I turn to you and the WWM crew to
possibly help shed some light on what you think or know that might have
caused this wrasse only mortality issue
Tom
<My best guess is that the Labrids had higher stress, lower
hematocrits... from shipping, handling... and that the too-prolonged
exposure to formalin resulted in their being poisoned. I'd read, cut
back on the duration and maybe eschew the use/exposure to CP as
prophylaxis. Bob Fenner>
Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus, Halichoeres and
Macropharyngodon disease prevention, & Dips f'
1/22/12
Dear Bob,
<Tom>
We have chatted several times before about compatibility between many
species of fairy and flasher wrasses as well as worker and leopard
wrasse. I have a 180 gallon wrasse dominated reef tank and a 75
gallon frag tank, also with many various species of wrasse. I
have read many of the sections in WWM regarding these amazing fish and
now have some mixed feelings on quarantine. You have stated often times
that it is usually best to just prepare a PH adjusted FW dip and place
into the display and I can certainly understand your rational behind
that for some very sensitive species and or some of the more costly
fish in these categories but I have a serious concern after what I just
went through with the battle against Crypt.
<No fun for sure>
I had to drain my tanks completely to catch all the fish then refill
them quickly so as not to lose coral. I wasn't able to
officially start the fallow count down until I caught the last holdout,
leopard wrasse that hid in the sand bed which I eventually had to
catch with a baited #26 barb-less trout hook. I lost so many fish
during the QT process since I was unprepared for such a large
biological filtration demand that a 150-gallon QT tub required to house
about 25 fish. It was heart breaking to find pairs of Lineatus
and Rhomboids pass as well as two trios of Hawaiian flames, my African
exquisite wrasse, a Red Velvet, a rosy scale, a Cebu Pylei as well as
several flasher and Halichoeres.
I have just recently started adding fish back into my system after it
remained fallow for 12-weeks, slowly but surely replacing many of my
lost species over time and now using Quinine Sulfate in the QT instead
of copper but even with this less caustic chemical by comparison to
Copper, Formalin, Cupramine and even Malachite Green, some of the fish
were still lost in the QT process but I believe those losses were
attributed to bad shipping and or hidden physical injury. I
currently have two pair of Lineatus and Rhomboids ready to go into the
QT tanks but I have also just received two pair of Red Sea 8-line
flashers, a potters leopard wrasse, a female African Blue Star leopard
and two Melanurus wrasse and am giving some serious thought to your 1 -
2 minute
<I'd make this five, even ten minute... w/ aeration, AND you
present for constant assessment, and making sure no one is
"jumping" out>
FW / Meth Blue dip and direct place instead of the 10-day Quinine
Sulfate. I trust and value your opinion and recommendation but I
am slightly hesitant on doing this after these past 3 1/2 months
Tom
<Always risks involved... I stand by my previous statements re
likely trade-offs, value of baths instead of extended quarantine.
Thank you for your telling. Bob Fenner>
Re: Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus, Halichoeres and Macropharyngodon
disease prevention
Bob,
<Thomas>
Thank you for your reply and on your recommendation for 5 - 10 minute
aerated baths. Do those baths consist of just PH matched Fresh
Water or do you suggest adding Meth Blue or Formalin and if so, at what
ratio?
<Mmm, commercially I have almost always utilized formalin in such
dips and baths... But am hesitant to make a short, blank statement re
protocol here.
Please instead read: http://wetwebmedia.com/formalinfaqs.htm
I have both but my formalin is 37% and I was under the impression
that formalin dips were completed in aerated salt water not fresh.
<They can be in fresh or marine settings, but ALWAYS w/ aeration
(and the pre-mentioned constant attendance)>
Lastly, would you suggest dipping each fish individually
and then placing but changing the dip water between each fish bath? or
can they all be dipped together in a 5-gallon bucket.
<These wrasses can go altogether, in groups or singly. Other groups
of fishes... surgeons, Lions for instance, I'd run one at a
time>
The fish that are of concern here are all very fat, healthy, active and
eating but also show no visual signs of disease so hopefully by tonight
after them lights go out, I can get them all in the display.
