Harlequin Tuskfish swimming funny

[Bhor217]

Hey All,

I've had a harlequin tuskfish in my tank for a bit over a week now, and have noticed it has started to swim a bit funny. It almost appears like the back of its body is paralyzed or it chooses not to use its caudal fin.

It eats normally and actually can swim pretty fast, but it definitely is swimming a bit erratically, and almost seems jumpy a bit. He also seems to like brushing up against corner overflow.

I do not believe it is a buoyancy issue, but it does seem weird and would love to get a few more opinions on what is going on.

All other fish are acting completely normally and parameters are showing 0 across the board other than 20PPM of nitrates (it is a FOWLR setup)


Thanks in advance!

 

[Mjrenz]

That doesn't look good to me, I've got a couple of guesses as to what it might be but since I'm not completly sure I'm going to refer you to @ngoodermuth @HotRocks @4FordFamily and @Big G for a diagnosis

 

[Bhor217]

I appreciate any help I can get, I really like the little fella!

 

[ngoodermuth]

Have you ever seen any white-stringy poop?

 

[4FordFamily]

That looks like a spinal injury to me, which I’ve not seen in a tusk. It’s very common in fairy wrasse. Has this slowly progressed?

It’s usually caused by bolting in to rocks or the glass or trying to leap out and hitting a hard lid when startled.

 

[Mjrenz]

^^Those were the two guesses I had in mind. I hope he does ok for you

 

[Bhor217]

That was my uneducated guess, and thank you for confirming. He swims in not such a swift motion and sometimes goes against the overflow and hits its head against it.

When I first noticed it, my thought was that his back fin looks paralyzed, and it sounds like to some extent it is.

He eats like a pig, but I definitely thought this was past their quirky behavior.

Is there anything I can for it to improve? Is this something a fish can comfortably live with? He is very active which is what is throwing me off, I really just want to make sure he thrives as much as possible, and if this is something that will get worse for him, what other options there would be.

Thanks!

 

[Bhor217]

Have you ever seen any white-stringy poop?

I don’t believe so, definitely nothing that I have seen with regularity.

If I did, would that be a sign that there is something that could possibly put my other fish at risk?

 

[ngoodermuth]

I don’t believe so, definitely nothing that I have seen with regularity.

If I did, would that be a sign that there is something that could possibly put my other fish at risk?

I think it’s more than likely a spinal injury. Very common in wrasses, key symptoms being swimming vertical in the water, and decreased tail usage. Time and good food are the only real support you can give, some anecdotal evidence that dosing Epsom salt may relieve swelling or constipation that could be contributing.

Internal flagellates (parasites) have recently been found to cause similar symptoms in late-stage infestations. But, the key indicator is white-stringy poop. Also, being very thin despite eating, and pinched stomachs.

The treatment for internal flagellates is general cure or metroplex + focus soaked food. Fed twice-daily for at least 10 days, and up to three weeks.

 

[Bhor217]

That looks like a spinal injury to me, which I’ve not seen in a tusk. It’s very common in fairy wrasse. Has this slowly progressed?

It’s usually caused by bolting in to rocks or the glass or trying to leap out and hitting a hard lid when startled.

One thing I have noticed is it seemed the fish would hit the overflow in an effort to almost try to fix what is hurting him. Have you ever seen something like that and is it possible that it works? It is swimming way better already, and even its caudal fin has started to move more and more. I am very happy to see this progress in a short period of time, and hope it continues. When i heard "spinal injury" I assumed it was going to be downhill from there, but am very pleased with the short term progress so far.

Just am curious if this is behavior that has been noticed before.

Thanks!

 

[ngoodermuth]

Scratching is a symptom of parasites, usually flukes. A 5-minute freshwater dip will confirm or rule them out.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I don’t flukes is what is causing the swimming though, I think the two are unrelated.

 

[Bhor217]

Scratching is a symptom of parasites, usually flukes. A 5-minute freshwater dip will confirm or rule them out.

what would "scratching" be considered?

The fish has since stopped hitting against the overflow, so I was wondering if (as silly as this sounds) that the fish successfully bumped its spinal injury back into place. I understand while typing this how ridiculous this sounds, but figured I would ask if it has been seen before!

Are you suggesting doing a proactive freshwater dip to rule out flukes in general? I do not want to put the fish through unneeded stress, and there are no spots or anything on its body. Thanks for the help!

 

[ngoodermuth]

If he’s no longer scratching, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It won’t hurt him to check if you’re worried about it. I’ve never had a healthy fish react poorly to a freshwater dip.

As far as the swimming, it might not have been a severe injury and is healing... or maybe he was constipated and worked it out himself lol I try not to worry too much until I have something to worry about, and not to question miraculous recoveries lol

 

[Bhor217]

If he’s no longer scratching, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It won’t hurt him to check if you’re worried about it. I’ve never had a healthy fish react poorly to a freshwater dip.

As far as the swimming, it might not have been a severe injury and is healing... or maybe he was constipated and worked it out himself lol I try not to worry too much until I have something to worry about, and not to question miraculous recoveries lol

Great advice @ngoodermuth appreciate it!