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Disease identification, Labrid losses
7/25/12 Klunzinger's Wrasse Acting Strange/Proper Preparation of Natural Seawater - 08/13/06 Hi Mr. Fenner, <<EricR here this morning>> Hope everything is fine there… <<Yes, thank you>> Here is a problem which I don't know yet whether it's a big problem or a small problem. <<Hmm, let's see then...>> It's about the behavior of my Klunzinger's Wrasse (Thalassoma klunzingeri). <<A very neat/attractive fish>> He has been acting totally weird lately. He was the type to cruise around the tank searching for food (ate very well) and even when I clean the tank he never hides. <<Typical, yes>> But 2-days ago he never came up to the surface from his hiding place inside the sand bed. So I thought he was tired or something but the next day also he never showed up so I was obviously scared as I thought he was dead. <<Not necessarily...have observed this behavior in other/similar species>> Then I put my hands inside and tried to search for him inside the sand then suddenly he just came out moved around like lightning and vanished under the sand again. <<Yikes!...I wouldn't do this, quite stressful to the wrasse>> I repeated my actions again once but got the same results & since then he is hiding. <<Best to leave the wrasse be>> My water quality: Ammonia 0.02 & Nitrite 0.05. <<Mmm, should be "zero"...and may be what is affecting/mal-affecting the wrasse>> I use normal seawater for monthly 20% water changes which I collect from the shallow sea so I don't think I can maintain my Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate at '0' levels. <<This is distressing to read. Unless you are properly "processing" this water (please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seawater.htm) you are likely introducing pollutants and pathogens to your system>> Am I right??? <<Indeed my friend...this is "false economy"...and may likely mean the ultimate demise of your fish/system>> I didn't check for Nitrate as my test kit is over. Salinity: 1.020. <<Salinity should be 1.025/.026>> My tank is 80G and has only another Blue tang and a Bannerfish which are normal at this moment. <<Mmm, must mention...this tank is too small for the tang in the long-term...and marginal for the Bannerfish...in my opinion>> My green algae growth is fine <<I'll bet...>> & I have a lot of live rock. What do you think about this situation? <<I have seen these "burrowing" wrasse hide before for as long as seven days when pestered. In this case I think the problem is environmental (water chemistry issues/pathogens)>> What's up with him? <<Something in your system/water is bothering the wrasse>> Will he be normal again or should I expect the worst? <<Properly quarantine/treat/buffer the NSW, or better yet, convert to synthetic, and you will likely see an improvement>> Thanks, best regards, Rachel <<Cheers my friend. EricR>> Hypersalinity and Wrasse Death - 12/21/2005 We had our first fish loss and was wondering why. <Ok> On Saturday, we picked up a Cirrhilabrus solorensis for our 40 gallon aquarium. The LFS has salinity of 1.021 and we are at 1.024 to 1.025. (I'm trying to bring it down slightly with water changes). The wrasse was at the LFS for 2 weeks. We acclimated for 65 minutes, <Not long enough. Should have been adjusted over a couple of days at least.> then a put in a drop of a blue solution that the LFS gave me in the past fish purchases (a mix of 3 solutions, no copper) for a minute. The wrasse was not bothered. <Even though, it would be better to learn the name of this "solution" for a better understanding of its use/ applications.> In the tank he went. (Yes, no QT). <A little QT time would have been a perfect place for a slow acclimation.> He then ate a meal of flake food and a meal of mysis shrimp that day. The wrasse was a half inch bigger than any other fish, but seemed to be a bit of a wimp. The Gramma loreto chased it out of the Gramma's favorite cave; no contact, but the typical big opening of the Gramma's mouth. The "alpha" Chromis viridis took a couple of runs at the wrasse. The Amphiprion ocellaris, the other Chromis viridis, and the 2 cleaner shrimp ignored it. The wrasse found a cave that nobody ever liked, so I figured it was fine. I didn't see it for a day, and tonight during my water change I noticed it dead in the thick group of macro algae. There were no signs of disease or wounds. On Sunday night, my readings were: nitrate / nitrate/ ammonia 0, phosphate 0.08, calcium 500, alkalinity 13.4 (it had been low in the past and I brought it up in the past week), <A bit too much huh?> temp is always 77-78. Was my acclimation too fast for the specific gravity difference? <Yes.> Was the intimidation by other fish a factor? <Not likely, it takes much longer for that. Many signs (degrading health, not eating, Etc.> Could it have gotten tangled in the macro algae? <Not the cause for sure, perhaps the result of corps meets current.> Was this a delayed shipping effect? <Possibly. Maybe the fish was already weak.> Any hunches would be appreciated. <I do believe it was the sudden increase in salinity, perhaps pH (I don't see that one). Be careful with you calcium and salinity levels. Your in the "storm conditions" zone. May have carbonate precipitation soon. - Josh> Sick
bird wrasse Your web site is so helpful and for people like me who
need answers it's the best place to go.<Thanks, Maybe I can help
you.> My problem is with my green bird wrasse (male). For the past
six weeks now he's buried under my rocks and has shown no interest
in eating at all. I have been able to squirt some brine shrimp by him
with a turkey baster and it appears he is getting a little to
eat. He used to be a very active swimmer and would be the
first one out anytime the lid to my 75 gallon tank opened
for feeding time. I'm amazed with how little he's eaten that
he's still alive. He shows no external signs of parasites or
gapping gills, no marks or scratches or any discoloration. His eyes are
fine and his fins are fine, he doesn't look any different, it just
looks like he went shy on me. I've tested my water
almost every other day and everything appears to be fine except for a
steady nitrate reading of 80 in my fish-only tank. It appears my water
quality is good. I'm afraid to put him in my quarantine tank, or
what I call my "death tank". I'm know you
don't have much to go on, but I just wanted to run it by you for
some possible causes of his behavior and what I can do to help him.