<Okay>
Thank you again for you help and advise
Tom
<Welcome. BobF>
Re: Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus, Halichoeres and Macropharyngodon
disease prevention 1/22/12
Bob,
Thank you very much
Tom
<Ah, welcome. B>
Mystery Wrasse Disease 12/15/2007 Hello WWM crew.
Your website has given me years of valuable info. I have used the
experiences of others on your site for years to learn about this great
hobby. Now I have a problem of my own that I would greatly appreciate
your help. I came home today and realized that my prize fish, a 4 inch
mystery wrasse, has some sort of "disease" covering his
mouth. This disease looks like fluffy white whiskers coming out of his
mouth. These whiskers appear to be coming from inside the mouth and do
not allow him to close his mouth. <Not good... likely resultant from
a physical trauma ("jumping")...> I am at a loss because I
have not seen anything similar to this before. I have had some run ins
with marine velvet in the past, but this looks nothing like a parasite.
<Is simple decomposers...> In my (clueless) opinion it seems like
some sort of fungus growing out of his mouth. <Likely
bacterial...> The tank is a 120 gallon that has been up for about a
year. I have finally gotten around to quarantining all new specimens,
and have done so throughout the entire life of this tank. Below I have
attached a picture of the wrasse. <Didn't come through.>
It is not very helpful because the white "whiskers"
around his mouth blend with the color of the mouth, but you can kind of
see them along the bottom of his mouth. Hopefully this will help you in
your assessment. Thanks in advance for your help with this problem, and
thank you for all the help you have provided others. This is a valuable
resource for all marine aquarists. <Not much to do here... Perhaps
adding more iodine-ide-ate in whatever format you currently use would
be of help... Otherwise, waiting, hoping... maintaining optimized,
stable conditions is about it. Bob Fenner><Or.... Polychaete/Bristleworm
spines? RMF>
Disease ID (photo attached)
6/28/06 Dear WWM crew: <Jeff> It seems I need your
generous assistance again. My yellow
"Coris"/Golden/Canary wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) has a
pale light pink "spot" near its tail fin and anal fin
(but only on the body, not the fins). In the attached
photo, you can barely make out a light pink (almost white) area
near the said fins the spans about half the height of the
fish. I hope the attached photo is good enough (the
glass is not clear and has some algae growth; and the camera is not
suited for this kind of shot). The yellow Coris also
scratches itself against the rocks on that light pink
area. This is the only abnormal behavior I've
observed. He is otherwise eating, foraging for
'pods, coming out to swim during the day and burying itself in
the sand at night. Can you identify what disease this
might be? And if so what's the
treatment? Thank you for all your help. J.N.F. <Does
appear to be some sort of mild petecchia... surface bloodiness...
due to what however? I would do your best to continue to provide
good care here (low nitrates, decent nutrition) and not
specifically "medicate" per se. Bob Fenner> |
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My 6 line wrasse needs help 2/1/06 I am
trying to save a 6 line wrasse I bought about 4 weeks
ago. It had a large abdomen at the time but seemed otherwise
healthy. Over the last few weeks its abdomen has swelled
greatly. Its now has severe buoyancy problems, it tries to
wedge its self to stay upright and flips upside down if not moving. Its
vent is inflamed, and at times a thick ivory colored mass seems to
protrude then retract. I am treating with MelaFix <Worse
than worthless> in a hospital tank, and suspecting an intestinal
worm or other parasite. <Maybe> The fish is still eating
well. Is there any thing I can do to help this fish or
is euthanasia the best option? Thank you for your help,
Kim <Only if in your opinion the animal is
"overly" suffering. I would add a level teaspoon of Epsom
Salt per ten gallons of system water here... and see if "this too
passes". Bob Fenner>
Re: my 6 line wrasse needs help 2/2/06 Hi Bob,
Thanks for the response! I will try your suggestion, I hadn't
considered Epsom salt. <A very useful, inexpensive,
readily available, safe cathartic> I did use PraziPro last night,
which is fish Droncit and ordered Discomed on line last night when no
one in town had it. I gave a brief, 2-3 minute dip, which it
didn't seem to enjoy much as it thrashed about, I removed it when
its breathing became labored. But right away worms
began being expelled. <Interesting> They were almost
? inch long, very thin on one end with the thicker part the last to
come out. <Likely either nematodes or acanthocephalans> One was
still alive but died right away. I looked at it under a microscope and
didn't see any obvious segments. <Cutting a coronal section near
the distal (head) end and looking end-on may reveal a roundworm
definitive triradiate esophagus> The fish abdomen was much smaller
this morning and it seems a bit better able to maintain its balance.
