Sudden death of red-tailed flasher wrasse!   7/8/11
Dear WWM Crew,
<David>
It is with great sadness that I recount today's events leading up to the fairly sudden death of our beloved red-tailed flasher wrasse. I'm wondering if you can speculate a cause of death, as I can't think of any satisfying hypotheses.
<Let's see>
The system: 225-gallon mixed reef tank, reasonably heavily stocked with both corals and fish-- but all carefully chosen for compatibility. Tunze 9410 skimmer, ozonizer set at 370 mV ORP, lots of carbon and GFO filtration,
<... do you have "real" troubles w/ HPO4? Am not a fan of continuous use of this product>
changed every 2 weeks for carbon and every 4 weeks for GFO, wet dry sump with all bioballs removed and replaced with Seachem Denitrate crushed "rock", automated home-made continuous water changer that changes 3% of the water every day (broken into small amounts 150 times a day) with aged Reef Crystals + RODI water at 1.0255 sg, automatic top off with RODI water, 10 micron mechanical filtration (a pool filter, changed every two weeks), flow provided by mechanical filter return (1500 gal/hr), sump return (500 gal/hr), and four Vortech MP40s (total of 5,000 gal/hr at current settings), 1 L of NPX biopellets in a TLF 550 reactor, illuminated by six Aquaillumination Sol Blue LED units.
The water chemistry: 0 ammonia, 0 NO2-, 3 to 5 ppm NO3-, 0.00 phosphates
<... need some. Cut back on the GFO>
(by Hanna photometer; I have actually been trying to increase phosphate levels slightly to facilitate nitrate export by NPX-fed bacteria, which seem to be phosphate-starved currently), 460 ppm Ca++, 450 ppm K+, 0.06 ppm iodide, 4-8 ppm Sr++, 7-8 ppm dissolved O2, 1500 ppm Mg++ (normally 1350 ppm but recently added 150 ppm Kent Tech M over 5 days to inhibit Bryopsis growth), sg = 1.0255, temp = 79-81 deg F.
The situation: this morning I noticed that the large, beautiful, normally-in-perfect-apparent-health red-tailed flasher wrasse (male, purchased in March from Live Aquaria Diver's Den, grown rapidly to 4", perfect physical condition, no tattered fins or swollen places, no sign of Ick or velvet disease, eating very well, fat, very active and flashing daily with two smaller female red-tailed flasher wrasses in the same tank) was behaving oddly. Instead of his usual swimming and flashing while waiting for food, he was swimming slowly, closer to the bottom than usual, and "gasping" as if having difficulty getting oxygen. Coincidently, I just measured oxygen levels at 8 ppm last night, so I don't think the water quality was an issue.
<Me neither>
He did not eat this morning, which is very unusual for him. Also, his coloration was partially in "stressed mode", and he was not chasing or flashing his harem.
(In retrospect, the previous night he also behaved a bit oddly-- he came out after his bedtime (around 10 pm daily), with his night time/stressed coloration, and settled under a different rock compared with his usual sleeping hole. This observation may or may not be relevant).
After breakfast (which he did not eat), he settled under the new rock for several hours, before moving yet again to a hole in a different rock. By noon he had his full night time/stressed coloration showing, but otherwise relatively asymptomatic. One odd observation-- at this point I noticed that his two eyes did not seem to be tracking together always, with one eye looking upwards while the other would look downwards, which may or may not be odd for the species.
By 5 pm he was lying on the sand on his side, barely (if at all) alive.
Five minutes later, the cleaner shrimp and Nassarius snails descended on him, and I pulled his body from the tank.
I'm stunned by how quickly he died-- of about 28 fish and only three deaths in the history of this tank (one jumper through a fine mesh cover, one injury-induced PopEye that never resumed eating and never recovered), his death is the first mysterious one. He literally went from a picture of health yesterday to dead in less than 24 hours.
<Hmm>
Other tank inhabitants of note include a M-F pair of flame angels, two female red-tailed flasher wrasses, a blue tang, a yellow tang, and a variety of much-less-aggressive tank mates. No anemone (I took your advice), although there is an elegance coral, a hammer, frogspawn, torch, and mushrooms as the more aggressive corals.
