Dot Dash Wrasse - suddenly lethargic and not eating

[Dysto]

As stated, i've got a dot dash flasher wrasse that suddenly began hiding, laying on the sand bed, and not showing any food response.
Tank: 40 Breeder
parameters - as of this morning: nitrite <.05ppm
nitrate <.10ppm
Salinity 1.026
Temp 78f

Ive got four other fish, a ocellaris clown, a lubbocks wrasse, lawnmower blenny, and a dragon goby. Until yesterday, the dot dash was king of the tank. He has been laying on the sand bed, color shifted very blue, and while i've seen the lubbocks wrasse chase him off once, i'm not sure the dot dash wrasses behavior because he's suddenly been bullied. There have been no new fish added 3+ months, and i'm not seeing any indications of ich.

All the information i've found so far on wrasse stress responses have been in regards to them being newly introduced, nothing that would necessarily explain this sudden change in an established fish.

Additional info; he just came around the front of the tank, so i got my first good look at his condition. he's not nearly as blue as i thought, though he is looking a bit patchy, and he's got very bulging eyes

 

[Big G]

Wrasses can be fluke magnets. I'd consider a freshwater dip to check for flukes. The patchy color and bulging eyes can be bacterial infections caused perhaps by flukes.

 

[Dysto]

So I gave him a freshwater dip, approx. 5 minutes in a black bowl. I didn't see anything become opaque or fall off of him, but he did seem a little spunkier. Right now i've got him isolated in my refugium to keep the other fish from picking on him. is there a medication you'd recommend at this point? At the moment, I dont have a hospital tank, and am unsure how big it would need to be to not stress him further. Any recommendations at this point?

 

[Big G]

How is the fish's breathing? Any difference from before to after the dip?

 

[Dysto]

He still seems to be breathing fast, but he seems more active. I'm a little worried because the heavily bulging eye seems a little cloudy along the rim

 

[Big G]

Are both eyes bulging? Are they both cloudy?

 

[Dysto]

both eyes are bulging, one is just bulging worse. As far as I can tell, only one eye seems to be getting cloudy.

 

[Big G]

Both eyes cloudy is usually a bacterial infection. The best antibiotic to treat eye infections is Erythromycin aka Maracyn (not Maracyn2)

 

[Dysto]

Okay, gonna go get some. In your opinion, is it reef safe? I'd like to treat the tank, just to get any potential infections in my other fish taken care now, and i'm seeing a lot of confusion on the subject.

 

[Big G]

Would not recommend dosing erythromycin in a reef tank. It can be pretty harsh on the bio-filter.
DOSAGE: 250- 500 mg per 20 gallons every 24 hours with a 25% water change before each treatment. Treat for 10 days.

A mild treatment for a reef tank would be Ruby Reef Rally. It has both antiseptic and antibiotic qualities.

 

[Dysto]

I see. If I wanted to set up a hospital tank, how big do you think it would need to be? would a 5g work? a 10g? I dont think i've got room for a bigger one at the moment, and i've got the materials to get a 5 or a 10 up and running barebones now

 

[Big G]

10 gallon will work quite nicely for smaller sized fish.
20 gallon gives you more room for more fish and best of all is easier to keep the water quality in check. For bigger fish a 40 breeder is nice.
For medium sized tangs, butterflies 75 gallon or more keeps them calmer and lowers stress.