Two more questions if I may: If it survives, I am wondering how I will
know when it is "cured" and safe to go into a
tank? <A few weeks...> This is my first experience
with this problem, so I am also wondering how infectious this type of
problem can be? <Mmm, as in spreading to
other fish species? Not very in general... and all fishes (and humans
for that matter) have gut and parasite fauna> I had hoped the
MelaFix would help with the vent inflammation, I take it your not a
fan. I will stop using it today. <I would (stop)>
Looking forward to seeing you again at the WMC, Morgan tells me he may
be coming as well. It should be a great time. Thanks
again for your help. Kim <Will indeed... and twill be a hoot. See
you then/there. Bob Fenner>
Re: Much improved but still has balance problems...
2/7/06 The 6 line wrasse I wrote you about is doing much better,
the swelling is about gone. Tomorrow will be 1 week on the
dewormer so I plan to stop that treatment. <Good> I have been
using the 1 tsp per gallon Epsom salt treatment as well. The only
remaining symptom is the balance
problem. This hasn't gone away.
<May, with time, or no> Other than a few more days on the Epsom
is there anything else you would suggest to correct this problem?
Thanks, Kim <Only good nutrition and water quality... and precious
time going by. Bob Fenner>
Strange growth under gill plate 11/15/05 Hi,
<Howdy> I have a lunar wrasse in a 90 gal tank along with a queen
angel, <Will get too large... psychologically first, then if it
survives, physiologically, for this system> a Condy anemone and some
hermit crabs. The problem is with the wrasse. He has a strange growth
protruding from under his gill plate, toward the rear. It sticks out
just past and along the edge of the back part of the gill plate. It is
bubble-like in appearance and sort of translucent, not a solid looking
mass of tissue. Kind of like little water filled balloons (it looks as
strange as it sounds). It labors his breathing and he is more lethargic
now. He has been lethargic with a decrease in appetite for
several months and I suspected something was wrong. Well, this problem
is visible now with this growth or whatever coming out from under his
gill plate. It has been visible for several weeks now. He's been
doing ok for a while now with it, other than the aforementioned
symptoms and just not being his normal energetic and curious self.
<Likely the actual gill, branchiostegal (supporting member)
itself... from a physical trauma... a bump, or jump...> The system
parameters are in healthy ranges - salinity 1.023-1.025 pH 8.1 temp.
76-78* Amm. 0 Nitrates 40 Nitrites 0 Everything else in the tank is
fine and show no signs of illness. Do you have any idea what this could
be? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! Tim <This genus, species of
wrasse/s are very active... the Angel could have "spooked"
it... Not much to do re... but hope for a self-cure. Bob
Fenner>
Re: strange growth under gill plate 11/16/05 Thanks for
the response. I've been watching it over time and it seems to be
slowly growing/getting bigger. Would that be typical if it were caused
by trauma? <Mmm, yes... if not directly fatal, often this critically
important tissue will enlarge, over-grow such traumas> What concerns
me most is the length of time that this has been a problem; it
doesn't seem to getting any better; if anything, worse. Also,
were you referring to the angel or the wrasse about getting too big?
Thanks again for your help. <The Queen. Bob Fenner>
Re: strange growth under gill plate 11/16/05 Hey Bob,
Sorry to keep bothering you with this same problem. <No worries>
I looked up in FishBase the gill area, i.e. branchiostegal and
membrane. That all looks normal on this fish. The growth is underneath
that and coming from inside, out towards the back of the gill opening.
