Leopard Wrasse declining rapidly

[nine8taco]

I have a leopard wrasse who is going downhill quickly. It started about three days ago. He perches on rocks and on the sand and sometimes will slowly just layover onto his side. But he does still swim around, and still actively hunts pods. He is gasping and breathing heavily. His coloration is still very much unchanged its still dark and vibrant. He's a little thinner than I'd want him but he always has been. All of his fins are full. He can still swim fine when he wants to and still eats aggressively when I feed. He eats mysis voraciously. And will eat a pellet or two when I feed the other fish. He has been in the tank for about four months and has always done great.
-All other fish are doing great. (Midas blenny, two clowns diamond goby)
-All inverts (snails, hermits, a cleaner shrimp, and a fromia star) all doing great.
-All corals doing great (sponges , gorgonians, easy sps and lps and softies).
Parameters:
Ph 8.1-8.2
Temp 77-78
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 0
Nitrate >5
Nitrite 0
-I have checked stray voltage and have nothing abnormal. I have a ground probe in the tank, I've tried taking it out as well and no change.
-I have both returns agitating the surface heavily and always have.
-Nothing has been added or taken away from the tank equipment wise since it was set up nearly a year ago.
-the fuge is crawling with pods, and the display has a heathy population that is visible at night (pod hotels in the rocks to cultivate them)
The system is a 40g display 55g system.
I'm pretty much at a loss here guys and girls. I love this little guy and don't want to lose him. Anyone have any ideas???

 

[melypr1985]

Did you QT this wrasse at all or ever treat for anything like flukes?

 

[nine8taco]

No did not. (Rookie mistake I know) I would have assumed that any issues that quarantine could have prevented would have surfaced by now but I am No expert by any means. What exactly is flukes?

 

[cope413]

They're parasites, but it doesnt sounder like flukes. Flukes generally have very visible effects. If you can catch him without stressing him too much, then you can try to treat.

Is his poop stringy? Is he flashing (scratching on rock or sand)? Is he breathing heavily?

Leopards are pretty sensitive, but you may be able to save him.

Is there adequate sand for him to sleep/hide in?

 

[nine8taco]

His poop is not stringy, he is not flashing. He is however breathing heavily and quickly. There's about 2" of sand in the tank and deeper at the back where he sleeps.

 

[nine8taco]

Would you try to pull him out and treat him in a seperate tank? And if so what would you treat with?

 

[Humblefish]

When was the last livestock (fish, coral, invert) added to this tank? Calling [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] @eatbreakfast @evolved for backup.

 

[cope413]

You can't really treat him in your main tank.

Are you sure there aren't any patches of discoloration that you can't see because of his coloration? Do his gills look inflamed?

If it were me, I would probably try a formalin dip provided there aren't any open wounds or injuries.

It works well on most parasites (ich, flukes, flatworms, brooklynella, etc), and it provides immediate relief if your fish does have one of those parasites.

To do it, you need 37% formalin and an airstone. The airstone is critical. Without an airstone, a formalin dip will kill your fish.

Full strength dip is 20-25 drops (1ml-1.25ml) per gallon for 50 minutes. I wouldn't recommend this for your leopard unless he looks near death. Leopards are sensitive, and formalin is potent. I would probably try 10-15 drops.

In a 1 gallon bucket, add 1 gallon of your tank water - to avoid any shock due to changes in pH, temp, or other params - and 10-15 drops of formalin. Put the airstone in the water and turn it on full power.

Put the leopard in and watch him closely. If he's gasping near the surface or showing other signs of distress, get him out immediately and back into the tank. If he looks ok, leave him for 50 minutes.

I would normally recommend a FW dip after the bath to get any weakened or dead parasites to fall off before going back in the DT, but that's added stress that may not be a good idea depending on your fish's condition.

If you have a QT tank, then it would be best to put him in there so you can continue to observe and treat him with as little stress as possible. If there's visible improvement after the first dip, you'll want to dip again on day 3, day 5, and day 7.

Then continue to monitor.

Oh, and this is important, leopards need care to avoid injury to their mouth during capture/transfer. Be aware of this. Also, if you are going to put him in a QT tank after the dip, make sure there's adequate sand for him to bury/sleep. A tupperware container filled with 3-4inches of sand is adequate.

Good luck. I love my leopards. They're awesome fish.

 

[4FordFamily]

Sounds like internal parasites. I believe @melypr1985 suggests metroplex for this. This is very common in wrasse but especially leopards. IMO all leopards should be treated with prazi (which by the way you can safely do in your DT)

 

[eatbreakfast]

When it swims around does it use it's tail to swim or does the back half of the fish droop when swimming? What are the other tankmates? How long has the tank been setup? How often do you feed?

 

[melypr1985]

Leopards (and wrasses in general) tend to need de-worming before adding to the tank. This can be done with Prazi and Metroplex or General Cure. The breathing rapidly is a sure sign that something is causing it difficulty when breathing. Something is in the gills it would seem. The only thing you can do in tank is prazi or feeding one of the other two coupled with Focus. Though, I think we aren't quite to a diagnosis yet. The questions posed by these guys are good ones.

