Blue sided wrasse losing scales - help!

[Mariette]

I’ve had this guy a week in QT. He’s fat but I have not seen him eat. He’s very skittish and hides so when I feed, I go away, let him hopefully eat, then remove leftovers after about an hr. he’s gone through 1 dose of Prazi. On his 2nd dose now and 1/2 dose of copper was added yesterday. 2 days ago, noticed a few scales in the tank. Scooped them out. Today, LOTS more. Photo of toilet w scales removed from bottom of tank today. What’s going on. He appears to have a lesion. What can I do for him? I’ve got a ton of different meds on hand

 

[Mariette]

The chunks in the toilet are bits of shrimp leftovers

 

[Mariette]

Please help

 

[TriggerFinger]

Hi @Mariette
It could be an injury but you said lesion and that made me think uronema.
any other fish in the QT with it? If so, any agression?
Hopefully @Jay Hemdal can take a look.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Ugh, dropping scales like that is typically caused by severe Uronema. I often see that post mortem, but have only seen it once before on a live fish. I'd like to give you a treatment option, but I don't know of any at this stage. Sorry!

Jay

 

[Mariette]

Ugh, dropping scales like that is typically caused by severe Uronema. I often see that post mortem, but have only seen it once before on a live fish. I'd like to give you a treatment option, but I don't know of any at this stage. Sorry!

Jay

You’re breaking my heart Jay

Oddly enough, I get home from work today and he’s not in hiding for the first time ever. Fed him. He ate.

tank mates
He’s w a Midas blenny that he’s avoiding but I see no aggression from the blenny. Also an anthias and a starry blenny (not showing aggression). Everyone seems to be out of hiding now which is unusual.

Other symptoms
He’s swimming slightly tilted and pointed up. He does right himself and swim regularly too. It’s Al’most like he’s keepin en eye out for something from above. Lots of strange symptoms to consider. What are the chances it’s something else?

also noticed tail appears to have been chewed a bit. Aggression can’t be ruled out.

 

[Mariette]

See pic showing him being vertical. Good shot of tail too

 

[Mariette]

Hi @Mariette
It could be an injury but you said lesion and that made me think uronema.
any other fish in the QT with it? If so, any agression?
Hopefully @Jay Hemdal can take a look.

Thanks. He’s w a Midas blenny, starry blenny and an anthias. I see no aggression but he’s avoiding the Midas and appears to have a chunk missing from his tail. See pic posted a minute ago.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

You’re breaking my heart Jay

Oddly enough, I get home from work today and he’s not in hiding for the first time ever. Fed him. He ate.

tank mates
He’s w a Midas blenny that he’s avoiding but I see no aggression from the blenny. Also an anthias and a starry blenny (not showing aggression). Everyone seems to be out of hiding now which is unusual.

Other symptoms
He’s swimming slightly tilted and pointed up. He does right himself and swim regularly too. It’s Al’most like he’s keepin en eye out for something from above. Lots of strange symptoms to consider. What are the chances it’s something else?

also noticed tail appears to have been chewed a bit. Aggression can’t be ruled out.

I misunderstood, I thought the scales were sloughing off. We call that "deciduous" like tree leaves in the fall - THAT is caused by Uronema or severe bacterial disease. The fact that the fish is still eating means that isn't it! I know would suspect that the scales you saw came from tankmate aggression, and I suspect the Midas blenny. You may never see the "hit" take place, but it could still be happening.

Jay

 

[Mariette]

I misunderstood, I thought the scales were sloughing off. We call that "deciduous" like tree leaves in the fall - THAT is caused by Uronema or severe bacterial disease. The fact that the fish is still eating means that isn't it! I know would suspect that the scales you saw came from tankmate aggression, and I suspect the Midas blenny. You may never see the "hit" take place, but it could still be happening.

Jay

No fresh scale loss today ... still eating. Still hanging out in corner. Still vertical and tilted for the most part. Since day 1, he’s spent the night upside down in a plastic plant. Still doing that.
He’s hanging out in what used to be the Midas blenny’s corner. Blenny has moved to other side of qt. Hoping it could have just been a territorial issue that lasted a few days. Find it hard to believe the wrasse won. Blenny looks great. Wrasse not so much.

the qt is a 20 g barebottom w no live rock so clearly nowhere near an ideal habitat. 2 weeks to go before they move to 45g observation qt.
They seem to have made peace. If I see more shed scales, I’ll put in a divider. Hoping to avoid that as the tank is already small

 

[Mariette]

Interesting update: starry Blenny goes into beast mode at feeding time. He’s kinda a jerk. Suspect he may have been the culprit.
new plan: feed 3X a day. Overfeed to reduce competition. Remove leftovers after an hr. Maintain Pristine water conditions to prevent infection. Keep close eye on behaviour and aggression.

 

[Mariette]

I misunderstood, I thought the scales were sloughing off. We call that "deciduous" like tree leaves in the fall - THAT is caused by Uronema or severe bacterial disease. The fact that the fish is still eating means that isn't it! I know would suspect that the scales you saw came from tankmate aggression, and I suspect the Midas blenny. You may never see the "hit" take place, but it could still be happening.

Jay

hello Jay. I was hoping you could help me out again. After 3 days of no additional scale loss, I was hopeful that peace had been made in the tank. I was mistaken. Today, there were about 10 fresh scales on the floor. I’ve partitioned the tank but now I’m worried about the wrasse. He’s looking really beat up. Anything I can do for him to help him heal?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What are you feeding this fish?

meaty foods are beneficial to the wrasse as it has required fats and aminos. Adding selcon vitamins to the food 2-3X per week and garlic extract on alternating days will boost immunity and overall health.
Some foods are :
Rods original formula
LRS Fish Frenzy
Mysis shrimp
plankton
Formula One frozen
Mysis pellets
New Era pellets

 

[Mariette]

What are you feeding this fish?

meaty foods are beneficial to the wrasse as it has required fats and aminos. Adding selcon vitamins to the food 2-3X per week and garlic extract on alternating days will boost immunity and overall health.
Some foods are :
Rods original formula
LRS Fish Frenzy
Mysis shrimp
plankton
Formula One frozen
Mysis pellets
New Era pellets

thanks. He’s eating well. Has an appetite. I’ve been giving him a mix of raw shrimp, trout and scallops daily. He goes nuts for it. Plus pellets which he picks at a bit. I do add garlic about once a week. I can increase it.
I’ve just added a divider to the tank so he’s not being picked on which I suspect is the cause of the scale loss.
anything else I can do for him? I’ve got a ton of meds. I don’t see any signs of infection.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

hello Jay. I was hoping you could help me out again. After 3 days of no additional scale loss, I was hopeful that peace had been made in the tank. I was mistaken. Today, there were about 10 fresh scales on the floor. I’ve partitioned the tank but now I’m worried about the wrasse. He’s looking really beat up. Anything I can do for him to help him heal?

Well, it really all depends on how much of the fish's skin is exposed and if it gets infected or not. You should lower the specific gravity of the water to around 1.020 - this helps the fish with osmotic balancing through its damaged skin. Then, you'll need to decide if you will treat with an antibiotic or not. I would consider using Furan-2 or Neoplex.

Jay