<Mmmm, could be a goiter... a tumorous growth related to Chromaffin
tissue... akin to Thyroids in tetrapods> It is getting
bigger/swelling more. Is there anything else inside there that
could swell like this or is it maybe a growth of some other
tissue? <Yes... I would immediately try adding iodine/iodide
(Lugol's solution) to the fish's foods, and to the tank water
once a week> I'm afraid I'm going to lose this fish
eventually and just would like to get this identified to see if
anything can be done, so I appreciate you patience and help. <Sorry
for not mentioning this possibility earlier. Cheers, Bob
Fenner>
Re: strange growth under gill plate 11/17/05 Bob,
<Tim> I got the Lugol's solution from Kent Marine. It gives
directions for adding it to the water, but no info on how to use it in
food. Should I use part of the recommended dosage in the food and the
other part in the water? <A drop or two per food session is
about right... ten, fifteen minutes before offering> Do I only dose
the food once a week - along with the water as you mentioned? Or does
it need to be in the food daily/more frequently for now? It seems you
really need to be careful with this stuff from what it says and I
don't want to over do it (or under either). Thanks again for all
your help! Tim <Correct... In general one only wants to provide
iodine/ide with testing. Not a real problem at this juncture, in your
circumstances. Bob Fenner>
Re: strange growth under gill plate - Almost Instant
Success! 11/18/05 Great, I'll stick to that regimen until
this clears up. I gave him a drop last night in his food and, I tell ya
Bob, this fish already looks a whole lot better! He is swimming around
a lot and eating much better. The swelling has gone down too. I think
you nailed this one. I can't thank you enough for your help and
patience with this. It's much appreciated! Blessings, Tim <Ah,
glad to hear of the fish's improvement, your success. Bob
Fenner>
Constipation... ASAP fish help?! 9/21/05 Hello, <Hi
there> I have a Red Sea Lunar Wrasse whom is severely
constipated, i just recently noticed that his rectum is swollen and
red.. I called the local pet store and they said to feed him Spirulina
to loosen his bowels. This is a rare fish in which we paid
quite a bit of money for and are very fond of....my question is can he
die from this? <Yes> thanks for any information you can provide
me with <I would quickly move this fish to separate quarters and
administer (add) about a level teaspoon per five actual gallons of
system water of Epsom Salt (Magnesium sulfate) to the water... monitor
behavior, aspects of cycling. The Spirulina takes too long, may not
work... be eaten. Bob Fenner>
Mysterious 6-line wrasse death Hi Crew, <Greg> I hope
you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season! <Yep, lots of projects,
visitings...> During my vacation, I took the opportunity
to purchase a 6-line wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) and two
Firefish for my 180g reef. These fish have been in my 20g QT
for 2 weeks and all appeared to be doing well (all eating flake food
well) - that was until this morning when I discovered the wrasse was
dead. <Mmm, well, one thing... flake food on any sort is not
"that" nutritious...> Yesterday I did notice the wrasse
was very still (but still very alive), under a piece of PVC tubing. I
do not understand what would have caused this fish to die. <Stress
is easily a component here as well> It had no visible
spots, fungus, worms, etc. and it had a good appetite. It
had no nipped or cloudy fins (or eyes) and it did not appear at all
emaciated. Do "special" considerations need to be
made for 6-line wrasses in QT? <Best to supply with a bit of live
rock, some live and/or meaty food> This is a bare-bottom tank with
only a few 1" PVC pipe fittings and some red Gracilaria for
cover. Although the Firefish did occasionally swim at the
wrasses with its mouth open, I never noticed actual contact and they
would typically even share a flake of food. I would really like to add
a 6-line wrasse to my reef tank to control flatworms and because I
really enjoyed watching this fish in my QT but I am concerned about the
cause of this death after two weeks in QT. A secondary
concern is the effect this fish could have on the 'pod population,
since I already have a mandarin in my main tank. I do have a 50g
refugium (5" DSB + LR. + Caulerpa & Gracilaria) attached to
the 180g tank to help with 'pod stocking. <This size system and
refugium can easily support both/all these fishes> My main tank also
contains about 200 pounds of LR. and 2" of
aragonite. Considering this, do you think it would be a
problem to add a 6-line wrasse to my main tank (assuming I can get it
through the 4 week QT period)? <I am inclined to suggest an extended
bath/dipping procedure in lieu of actual quarantine. There are other
folks here that are staunch four weeks or heck re quarantining, but I
am of the opinion and experience that many smaller, shyer species of
fishes are worse off for the experience... gobies, blennies, small