Any theories as to how our beloved fish died?
<Yes... an unfortunate "brush" with some of the stinging life present, or ingestion of an organism, bit of organism that was toxic in some way. No fault of yours.>
I'm leaning towards "jumped hard enough to hit the tank cover and induce neurological disorder", but it's a terribly unsatisfying, poorly supported hypothesis.
Best,
David
<And you, Bob Fenner>

QT Female Filamented Flasher Wrasses? -- 04/04/09
I'll be receiving 3 female flasher wrasses to put in with the male I currently have.
<<Mmm, not the best 'sequence' for stocking these fishes. Perhaps you can sequester the male until the females arrive and then place 'all' at once?>>
I planned to hold them in QT at least 4 weeks
<<Not recommended in 'my' opinion. These fishes are fairly disease resistant'¦but more importantly often suffer from such quarantine in my experience and warrant direct placement in the display>>
but just tonight read that if there is no male the dominant female will become the male and this can take place in as little as 10-14 days.
<<Perhaps a bit longer considering the confusion and stress of capture/transportation/quarantine in a bare tank'¦but still a possibility, yes>>
I was also told that wrasses don't need to be QT because of their slime coat.
<<Many are quite resistant to protozoan infection>>
Are either of those true?
<<To a degree, yes'¦but as stated, I think it is more important that with these fishes just the quarantine itself may prove more detrimental than beneficial. You can try a freshwater dip before introduction (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm), but do watch the fish closely during>>
I still want to QT the fish but I don't want to have one become a male.
<<You have my thoughts re this process and these fishes>>
Thanks.
Debra
<<Happy to share'¦ EricR>>

Re: QT Female Filamented Flasher Wrasses? Now Royal Gramma comp.  - 04/06/09
Thanks for the reply.
<<Quite welcome>>
The male was in QT for 4 weeks (not your typical QT... It was my 2 year old 20g that needed to be broken down with tons of live mysids) I didn't have to feed him for three days.
<<Ah'¦okay>>
Anyway, he was put in his new home Friday. My new issue is my Royal Gramma.
<<Oh?>>
I currently have the tank now divided in half via eggcrate & 1/4" casting net. Will the gramma accept his new tankmates over time?
<<Mmm, as the 'established' fish here'¦you likely will have to remove it until the Flasher Wrasses have settled in and acclimated to the new system>>
If so, about how long would the divider need to be kept in place?
<<It is best to remove the Basslet altogether for a time to disorient it/provide the upper hand to the Wrasses upon its return>>
He seems to be showing less aggression today. Only if absolutely necessary I can move him to my frag tank.
<<It is up to you'¦ You can try the divider'¦but I would be more inclined to move the fish for a while, for the benefit of the Flashers>>
I have a catch net resting on the Monti cap for him to get used to should I need to try and catch him.
<<Excellent>>
The females are supposed to be shipped today so they'll be here tomorrow.
<<Though less of a risk than the Basslet, do keep an eye out for excessive aggression towards the females from the male (being first in the tank)>>
Oh and rearranging the tank won't work. His fave spot is the 10x10 Monti cap attached to a large rock - not an easy piece to rearrange.
<<Agreed'¦temporary relocation of the Royal Gramma is best here I think>>
Thanks again!!!
<<Good luck with your Flasher Wrasses'¦wonderful little fish! EricR>>

Filamented Flasher Wrasses follow-up -- 04/12/09
I had ordered three female flasher wrasses to join my male and the shippers held them an extra week until they felt they were ready for shipping. In the meantime I moved the royal gramma the day before their arrival to another one of my tanks and he's doing well. Absolutely the best decision as the gramma owned my large Monti cap, slept there and swam in and out of all the holes... the wrasses have now taken it over. Before moving the gramma the male wrasse was out and about occasionally with a divider separating him and the gramma but still stayed hidden 90% of the time.
<Submissive>
The females arrived early Friday morning and after a lengthy acclimation (4 hours) were put directly into the tank. The only other fish in there now was the male wrasse. The three females dove right into the huge Monti cap and hid. Even with the females hiding, within 5 minutes the male was out and hovering over the Monti cap darting in and out. Within 20 minutes the male and dominant female were hovering together over the Monti cap.
