Flukes without flashing?

[Trever]

I have a yellow coris wrasse that has a lot of visible "white" (ish) discoloration bands on his body, the bands and areas tend to run up and down (i.e. not the length of his body). Today I notice a few white "spots", basically seem to be the same as the discoloration areas but in the form of a small circle or two. The wrasse is extremely subdued, hovering near the sand in a protected area under a rock overhang. Not his usual behavior at all. He eats normally. He's been like this for almost a week now.

He's had this sort of discoloration off and on for a year, I've always associated it with him injuring himself in the sand/rock. It usually resolves itself.

He does not flash at all.

Could this still be flukes? I would think with all the banged up body he has, if it were flukes, he'd be flashing like crazy. Am I wrong?


FYI:
The tank has another fish that seems sick, specifically, a blind green Chromis.

There are 3 other apparently healthy fish.

I wonder if this tank/fish has flukes though, as that might explain a lot. Since none of the fish are flashing though, I'm also skeptical....

The biggest change to this tank was the addition of a small emerald crab. There seems to be correlation between adding the crab and the manifestation of the problems with the two fish. The crab is from a good source, and I would think it unlikely to have brought a disease, but... if this suggests an "explanation", please let me know.

 

[threebuoys]

Are the lighter bands visible under both full blue and white light? I've noticed lighter areas on a healthy yellow wrasse that are only visible under full blue. Without pictures and more information, it's difficult to hazard a guess.

 

[Trever]

Thanks @threebuoys

In retrospect, let me just ask- can a fish have visible manifestations of flukes and NOT flash? Forget all the rest.

As for this more focused question.... anything is possible presumably but I would think it unlikely if a fish appears to have a fair amount on his body, I would think that would lead to flashing pretty much every time.

 

[threebuoys]

Thanks @threebuoys

In retrospect, let me just ask- can a fish have visible manifestations of flukes and NOT flash? Forget all the rest.

As for this more focused question.... anything is possible presumably but I would think it unlikely if a fish appears to have a fair amount on his body, I would think that would lead to flashing pretty much every time.

Often, frequent flashing is due to flukes in the gills. Most flukes are too small to see with the naked eye. Sometimes, flukes can be viewed under a microscope on gill or scale scrapings. Of course, care needs to be taken to avoid injuring the fish.

You described his body as being banged up and him being subdued. What species are the other 3 fish? Without the flashing, and with the apparent other healthy fish, I would be suspicious of fish aggression before I would consider flukes.

 

[Trever]

Tank contains a firefish, a clown, a diamond back goby, the chromis, and the wrasse.

Two photos of the wrasse included here.

The tank is in my office, I observe it a lot. No fish aggression. These fish have all been together for a year and a half and never really tussle.

The photos show a relatively bare corner- there's plenty of sand cover for the wrasse (and for the goby to do his Sisyphus routine all the time).

The photo also shows the fish managed to tear his dorsal fin (first time I've seen him do that). That has since healed just fine.

The photos manage to exaggerate greatly the discoloration. It's hard to see with the naked eye.

 

[threebuoys]

I see some lighter areas on my yellow wrasse similar to what I see on yours. I have more white light than you do, so its not as noticeable. So, I think that coloration is normal.

As far as subdued behavior, I don't have a guess if it's not aggression unless some water parameter has gradually deteriorated over time and the fish is reacting to it.

 

[Trever]

Water should be good, but I can run some additional tests. Corals would show it though, I would think, and corals are fine (including a blue stag and some other sps).

The wrasse has been spooked a few times in the last week. I believe twice he ran full speed into the back wall and darted in the sand in the middle of the day. It was crazy. It was so loud I feared he knocked his brains out. He has never done that in over a year.

He used to splash a lot of water around the room, swimming near the surface until about a week ago. At one point a few weeks back, I believe I heard him launch into the screen top.

I've had my hands in the tank and haven't felt any electricity.

Not sure what has gotten into him (and/or the Chromis). He is the biggest fish and lord of the tank usually (lording without aggression, this is a very peaceful tank).