wrasses included> Lastly, I would also like to add a H. chrysus or a
H. iridis. Would either of these fish live peacefully with a
P. hexataenia in my reef tank? <Yes, both these
Halichoeres species are fine here> Would two wrasses begin to cause
the 'pod supply to dwindle for the mandarin? <Would put a dent
in it, but I say go ahead> As always, thank you (in advance) for the
terrific advice! --Greg <Happy to proffer it. Bob Fenner>
Treating A Cleaner Wrasse Dear Crew members, <Scott F. here
today!> I have a common cleaner wrasse, which has lived for more
than 6 months in my tank. It adapts well in the environment & I
must confess that it seldom does any cleaning on other fish. Taking in
dried flakes (small pieces ..), minute chopped shrimp meats & some
Nori ..etc, it eats anything & is extremely active. <Glad to
hear that...We really discourage keeping cleaner wrasses for a variety
of reasons, not the least of which is that they generally fail to adapt
to captive fare...Sounds like yours has beaten the odds in the short
run!> The main tank is going through a "fallow" now
because of a marine velvet outbreak. All fish are taken out &
housed in various quarantine tanks, including the small cleaner wrasse.
It stays with my majestic angel. I am also treating Copper on all
quarantine tanks which house fish, except this tank which houses the
Cleaner & the Majestic. Its because I am not sure if the cleaner
wrasse can tolerate CU treatment or not? I intend to use 2/3 dosage
anyway as I have to consider the angel too. Please advise me if Cleaner
Wrasse can tolerate Copper treatment well? <I'd avoid copper
with this fish. If the fish is, indeed sick, a Formalin-based remedy is
a safer bet, IMO. Even then, I urge you to be careful...If the fish is
not displaying signs of the illness, I would not use medication at this
point. Just observe carefully.> By the way: what is IMO, which is
frequently quoted by you people? <"In My Opinion"...FYI:
"For Your Information", HTH: "Hope This
Helps"...There are many others, of course- but these are common
ones you see here!> I have to confess, too, that I bought this
wrasse before reading your article on the poor survival record of this
type of fish. More so that I intend to provide good for this small
fellow as it is so valuable & I like to see it live for long. Your
help is much appreciated. Best regards. <If this fish has to be in
captivity, I'm glad that it has a dedicated owner like yourself!
Good luck! Regards, Scott F>
Sick Wrasse <Hi, MikeD here> I have a 4"
Christmas wrasse (Halichoeres ornatissimus) that has one pectoral fin
tattered and the gill on that side is slightly swollen.<ouch>
Looking this up, I found the most likely problem was a bacterial
infection and to use a broad-spectrum antibiotic, such as Erythromycin
or Neomycin. Does this sound right?<With the former, using Maracyn
II for gram negative bacteria in conjunction with the Erythromycin is
often wise and has worked well for me. The bad part is that these are
expensive meds, to the point I've been rethinking the wisdom
myself, having seen a couple of other highly touted broad spectrum
antibiotics mentioned on a regular basis.> I placed the wrasse in my
10G QT (filled with main tank water, several PVC tubes to hide in, a
cycled AQ mini, heater, and an airstone) this morning. My main tank had
the following parameters this morning: ammonia: 0 nitrIte: 0 nitrAte:
<10ppm ph: 8.0 temp: 80F copper: 0 The "main" tank is a
60Gal with CPR backpack and magnum 350 canister and a couple of
powerheads. This tank is about 6 months old and was cycled using
damsels (this is the last time I use fish to cycle... ever! I use
crustaceans as a personal preference, and were I to go with fish, would
ALWAYS suggest Mollies over Damsels!>) and I change about 10%-20% of
the water every day (or at least every other day). When her right
pectoral fin first started to deteriorate (two weeks ago), I looked
into the aragonite gravel being too course since this wrasse burrows at
night.<Probably correct> (I still think this might have been the
initial cause of some of the damage.) I changed out the sharp aragonite
gravel for some nice, round coral sand on Monday. (That was a pain to
do without stressing my fish. I rinsed the sand with dechlorinated
water and tank water, then moved the wrasse and my gobies into a large
breeding net while the change occurred. The fish all acted normally
after I was done.) Her fin has not gotten better, but seemed to not get
worse until this morning when her gill looked swollen and the fin was
"clamped" and more tattered.<This may have been because of
the upset to the entire biofilter in the substrate portion itself,
since this fish spends 1/2 of each day directly in it> Her roommates
are three small blue-green Chromis, a small maroon clownfish, and two
neon gobies. The neon gobies have been spending a lot of time
"cleaning" the wrasse, but this morning her gill started to
look swollen so I set up my spare QT tank. I've never seen any real
aggression between fish although the Chromis like to chase one another.