<Ahh!>
I saw him more yesterday after the females were in the tank than I have the whole six weeks I've had him. What a huge difference in his behavior... their interaction as a group is fascinating. I have a Vortech that they love to face into the outflow above the Monti.
<Very nice>
After another couple hours I decided to try feeding and had frozen mysis and Rod's food soaking in Selcon. As soon as the food hit the water the male and two of the three females were scooping it up and wanting more. I fed them 3 more times throughout the day. The remaining female who looked more stressed than the other two during acclimation remained hidden. I kept the lights on actinics only all day.
<Good>
I made a tank cover using 1/4" monofilament casting net because during the male's stay in a holding tank the male was always jumping (just because he could) and kept hitting the acrylic cover on that tank. 1/4" black nylon casting net covers the Vortech.
For the slower to recover female Is there anything else I can do to help her through this?
<Mmm, possibly add/try some live foods, otherwise, nothing else I would do>
I'm running eight T5 HOs in the tank, no Halide, and was thinking of keeping the lighting subdued again today running only half of the lights.
I hope some of this is helpful to others thinking about getting flasher wrasses.
Thank you,
Debra
<And you. Bob Fenner>

Flasher Wrasses I recently ordered 3 filament flasher wrasses mail order.  When they arrived, none of them looked to be in good shape.  One did not make it through the night but the other two seemed to have come around.<sorry to hear about that>  They have been in QT for 10 days now.  Physically, they look fine but their behavior is very odd.<doesn't sound good>  They often seem to make a vertical twitching/shaking movement.  I am worried about this and was wondering if this behavior was normal.<not really, they do act strange but not switching and such> They are feeding and look fine.<well if they are eating then that is an excellent sign>  I also wondered the recommended QT period on these fish as I read on your site and in the book that a short QT for wrasses is best.<well if they are doing well in the next couple weeks...eating/acting normal etc I would add them to the main aquarium>  Exactly how long is short.<Qt process for the wrasses all depends on how well they do...I like to keep my fish in quarantine for at least 3 weeks>  I normally quarantine for 3-4 weeks. <I do too>  Also, will it be fine to add 2-3 more wrasses later (same species).<These wrasses do get along in groups, but I would still be cautious on introducing "new specimens" to the aquarium. You could try it but would definitely remove the new additions if they are getting attacked by the other 2, it is always best to introduce fish of the same species at the same time> Thanks for your input.  Abby <your welcome, IanB>

Flasher Wrasse Problem - 11/25/06 Your help in the past has been so beneficial for my reef inhabitants, I thought I would give you guys <<and gals>> a try on this problem that has everyone (myself, my friends, ReefCentral, the LFS, etc.) without a clue. <<Really?  Hmm, I shall try...>> 7 weeks ago I purchased a male McCosker's Flasher wrasse from a LFS. <Gorgeous fish>> He was active and happy in the store and had been there for two weeks when I purchased him.  For the first 6 weeks in my tank he was incredibly active and a voracious eater.  10 days ago, when I went to feed the tank, I noticed that he was sitting on the rockwork (he had never sat around during the day before).  I fed the tank.  He ate a bite or two and then "freaked out" swimming incredibly rapidly and jumping (two things I had never seen before). <<Not all that unusual, this genus (Paracheilinus) as a whole is quite "high-strung" at times, in my opinion/experience.  I used to have a small group that any time the lights went suddenly off as with a power outage/interruption, you could hear the wrasses "pinging around" in the light fixture like little pinballs>> He then proceeded to hide in the rocks.  Since then, I have seen him display this same behavior on three occasions.  When I feed the tank, he will come out of hiding and eat a bit, but will not eat as he use to or swim around the tank at all.  Any idea what is going on here? <<You say you've asked around so I have to think this has been brought up before but...sounds to me like you may have an aggression issue.  Aside from interspecific confrontations, these fish are very peaceable and easily fall prey to more aggressive species (I have witnessed six-line wrasses terrorize/kill flasher and fairy wrasses).  