I've been offering frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood works, Formula
II, other flakes with krill and shrimp in them and Spirulina pellets.
If this is a nutritional deficiency what else can I provide for him, or
use to entice him into eating? Thanks for your help, it's always
very appreciative. <I think it might be a PH issue. What
is your PH at. It should be at 8.2 to 8.3. If it
is off it will burn the wrasse. (They don't have
scales.) Otherwise, Do some water changes and get the nitrate
down to less than 40 PPM. That should make a
difference. Good Luck. MikeB.> Sight Impairment on a Wrasse I have a blind Paddlefin Wrasse. <Sorry to hear that...Ryan with you today> He was in the QT tank when we had a couple fish pop up with ICH spots, so he was in there and we added copper, which I was assured would be fine. We only left him in there with the other fish and copper a couple weeks and moved him to the main tank, right after being put in the main tank he got pop-eye on one side. <Likely from poor water quality in QT, sorry to say.> I put him in a different QT tank I'd borrowed from a friend and gave him Erythromycin (sp) and it cleared up the pop-eye within a week. <Good.> But after we put him in the main tank this time it was apparent that he couldn't see. He gets really excited about food being placed in the tank, gets really agitated and swims all over, but he can never seem to find it, he pecks at the sand and then spits it out. <How sad!> We've tried a variety of foods and a feeding stick but he wants nothing to do with that. So it's like he can smell the food but can't make it to the table, poor guy. Any advice on how to feed a blind fish? <Possibly a clip of sorts...In a place that he can find everyday. A feeding tube (oral syringe with 1/4 inch airline tubing) could shoot food right in front of his mouth.> I have tried to enter "feeding blind fish" in your search but I get a whole page of questions and never can find the right one? Sorry to hassle you! <No worries!> I am getting concerned for the little guy. I think he's happy but he doesn't swim constantly like he did, he swims a lot then lays against the glass as if resting then takes off. <Doesn't sound good...Give him time, try and feed him as much as possible.> While I have you here I'd like to pester you with another question. A year ago while snorkeling off Kauai we saw a gorgeous wrasse, the Thalassoma trilobatum, it was orange with blue, green, and yellow ladder lines down the side. I have been searching for a year for one. I have called all over Hawaii even. Marine Center got my hopes up with a Christmas Wrasse they had, but they say that they are green and purple, that they just look orange in the ocean. From their description they gave me sounded like a Klunzinger's Wrasse I had, they told me they were the same colors. Can you tell me what the name of the fish we saw down in Hawaii was and if you've ever seen them in the aquarium trade? <You may have seen a supermale variant of the Klunzinger's Wrasse. Supermale colors are astounding- But harder to keep vibrant in captivity. The marine center would likely be your best bet for finding one, at least this time of year. See ya! Ryan> Thanks again so very much for all your help! Wrasse looking bad. Dear WetWeb crew, << Blundell here. >> Was hoping you could help me with a bit of a mystery. Many months back, I ordered a large Coris gaimard from Jeff's Exotic Fish (great e-supplier, btw). Well, it arrived and it was beautiful. A little over 6" female! << Seen lots of those fish recently, they are great. >> Did very, very well for several months. Then in June, I had to go away for a few days and left my fish in the care of a very concerned and capable neighbor. << But is still worried you didn't it? Don't worry it is a concern to all of us. >> When I returned, my Coris was on the bottom of the tank, curled up into a C shape. When she did swim at all, it was in tight, looping spirals, usually upside down. << Bad nutrition or bad water quality. >> Seemed to me to be an internal infection of some sort, so I removed her to my hospital tank and treated her with Maracyn (and Melafix, just for the scraping). << Can't hurt, sounds like a good idea. >> For almost two weeks she continued this behavior, and each morning I would check on her expecting her to be dead. Then, after being away for a day or so, I returned to find her upright and healthy, though very thin and sluggish. She greedily took food, and after several days of recoup time I returned her to the display (which is 150 gallons--the hospital tank she was in was only a 20 gallon). She is still alive and doing reasonably well, but rather than fattening up the way I would expect, she simply grows thinner. << Not sure what you are using for food, but I would recommend some variety and possibly live foods. >> I know there is competition for food in the tank, but I feed both ends of the tank several times a day, and I watch her eat what I would think to be an adequate amount of food. I feed enriched brine, Mysis, bloodworms, diced tiger shrimp << Really??? >>, angel formula (mainly for my angels!), leafy greens, and two good quality flakes--one vegetable and one meaty. << Well that is great. >> Specs: 150 gallon with good water quality: 0 Ammonia and Nitrites, Nitrates run high (70-90) because of the large, sloppy eaters. I keep them in hyposalinity (1.011) to cut down on crypts, which have always plagued my angels. Occupants: Large Volitans Lion (8") Large Maculosus Angel (7", was 1" when I got it!) Med Queen Angel (5") Small Chain Link Moray (10") Large Foxface (7") Med Sailfin Tang (3") Med Arothron manilensis (4") Med Canthigaster janthinoptera (2") Those nine fish have been the stable population of the tank for months (most for many years). Any suggestions? Is the Coris simply overwhelmed by his tankmates? << I don't think so. >> Possible internal parasite? Is the low salinity an issue? << Well that is way low. I would look into that. >> Any help fattening up this beautiful fish would be appreciated. << Yeah the salinity seems super low. Also, I wonder if having those aggressive fish is causing short term, quick to happen, ammonia spikes. >> Thanks again for all your great work. Jim Jensen << Blundell >> |
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