(A note on the neon gobies, they made it out of QT and into the main
tank a week ago, which is after this all started.) My questions are: I
bought some Maracyn, which is a Erythromycin medication. Does an
antibiotic sound like the right course of treatment? Should I also set
up a small Tupperware bucket of sand from the main tank for her to
sleep in or should I leave the tank with a bare bottom? I worry that
without sand to sleep in, she'll stress out.<Tough call.
sometimes the stress can be severe enough to outweigh other
benefits> However, the sand might slow the healing process by
rubbing on the damaged fin. Advice would be most welcome!<I'd
probably go with the antibiotics myself and give the fish a sand
bottom, likely inert silica sand in the treatment tank.> Thanks!
Puffergeek in San Diego
Reader Input Re: Patchy Wrasse >Long time listener, first
time caller. In regards to "Daniel" who asked about his sick
sixline wrasse, I too had the same issue. His pics, while blurry, look
just like my new sixline. I was told by my LFS that they had already
guaranteed the animal for 4 weeks and I had nothing to worry about.
Live and learn on that issue. My param.s were all in the normal range
and nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates were all undetectable. I thought
he was a goner but I performed a couple of small water changes, fed
various Selcon soaked frozen foods and in 3 weeks time, all of the
patches were gone. Scott >>Great, thanks for the input,
Scott! Marina
Sick Coris Wrasse Hi Guys, I have been successfully
keeping a Lime Green Coris Wrasse for around 8 months. He was around 1
inch long when I got him and he has steadily grown to over 4 inches. He
has never had problems eating and has never been harassed by other fish
or had any other problems until yesterday morning when I found him
belly up on the bottom of my display tank. I thought he was dead but
noticed his gills still moving...and not moving fast either but
breathing normally. <Yikes> I nudged him lightly with
my tongs and he tried to swim away but could only wriggled around on
his back. I did notice that his belly seems to be enlarged,
but he has always had somewhat of a "big belly". All of my
other fish are doing great and eating well and there has really not
been any changes made in my system to cause such a sudden effect.
<Frightening> Is there anyway to determine what caused this poor
fish to get sick ? <Not as far as I'm aware> Also, is this
fish doomed or is there anything I can do to save him ? <Really only
able to wait at this point. Hopefully your wrasse will "cure"
spontaneously as it has taken ill. Bob Fenner> Regards, Chuck
Spyropulos
Infected Sore Hi Bob, I recently acquired a
4-line Red Sea Wrasse (Larabicus.) He had a small sore where his
tailfin connects to his body, on the bottom. This sore seems to
be getting slowly bigger. I've read through your site and
changed all the Chemipure and 10% of the water but I'm worried I
should do more. Should I treat with formalin? Anything else? Will
Novaqua do anything? Not formalin... not Novaqua... maybe Selcon
soaked food if this animal is still feeding... and perhaps another
Cleaner will assist it... I'd try a species of Lysmata Shrimp,
Pacific> He is in a reef tank, do I need to put him back in the
hospital. <No, more stressful than useful> Water tests:
Nitrate 0, SPG 1.022, temp 78, alk 4.3 meq/L, dKH 12, cal 450
ppm. Thank you, Brian Battles <Hmm, saw a nice one of
these (a female) at a friends LFS just last night... unfortunately,
this is a species that can/does keep going "down hill" if
impugned... try the above soon, as in NOW. Bob Fenner>