Even if "you" have not witnessed it...doesn't mean it's not happening>> Here is some tank information: 25 gallon display with 25 pounds of Marshall Island live rock.  Parameters all very stable with 0 ammon., nitrite, nitrate. Temp 80. Ph 8.25. Alkalinity 4.5 Meq/L.  Other inhabitants include snails, hermits, LPS, mushrooms, Zoanthids, Monti-cap.  All in the entire time the fish has been here. <<Other fishes?>> There is a grounding probe in the tank. <<Mmm...more of a hunch than anything else, but try removing this for a time and see if the fish responds>> The only thought that we tested was that three days before his first freak out, a small Yashia goby and pistol shrimp were added.  There was some concern that the pistol shrimp's popping was scaring him so the pistol was removed 5 days ago, but the behavior has not changed. <<Doubt this is the problem>> The goby is still in the tank, but there is no aggression between the two of them and, in fact, the spot where the wrasse hides all day long is right next to the goby's hiding spot.  I appreciate any help on the issue. <<I don't feel like I've been much help thus far.  Aside from aggression or stray voltage, there may be environmental issues at play here, to include excessive allelopathy in this relatively small/confined space.  If you have not done so already, please read here and among the associated links at the top of the page for more info re husbandry/maintenance of these fishes (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/paracheilinus.htm)>> Oh, and by the way, the Scorpionfish you helped me with a few months ago is doing great ... thanks for your help! <<Good to know>> Adam <<Regards, EricR>>

Need some sanity for my wrasses   1/4/07 Hi- <Hello Nathan, JustinN with you today.> I have a 50gal reef tank. <Ok> Besides a day-night pH fluctuation that bothers me, I have no issues. I have a blue carpet that minds it's business, more than several SPS's, some polyps, 4 shrimp, a host of hermits, a starfish that I forget the name of the Ophiothrix type, 400 Watt 15k augmented with 64 actinic, moon, skimmer, chiller, on and on and on :) I have zero issues in my tank. EXCEPT! Flasher wrasses will not stay alive in my tank. For fish I have a Fridmani Pseudochromis, one Ocellaris clown, an exquisite wrasse and a unknown wrasse of the same genus. <You are very close to, if not already, full on bio-load here.> The Exquisite is a male. I have read that Cirrhilabrus and Paracheilinus can coexist easily. <Certainly, in a large enough setting> These 2 wrasses are such characters and will even let me pet their noses (I know it isn't a nose!) when I feed them. The are very playful and well established. I have tried to put in my tank 2 smaller Paracheilinus wrasses (cyanus and carpenteri) and both died the same way: they looked happy and established, were eating, then the next day they are curled up with labored breathing in the corner only to die no matter what I do (I put them in isolation and it is too late). Honestly, I see them looking ok, eating one minute, then near death 1 hours later. <I would think that both wrasse and the Pseudochromis are all culprits here.> My only guess is that the combination of Paracheilinus being a bit tender and wimpy combined with the territoriality of my Pseudochromis  (it will not allow the flashers near the rock pile during the light hours) are driving these beautiful wrasses out of their mind and they die. But what is odd is that the Pseudochromis never bothers the Cirrhilabrus. <You may just not notice it, or it may be that they're already established. However, I agree that the Pseudochromis is likely the lead culprit, though I would not exonerate the wrasse yet!> I just need someone to tell me my supposition is plausible, or what I might do to remedy it, because I will not let another fish die until I fix the problem (and fixing it maybe giving up on owning a  Paracheilinus). While Paracheilinus are beautiful so it my solid purple Pseudochromis. Could this all be due to the Pseudochromis? If you think so, I might consider trapping him and trading him to another tank. <I would consider your tank pretty close to full as it is, and if its been successful until now, I would continue with your current stocking list. If you cannot upgrade to a larger settings, I would pass on another wrasse. I would only feel comfortable adding some sort of small fish, such as a small goby or Ecsenius sp. blenny into your current arrangement, in fear of tipping the bio-load too far.> Thank you, Nathan Tableman <No problem, Nathan. Hope this helps you! -JustinN>