 

[nine8taco]

Wow guys thanks for the great response! I'll try to get all of these answered.
1. The last coral was added about a week and a half ago. So about a week before this started but it was dipped with bayer.
2. I don't see any discoloration. He does however have a lighter coloring. First thing in the morning after lights being out all night but all the other fish do too and this has been my experience with all other fish in past tanks.
3. His gills don't look particularly inflamed but with him holding them open and breathing so hard it's difficult to tell.
4. I'm afraid of the formalin dip because I won't be able to tell how he's doing in there with the heavy breathing being par for the course right now but also the sign of distress during the dip.
5. He swims normally his back half does not drop during swimming.
6. Tank mates are a Midas blenny, 2 Picasso perculas, and a diamond goby
7. Tank has been setup for right at a year
8. I feed twice daily. And he ALWAYS eats

 

[nine8taco]

I tried to gently scoop him out by hand while he was laying on the sand and he was having none of it he still has plenty of strength in reserve to jet across the tank at light speed. With that being said the praxis may be the best option. How do I treat with that in tank and is there any chance of it killing off inverts? (Shrimp and a fromia star?) @4FordFamily @melypr1985

 

[4FordFamily]

I tried to gently scoop him out by hand while he was laying on the sand and he was having none of it he still has plenty of strength in reserve to jet across the tank at light speed. With that being said the praxis may be the best option. How do I treat with that in tank and is there any chance of it killing off inverts? (Shrimp and a fromia star?) @4FordFamily @melypr1985

Buy prazi pro and turn off your skimmer and remove all media (carbon, GFO, cuprisorb, etc). Then dose it per instructions. Most suggest a water change day 3 or 4 then dose again on day 5-7 same as the first time.

I would wait to see what others say before doing this although prazi isn't going to hurt anything. Never hurt any of my inverts.

 

[melypr1985]

I tried to gently scoop him out by hand while he was laying on the sand and he was having none of it he still has plenty of strength in reserve to jet across the tank at light speed. With that being said the praxis may be the best option. How do I treat with that in tank and is there any chance of it killing off inverts? (Shrimp and a fromia star?) @4FordFamily @melypr1985

Yeah, if you haven't run prazi on these fish yet, it won't hurt to do so now. I only had one issue when dosing it my display and that was a little fading of my montis. They recovered nicely and I never lost any shrimp, starfish or feather dusters in the process. It MAY take care of any internal parasites, but metro is better for that. You feed that in his food coupled with Focus, but I would concentrate on one med at a time right now.

 

[Diesel]

Leopards are difficult to treat in general.
If a leopard shows signs of illness than in most cases it is a goner.
It's worth the try though or at least get him out to protect your other fish.

 

[nine8taco]

I will grab prazi first thing in the morning and give it a try. Just follow directions on the bottle? Thank you all for all of the advice thus far.

 

[melypr1985]

I will grab prazi first thing in the morning and give it a try. Just follow directions on the bottle? Thank you all for all of the advice thus far.

Yes. Follow the dosing instructions. Do one treatment, a water change at least 48 hours after that, then do another treatment 5 -7 days after the first one.

 

[nine8taco]

@melypr1985 would that one treatment be the prazi or the metro and focus? Also what are metro and focus? I'm unfamiliar with those. I just really want to save this little guy. I'll try whatever has the best chance.

 

[melypr1985]

@melypr1985 would that one treatment be the prazi or the metro and focus? Also what are metro and focus? I'm unfamiliar with those. I just really want to save this little guy. I'll try whatever has the best chance.

It's up to you. Read the links that describe what we are talking about (intestinal worms & flukes). Take everyone's advice into consideration and make the decision that seems to work the best for you. If it were me, I'd run the Prazipro and in a week if he's not acting better, then start mixing Metroplex and Seachem's Focus into his food to treat for intestinal worms. That would last for 10 days straight - 1 scoop (included for each) of each mixed into frozen food and let soak for a while. Then feed that to him once a day for 10 days. This would be my second option of course. Here's are each of the meds I'm talking about along with links that talk about these diseases and meds.

Prazipro (praziquantel): Treats flukes, black ich, and some internal parasites (worms).

How To Treat - In either a quarantine or display tank, dose Prazipro at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 20 gallons of water. DO NOT OVERDOSE(especially with wrasses), try not to mix with other medications (for various reasons), and provide additional gas exchange while treating with Prazi. Wait 5-7 days, do a 20-25% water change and then repeat dosage. The reason for the second dose is to eradicate the “next generation” of worms before they can lay eggs of their own. Because while Prazi does kill worms, it doesn’t eliminate any eggs they might leave behind.

Prazipro is generally considered reef safe, although it may kill any tube worms/feathers dusters you have. It may also eradicate bristle worms. If you have mass quantities of these, the resulting die-off can lead to an ammonia spike. After treatment is done, activated carbon may be used to remove any residuals (if you need to use a different medication next). If using a protein skimmer post-treatment, be advised that it will “over skim” for at least a couple of weeks.

Pros - Reef safe, effective dewormer that is relatively gentle on most fish.

Cons/Side Effects - Mild appetite suppression, moderate oxygen depletion, wrasses are sensitive to overdosing.